On December 19, 2018 at 16:37 UTC the Russian "Soyuz-STA” rocket-carrier was launched from Kourou launch site in French Guiana. The rocket equipped with the "Fregat-M” booster orbited the “CSO-1” (Composante Spatiale Optique) French military satellite. The spacecraft is designed to conduct surveillance for military and security purposes, in particular for collecting data used in the planning and implementation of military operations.