Soyuz rocket takes off featuring letter Z

The Russian Defense Ministry released footage Wednesday that it says shows a Soyuz rocket taking off with a Meridian M communications satellite.

According to the ministry, the rocket took off at 15:57 local time (12:57 GMT) on Tuesday from the Plesetsk spaceport in Russia's far north, which is operated exclusively by the Defense Ministry.According to state news outlet RIA Novosti, the Meridian M satellite was put into orbit without incident and will be used to facilitate communication between marine vessels and aircraft.