The Intelsat New Dawn satellite left Dulles Airport in Washington, D.C., at 9 pm EST on Monday, 28 February, aboard Antonov, the largest transport aircraft in the world. After a six-hour flight, the airplane arrived at Rochambeau airport in Cayenne, French Guiana at 5 am local time on Tuesday, 1 March.
After settling down in the tarmac, the Antonov dramatically flipped up its nose, revealing the shipping container with Intelsat New Dawn inside. A rail system slid the shipping container out of the Antonov and a specially-designed crane loaded it onto a flat bed truck. The loading went smoothly and the spacecraft was ready to be transported to the Guiana Space Center (CSG) around 9 am. Darkness and occasional heavy rain made taking photos and travel a real challenge. The journey of approximately 60 miles took about 2 hours.