Volga-Dnepr Airlines delivered the Russian telecommunications satellites Express AM7 and Express AM8 to the Baikonur Cosmodrome launch site in Kazakhstan. The AM7 satellite has been successfully launched today, on March 19, and the AM8 satellite is scheduled for launch on April 6. Flights carrying the satellites operated from Toulouse in France and from the Russian city of Krasnoyarsk using a special shipping container to safely transport the cargoes onboard Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ An-124-100 freighter. To keep the delicate and highly-precise equipment safe, Volga-Dnepr’s experts ensured the cargo hold was maintained at very specific pressure and temperature levels throughout the flights, and the flight also operated at a lower altitude of 32,000 feet. Special loading equipment developed by the airline was also used to ensure safe loading and offloading. The Express AM7 and AM8 satellites have been manufactured on behalf of the Russian Satellite Communications Company. Express AM7 was made in France by Airbus DS, while the AM8 satellite was built by the Reshetnev Company in Russia, a leading manufacturer of information satellite systems. The telecommunications satellites will provide high quality landline and mobile telephone services and also support digital video and radio broadcasting, high-speed Internet access (HSIA) and data transmission. In 2014, aerospace cargoes represented 42% of Volga-Dnepr Airlines’ charter business, growing by 50% year-on-year. Volga-Dnepr delivers one in three of all satellites in the world. In 2015 to date, the airline has operated seven flights delivering space equipment.