The Il-76 jetliner is shown after its arrival at Félix Eboué Airport with O3b Networks' satellites for Arianespace’s next Soyuz mission.
Photo courtesy of Arianespace.

The spacecraft, built by Thales Alenia Space, arrived this morning (August 7th) aboard a chartered Ilyushin IL-76 cargo jetliner that landed at Félix Eboué Airport near the capital city of Cayenne, followed by their transfer via road to the Spaceport’s S5 payload preparation facility. The satellites will be readied for the upcoming Arianespace Soyuz launch, designated Flight VS06 in the company’s launcher family numbering system, which signifies the sixth liftoff of the medium-lift workhorse from French Guiana.

As preparations start with O3b Networks’ satellites, the launcher for Flight VS06 is taking shape across the Spaceport in the MIK launcher integration building, located within the Soyuz ELS launch site near the town of Sinnamary.

Flight VS06 will be the second Soyuz mission for O3b Networks, following Arianespace’s June 25 orbiting of the initial four satellites. It provided the first step in O3b Networks’ creation of a space-based constellation to deliver telecommunications and Internet services over Asia, Africa, South America, Australia and the Middle East – combining the global reach of satellite coverage with the speed of a fiber-optic network.