Antonov Airlines worked with Bollore Logistics Space to transport Turkey’s new telecoms satellite Turksat 5B from Toulouse to Florida in time for its launch by US aerospace company SpaceX.

The satellite cargo, weighing a total of 60 tonnes, included a special container designed by Airbus Defence and Space to fit in an Antonov AN-124-100 aircraft.

“The expertise of the Antonov Airlines technical crew and engineers guarantees the smooth and efficient transport of this delicate and unique cargo,” said Sergii Bilozerov, Commercial Executive, Antonov Airlines.

“An external crane in conjunction with the onboard crane and winch of the AN-124-100 was used to load and unload the container, as well as special loading equipment designed and manufactured by Antonov’s in-house engineers.”

SpaceX launched the Turksat 5B satellite on 18 December from Cape Canaveral, USA. It is considered to be the most powerful satellite in use in Turkey that will increase communications band capacity and will serve the country and its neighbours for 35 years.