The Russian Space Forces launched a total of 21 spacecraft from the country's two spaceports last year, the Russian Defense Ministry's press service announced Sunday.

Wrapping up the last year, the Defense Ministry said that the military had fulfilled its plan of maneuvering the Russian orbit constellation, "90 percent of which is currently controlled by an earth-based automatic control complex."

"In 2015, specialists from the Aerospace Force's Space Forces launched 21 spacecraft, used for a variety of purposes, from the Plesetsk and Baikonur cosmodromes," the ministry announced in a statement.

Russia is preparing for the maiden launch from its brand-new Vostochny Space Center in the Amur Region. It is scheduled to blast off in April 2016 and is anticipated to become a big occasion.

earlier report
Russia Remains World Leader for Space Launches: Roscosmos
Russia retained first place in the world in terms of number of successful space launches in 2015, with 29 completed, Russia's space agency Roscosmos said Tuesday.

A total of 86 carrier rockets launches for space purposes were conducted in 2015.

"In 2015, Russia carried out 29 carrier rocket launches, 18 - from Baikonur, three - from the Guiana Space Center, one - from Dombarovsky GMD and seven launches from the Russian Defense Ministry's Plesetsk Cosmodrome," Roscosmos said in an annual final statement.

The United States came second with 19 launches, while third place went to China on 18 launches.

The more recent Russian carrier rocket launch was conducted on December 24.

In 2015, 17 Russian unmanned spacecraft were put into the orbit, expanding the possibilities of remote sensing systems and communication satellites.

In the end of 2014, Roscosmos announced that Russia had carried out a total of 38 successful space launches in the year, becoming the global leader in this area.

Source: Sputnik News