On June 21, 2010 at 02:14 UTC the Russian RS-20 (Dnepr version) rocket-carrier was launched from Baykonur Cosmodrome.
A converted Russian intercontinental ballistic missile took the German TanDEM-X satellite into orbit.
It was the 16th launch of an international satellite under the Dnepr program involving Russia, Ukraine, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan, which converts RS-20 intercontinental ballistic missiles (classified by NATO as the SS-18 Satan) into carrier rockets to put satellites into low Earth orbit.
The 1350-kg TanDEM-X satellite, with a life span of five years, will survey Earth's land surface several times during its mission. The primary objective of the mission is to generate a consistent global digital elevation model of an unprecedented accuracy. Attachments: | 
