A heavy-lift An-124 cargo transport delivered the Skynet 5A military telecommunications satellite to French Guiana this week for Arianespace's initial Ariane 5 flight of 2007.
Skynet 5A is the first in a series of next-generation secure satellites that will provide communications services for the British armed forces, NATO and a number of other countries. It will be operated for the U.K. Ministry of Defence by Paradigm Secure Communications, a commercial organization.
The Skynet 5A platform is to be launched on a dual-payload Ariane 5 mission along with India's INSAT 4B telecommunications satellite.
