Volga-Dnepr Airlines, the leader in air transportation of outsized and super-heavy cargo, has delivered Luna-25 full-scale mockup from Moscow (Russia) to Blagoveshchensk (Russia) onboard its unique An-124-100 freighter plane.

A five-tonne full-scale overall assembly of Luna-25 spacecraft designed and manufactured by NPO Lavochkin, one of the leading aerospace companies, was transported to Ignatyevo airport for further trucking to the Vostochny Cosmodrome. The mockup is intended for complex tests of technical means and systems at the cosmodrome.

The Luna-25 space expedition is an important step in outer space exploration, which will allow the Russian space industry to rise to a qualitatively new level in lunar exploration. The scientists will get a different angle of view on the colonization prospects of the solar system planets; understand the mechanisms of their origin, the appearance of water and, consequently, life on Earth. Luna-25 spacecraft is created using solely Russian element base and the latest achievements in the field of space instrumentation. The main task of the mission is to test the basic technologies of a soft landing in the circumpolar region and conduct contact studies of the soil in the region of the South Pole of the Moon.

Ekaterina Andreeva, Commercial Director of Volga-Dnepr Airlines, highlights: ‘This year we celebrate the 25th anniversary of our effective cooperation with NPO Lavochkin. Since 1996 not only have we transported over 300 tonnes of dedicated aerospace equipment with them but have significantly expanded the scope of our services – from air freight to document processing, airport ground handling, dangerous goods declaration, trucking transportation and other components of smart logistics. We are proud to be part of such major aerospace projects which are still being implemented despite the current challenging situation and look forward to supporting our customers with complex logistics solutions’.

For more than 30 years Volga-Dnepr has been offering dedicated solutions for its aerospace customers. During this time its unique ramp freighters, An-124-100/150 and Il-76TD-90VD, managed to accomplish over 1,000 flights delivering almost 48,000 tonnes of satellite equipment, aeroplane parts, fuselages, engines, helicopters and other aerospace cargo.