Russian Space Forces
| Russia
Plesetsk Cosmodrome, Russian Federation Dec. 19, 1971, 10:50 p.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
The Molniya were Soviet communication satellites operating from an inclined highly elliptical earth orbit of 500 km × 40000 km with 12 hour period for coverage of high northern latitudes.
Soviet Space Program
| Russia
Baikonur Cosmodrome, Republic of Kazakhstan Dec. 16, 1971, 9:39 a.m.
Status: Launch Successful
Mission:
The soviet Zenit-4M (Rotor, 11F691) was an improved version of the Zenit-4 high resolution reconnaissance satellite and was part of the Vostok-based Zenit-family.