Polet has again been busy in the space business. The Breeze M upper stage that is to be used for the next ILS Proton launch arrived at Baikonour, Yubileiny Airport on Sunday on one of their Antonov An-124 aircraft
The upper stage and the Proton M first stage will next be checked out by a team from Khrunichev State Research and Production Space Center.  The completed launch vehicle is being prepared for the September launch of Telesat’s Nimiq 4 satellite.
Lockheed's efforts to bring the C-5 strategic airlifter up to current standards and to improve the reliability of the earlier versions is making progress as reported yesterday from Marietta. The C-5 always struggled with reliability as it was never properly funded for maintainability and reliability as the US procurement system allocated funding to newer, sexier projects. Assuming that all goes well with the testing then this latest effort to recover the situation should give the previously struggling workhorse several decades more useful service.
Lockheed C-5M
MARIETTA, Ga., August 18th, 2008 –The Lockheed Martin [NYSE: LMT] C-5 Reliability Enhancement and Re-engining Program (RERP) flight test team has successfully completed developmental testing of all three C-5 RERP test aircraft. The testing included verification of performance and reliability enhancements to the propulsion system, utilities and subsystems, flight controls, airframe and avionics systems.
Now that RERP developmental flight test is complete, preparations get underway to deliver the three test aircraft to the Air Force in support of Operational Test and Evaluation, scheduled to begin in the third quarter of 2009.
The C-5M Super Galaxy is the result of a two-phase modernization effort. The first and ongoing phase is the Avionics Modernization Program (AMP), which provides a state-of-the art glass cockpit and a digital backbone to support the RERP modifications. Forty-three C-5 aircraft have completed the AMP modifications. The aircraft, already returned to the fleet, have logged more than 38,000 hours of operational use.
Meanwhile the Antonov An-124 continues to operate both for the US military and for European nations in order to fill the gap in airlift capacity.
Cougar 4x4s for conversion to Ridgback
A Polet Antonov An-124-100 carried the first customised Cougar 4×4 armoured vehicles into RAF Brize Norton this week, a month ahead of schedule. The UK MOD will now begin the task of readying them for service with the British Army.
This consignment of 5 Cougars is only the first of an order for 157 placed by the UK MOD as part of it's programme to improve the protection of its infantry when on patrol in Afghanistan.
Supplied by the American company Force Protection Inc., the Cougars will be further hardened, armed and have additional electronic and communications equipment fitted and will emerge as the Ridgback protected vehicle ready for use with it's bigger brother the Mastiff which has already entered service.
Easy ramp offload
Although deployment of military vehicles by air into trouble spots is commonplace when the cost is justified by the urgency, use of An-124-100 to transport vehicles during the manufacture and preparation phase is unusual. The expenditure in this case illustrates the urgency of the need to improve force protection of British forces as quickly as possible.
As reported earlier the ESA GOCE satellite left Amsterdam as scheduled on 29 July on board an Antonov-124 cargo aircraft for its flight to the Arkhangelsk Airport in Russia, en route to Russias Plesetsk Cosmodrome, about 800 km north of Moscow.
The spacecraft began it's journey on 23 July when it was packed in a nitrogen-pressurised container inside the clean room at ESAs European Space Research and Technology Centre (ESTEC) in Noordwijk, the Netherlands.
The container then travelled by truck on 29 July to Schiphol Airport in Amsterdam, where it was loaded into the Antonov aircraft together with 11 other containers carrying vital support gear, including electrical and mechanical ground support equipment.
Five Thales Alenia Space (Italy) GOCE Launch Campaign and four ESA team members travelled with the containers to monitor the spacecraft in the An-124 cargo bay.
The flight was scheduled to land in Arkhangelsk on the Tuesday evening and undergo custom clearance overnight. Once cleared, the Spacecraft Transport Container and the other containers were transported by trucks to the local train station where they were loaded onto dedicated train wagons.
From Arkhangelsk, the containers travelled by special train with their own escort personnel for the 200-km journey south to Plesetsk Cosmodrome, where they arrived on 31 July.
Non-urgent equipment had already been shipped earlier by sea to Arkhangelsk and after custom clearance, the cargo was transferred by special train to Plesetsk on 4 August.
The GOCE spacecraft is scheduled for launch on 10 September 2008. After launch the supporting ground equipment will be returned to the Netherlands using another Antonov An-124 cargo charter flight for the air sector.
Looks like this could be the video to go with the rehearsal photo of the Russian An-124 from a few days ago. A bit repetitious and too many small airplanes for my liking – but never mind.
Fastest Biggest And Tallest – Click here for more home videos
The Gumball Rally, an annual repeat customer for the An-124 to move it's competitors cars between continents, is now in its 10th year, and lining up again to raise the stress levels of every police officer on it's route, same as usual.
Starting the US leg in San Francisco at 10am on Saturday the rally will be stopping off in Hollywood for an invitation only VIP party in Hollywood that evening.
With an entry fee of US$120,000 and the need to supply your own, usually rather expensive, motor this is no game for anyone who has to ask how much it costs.
Next day it's off to San Diego and Vegas, not forgetting to take your hangover with you, oh, and stay within the speed limit, right?
From Vegas it's onto one of the three An-124s, all equipped with specially designed double deck car transport systems, being used to fly the entire complement of competitors to Nanjing, China before they end up in Beijing for the Olympics via a quick night stop in North Korea.
The Gumball has often created news for not necessarily the best reasons. Let's wish them well this year and hope that they can enjoy themselves without damaging the countryside too much along the way.
Photos of 2007 Gumball 3000 Rally in London courtesy of John Griffiths via Flickr
