According to Antonov, it has made three shipments in recent months for the supply of satellite components.
Among these special transports, one of the An-124-100 “Ruslan”, the second largest model in the world in cargo capacity, carried out a transfer from Toulouse, France, of the new Turkish telecommunications satellite Turksat 5B developed by Airbus, for the launch on the rocket of the American aerospace company SpaceX, carried out at the end of December. This transportation was carried out in collaboration with the Bollore Logistic Space Department of Toulouse.
The Ruslan, says Antonov, is the only aircraft capable of transporting the large containers developed by Airbus Defense and Space specifically for large contents such as this one (excluding the An-225, the world’s largest aircraft, also owned by the Ukrainian company).
The total cargo weight was 60 tons, so it was within the weight capacities of other commercial freighter models, however, its dimensions were: length – 14.69 meters, width – 5.45 meters, and height – 5.36 meters.
This means that they were close to the dimensions of the An-124’s cargo compartment and, therefore, above the dimensional capabilities of other units.
Sergey Bilozerov, an expert from the commercial department of Antonov Airlines, said that an external crane was used for loading and unloading the enormous container, along with the aircraft’s own onboard crane, as well as other special equipment designed and manufactured by Antonov engineers.
Based on what was reported by our associated media Aeroin, the SpaceX launched last December 18 the Turksat 5B to Turkey from Cape Canaveral, Florida, where one of the U.S. launch centers is located.
This satellite is the most powerful satellite of that country and can provide reliable broadband communication not only to Turkey but also to neighboring countries for 35 years.
General characteristics of the Antonov An-124:
It is 69.1 meters long, 73.3 meters wingspan, and 21.1 meters high. Its empty weight is 181 tons, its gross weight (with maximum fuel) is 214 tons and its maximum take-off weight is 402 tons (some specifications described may vary depending on the version of the aircraft).
