Antonov Airlines has successfully transported Maxar’s Intelsat 40e satellite from Palo Alto, California to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The AN-124 Ruslan aircraft was used to deliver the satellite.
Flexible Telecommunications Connectivity
The Intelsat 40e satellite, equipped with the Tropospheric Emissions: Monitoring of Pollution (TEMPO) instrument, is set to be launched into orbit by Elon Musk’s SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in April. The satellite will perform two main functions. Firstly, it will provide flexible telecommunications connectivity in North and Central America. This will help address the growing demand for solving problems with internet connectivity, especially for commercial and private aircraft.
Improved Air Quality Forecasts
Secondly, the TEMPO spectrometer, which operates in the ultraviolet spectrum, will detect pollutants across North America. The data collected from the instrument will be used to improve air quality forecasts. This will help in monitoring and addressing the growing concern over air pollution in the region.
So, the successful transportation of Intelsat 40e satellite will improve connectivity and air quality, addressing growing concerns in these areas.
Earlier, the Ukrainian An-124 had delivered the Juice interplanetary research station from Toulouse to the spaceport in French Guiana. The Jupiter Icy Moons Explorer, or Juice for short, arrived at Cayenne’s Felix Eboue Airport on February 8 on a special Antonov Airlines AN-124 cargo flight from Toulouse. Airbus, the main contractor, had spent nearly a decade designing, testing, and constructing the space station.
The Juice mission’s objective is to study Jupiter’s large icy moons. The space station will undergo final testing and inspection by engineers from ESA and Airbus before being refueled and installed on an Ariane 5 launch vehicle. Upon arrival at Jupiter in 2031, Juice will conduct 35 flybys of the gas giant’s satellites to explore its main targets: Callisto, Europa, and Ganymede. The mission will end with an extended study of Ganymede.
