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Polet Cargo Airlines the Russian operator
of the Antonov An-124-100 seen here loading ‘SMART-1’
Europe’s first mission to the moon satellite.
The delivery of the satellite ‘SMART-1’ and
additional equipment to the Europe’s spaceport in
Kourou, French Guiana. The prime contractor was the Swedish
Space Corporation which was transported from ESTEC to Schiphol
Airport, Where Polet’s experienced technical load
master and crew loaded the 6.5 tons Satellite and additional
equipment ready to transport it. The 40-ton payload was
loaded without any problems for Polet, and Mr. Peter Voorzaat
‘Head of Transport and Customs Office for ESA’
said, “ We are very impressed with how smooth the
operation went, and know we are in safe hand with Polet”.
The event was seen as an historic moment in ESA and all
parties involved played an important role in Europe's first
lunar adventure.
A spokesman for Polet said “we are celebrating 15
years of excellence in August and this is a great honor
for Polet to be apart of ESA first mission to the moon.”
The Satellite is scheduled for launched on September 29th.
The 'SMART-1' is Europe’s first mission to the moon
and a prototype for space missions of the future. It is
a small, low-cost mission that emphasises miniaturisation.
It carries ten experiments that will test a host of technological
innovations in the context of the first European scientific
mission to the Moon.
SMART-1 is the first in a series of 'Small Missions for
Advanced Research in Technology'. The program is dedicated
to finding new solutions that can bring down the cost of
space missions and allow more space science to be done for
the money. SMART-1 is a precursor of a new philosophy, based
on developing lightweight technologies for spacecraft. Accordingly
the benefits are not only for space science but the mission
technology is also aimed to help maintain the European space
industry at the forefront of commercial competitiveness
and technological know-how.
The centrepiece of the SMART-1 mission is the testing of
solar electric propulsion (SEP), commonly referred to as
an ion engine. This is a key technology that will make possible
future missions such as BepiColombo to Mercury and the Solar
Orbiter. However the use will not just be limited to science;
the telecommunications industry is very interested also.
The technology preparation for SMART-1 will be presented
at the event. At the same time, SMART-1 is far more than
just a technology demonstrator. Although astronauts walked
on the Moon long ago, there are many science problems that
can only be tackled by global surveying of the kind SMART-1
will do. Its new science instruments will address some of
the most perplexing lunar mysteries, including the formation
of the Moon, the search for water ice, and the analysis
of the lunar crust's mineral composition.
Polet has built up many years of experience in transporting
aerospace equipment to space launch sites around the world
Polet Cargo Airlines continues to promote the unique capabilities
of its Antonov AN-124-100 freighter aircraft in the outsize
air cargo transportation marketplace. Its fleet of seven
Antonov AN-124-100 aircraft, with an eighth due to be ready
for action early 2004, makes it a heavyweight champion in
the transportation of super-heavy and outsize air cargo.
Date:- August 2003
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