KHALEEJ TIMES, Thursday, Dec 31, 2020 | Jamadi Al Awwal 16, 1442
Emirates SkyCargo transports Brazilian satellite to India
Emirates:
Emirates SkyCargo has successfully flown a Brazilian satellite in a
charter freighter from Sao Jose dos Campos (Brazil) to Chennai, the airline
said on Wednesday.
The satellite is to be launched into space from the Satish Dhawan Space Centre
in February next year, .
Emirates SkyCargo has expertise in transporting satellites and other cargos
developed for space technology, the airline said in a statement.
In 2018, it transported Khalifasat, the first satellite developed completely by
Emirati engineers at the Mohammed Bin Rashid Space Centre from Dubai to Seoul.
"SkyCargo, the freight division of Emirates airline, has successfully executed a
cargo charter to transport the Brazilian satellite Amazonia-1 from Brazil to
Chennai. This is the first time that Emirates SkyCargo has transported a space
satellite from South America," Emirates said.
The satellite was flown in a Boeing 777 freighter.
Amazonia-1 is the first satellite to have been developed completely in Brazil by
the National Institute for Space Research (INPE), Brazil''s apex body dedicated
for space research and exploration.
The satellite took eight years to be developed; and once launched into space, it
will help monitor the ecosystem of the Amazon rainforest, the world''s largest
tropical rainforest.
Emirates said its cargo division had to undertake extensive preparations for
this charter flight to ensure the safe and secure transport of the satellite.
During the transportation process, the satellite was dismantled into multiple
components to facilitate easy loading and unloading from the aircraft.
It added that the satellite was packed inside large containers to avoid any
damage during the transport. Overall, the total cargo weighed around 22 tonnes.
The air cargo carrier had to apply for special permission to operate a Boeing
777 freighter from Sao Jose dos Campos airport to uplift the satellite,
according to the statement.
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