A Russian rocket was filmed being hit by a bolt of lightning shortly after takeoff, video shared by the head of the national space agency showed on Monday.
The Soyuz rocket carrying a replacement navigation satellite took off from northern Russia when, 14 seconds later, lightning struck its nose cone and went straight through it. Officials said the jolt had no effect on the equipment and that the satellite reached its orbit without a hitch.
“Lightning is no obstacle for you,” Dmitry Rogozin, head of Russia’s Roscosmos space agency, tweeted as he congratulated the scientists and crew on a successful launch.
“We’re all-weather forces,” Major General Nikolai Nestechuk, head of the Plesetsk Cosmodrome where the launch took place, was quoted as saying by the state-run TASS news agency.
A Message from The Moscow Times:
Dear readers,
We are facing unprecedented challenges. Russia's Prosecutor General's Office has designated The Moscow Times as an "undesirable" organization, criminalizing our work and putting our staff at risk of prosecution. This follows our earlier unjust labeling as a "foreign agent."
These actions are direct attempts to silence independent journalism in Russia. The authorities claim our work "discredits the decisions of the Russian leadership." We see things differently: we strive to provide accurate, unbiased reporting on Russia.
We, the journalists of The Moscow Times, refuse to be silenced. But to continue our work, we need your help.
Your support, no matter how small, makes a world of difference. If you can, please support us monthly starting from just $2. It's quick to set up, and every contribution makes a significant impact.
By supporting The Moscow Times, you're defending open, independent journalism in the face of repression. Thank you for standing with us.
Remind me later.
![](["https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/7fObWpt8hD0\/maxresdefault.jpg","https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/7fObWpt8hD0\/hqdefault.jpg","https:\/\/img.youtube.com\/vi\/7fObWpt8hD0\/default.jpg","https:\/\/static.themoscowtimes.com\/img\/article_video.jpg"])
