Ukrainian carrier Antonov Airlines has delivered Intelsat commercial satellite to Cape Canaveral on one of its AN-124-100M aircraft. It flew the components from Moffet Federal Airfield in California, to NASA’s Shuttle Landing Facility in Titusville, Florida, USA, for a launch by the US aerospace company SpaceX.
The 55,000kg cargo consisted of eight pieces, including the satellite and its payload, the AN-124-100 being the only aircraft available able to handle the pieces – which it can do without special ground support equipment to load and unload the cargo.
Despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, Antonov’s fleet of five AN-124-100 aircraft continue to fly worldwide from a temporary base in Leipzig, Germany.