5月31日，俄罗斯“联盟”号运载火箭从哈萨克斯坦境内的拜科努尔发射场升空，成功将俄“光子-M-2”科研卫星送入预定轨道。外电报道如下：A Russian rocket carrying a satellite laboratory blasted off from Kazakhstan's Baikonur cosmodrome Tuesday on a 16-day mission.

Russia's Federal Space Agency said the Soyuz-U rocket was launched at 8 a.m. EDT and entered orbit 10 minutes later.

The European Space Agency said the Foton-M2 research satellite carries some 850 pounds of equipment to conduct more than 20 chemical, physical and biotechnological experiments.

Newts, scorpions¹, geckos and snails² are among the animals onboard the craft for the experiments, which will be monitored from an ESA station in Sweden.

Cosmodrome表示“人造卫星发射基地，航天站”，有时特指“苏联航天中心，苏联宇宙飞船发射场”。

据悉，“光子-M-2”科研卫星携带了蝾螈、蝎子、壁虎和蜗牛等实验动物，将完成16天的太空科研任务。