Volga-Dnepr, Airbus Defence partnership delivers Sentinel-5P satellite

The partnership between Volga-Dnepr Airlines and Airbus Defence and Space cooperated on a special delivery for the European Space Agency, transporting a Sentinel-5P satellite from London Stansted Airport (STN) to Arkhangelsk, Russia, using an An-124-100 freighter before the satellite completed the last leg of its journey to Russia’s Plesetsk Cosmodrome spaceport by train.

The satellite made the journey to Russia in a special container weighting six tonnes. The loading process utilized the An-124-100F’s internal crane and required two nitrogen purge containters to keep the specialized container’s nitrogen levels full.

The Sentinal-5P satellite is designed to map the entire earth every day and deliver global maps of air pollutants including trace gases and aerosols. Volga-Dnepr said in a statement that satellite transports forward bookings extend through the rest of 2017 and 2018, indicating a healthy outlook for the specialized transportation market.

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