Moscow, Dec 20 (Xinhua) A German military spy satellite has been launched from the Plesetsk space centre in northern Russia.

A Russian Cosmos 3M booster has successfully put Germany's SAR-Lupe satellite into orbit, Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesperson for Russia's Space Forces, was quoted as saying by the Ria Novosti news agency Tuesday.

"This is the first time Russia is launching a German military spacecraft," he said.

The German satellite system is designed to provide high-resolution radar images to NATO military commanders in Europe.

Under a contract signed in 2003, Russia would launch five SAR-Lupe satellites by 2009.