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Emirates SkyCargo transports Brazilian satellite to India

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Mumbai - The satellite is to be launched into space from Satish Dhawan Space Centre in February next year,

By PTI

Published: Thu 31 Dec 2020, 10:36 AM

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.