October 3 - Three satellites were carried on board three Volga-Dnepr Airlines' IL-76TD-90VD freighter flights between Germany and Russia, for aerospace firm Astrium GmbH.
The Swarm satellites, each weighing 60 tonnes, were loaded on board the Volga-Dnepr freighters in Munich, Germany and flown to Plesetsk Cosmodrome in Russia via an intermediate stop in Archangelsk, over the course of five days.
To eliminate the risk of damaging the sensitive satellites or the aircraft, guide rails were used to load and unload the cargoes. Representatives from Astrium GmbH were on hand throughout the project to monitor the satellites, including the special temperature conditions that needed to be maintained inside the IL-76TD-90VD's cargo hold
The Swarm satellites were successfully unloaded at Plesetsk airfield and trucked to Plesetsk Cosmodrome, located 800 km north of Moscow.
