Amos (satellite)

Amos is a series of Israeli communications satellites operated by Israel-based Spacecom. All Amos satellites were developed by Israel Aerospace Industries using the AMOS bus platform, except for Amos-5 which was developed by JSC Reshetnev using the Ekspress bus platform, and Amos 17 which was developed by Boeing on its 702 platform.

Not to be confused with AMOS (satellite bus).

Amos
Model of Israeli Amos-5 satellite during "Semana de Espacio", in IFEMA, Madrid.
ManufacturerIsrael Aerospace Industries, JSC Reshetnev (for Amos-5)
Country of origin Israel
OperatorSpacecom
ApplicationsCommunications
Specifications
BusAMOS bus, Ekspress bus (for Amos-5), Boeing 702 bus (for Amos-17)
RegimeGeosynchronous
Production
StatusActive
Built7 known
Launched5
Operational3
Failed1
Lost1
Maiden launchAmos-1, 16 May 1996
Last launchAmos-17, 6 August 2019

The six Amos satellites used five different launch vehicles: Soyuz, Zenit, Proton, Ariane and Falcon 9; and three different launch sites: Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan, Guiana Space Centre and Cape Canaveral in Florida.

Satellites
  • Amos-1 was the first Israeli communications satellite. Its development was based on experience from Ofeq reconnaissance satellites in association with DASA and Alcatel Alenia Space. It was launched on May 16, 1996, from European Space Centre in French Guiana. It was in use for home TV services (DTH/DBS by the Yes company in Israel and by HBO and others in Europe). Space Communications LTD quickly succeeded in filling all transmission capacity of Amos-1 and accumulated additional requests. Therefore, it decided to broaden its activity and initiated Amos-2 creation which is operational today (see below). In 2009, Amos-1 was sold to Intelsat, and became Intelsat 24.[1]
  • Amos-2 was launched on December 28, 2003, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan and it serves clients in three service regions: Middle East (including Israel), Europe and the east coast of United States. Transmission and communication services provided by this satellite include: direct distribution of TV and radio translations; TV and radio translations to communication centers; distribution of internet services, data transmissions to communication networks. Amos-1 and Amos-2 were placed in proximity to create a common location, which enables satellite users to increase user abilities without additional antennas. After Amos-3 replaced Amos-1, Amos-2 and Amos-3 are placed in proximity.
  • Amos-3 was launched on April 28, 2008.[2] It achieved the planned orbit successfully. The $170 million satellite is designed to offer increased capacity, expanded coverage and improved links between the Mideast and Europe and the eastern U.S. It is to remain in space 18 years. Amos-3 replaced the Amos-1 satellite. The satellite is located at 4°W on the equator, the same as Amos-2 satellite.
  • Amos-4 is a larger platform (3.5 tons) than previous Amos generations and was launched on August 31, 2013, from Baikonur, Kazakhstan.[3] It is placed in geosynchronous orbit at 65° East longitude. It offers coverage across Southeast Asia along with high power coverage beams offering communication links from East Asia to the Middle East.[4]
  • Amos-5 was launched on December 11, 2011[5] and provided coverage over the continent of Africa, as well as Europe and the Middle East. The satellite was located at 17° East longitude. Unlike previous AMOS satellites, it was developed by the Russian company Reshetnev rather than IAI. Contact with the satellite was lost on 21 November 2015.
  • Amos-6 was expected to be launched by mid-2016 to replace Amos-2.[6] The 5.3 ton satellite was built by Israel Aerospace Industries. It was destroyed on the pad on September 1, 2016, by an explosion at Cape Canaveral Air Force Station Space Launch Complex 40.[7]
  • Amos-7 (AsiaSat 8) was launched on 5 August 2014 by SpaceX.
  • Amos-8 was commissioned by the Government of Israel in September 2018.[8]
  • Amos-17 launched on August 6, 2019, and is a Boeing type 702MP satellite transmitting in the Ka, Ku, and C bands. It is a replacement for Amos-5 and provides coverage over the continent of Africa, as well as Europe and the Middle East. The satellite is located at 17° East longitude.[9][10][11]

References
  1. Krebs, Gunter. "AMOS 1 → Intelsat 24". Gunter's Space Page. Retrieved May 9, 2010.
  2. Azoulay, Yuval (April 27, 2008). "After delay, Amos 3 satellite to launch into orbit on Monday". Haaretz. Archived from the original on May 2, 2008. Retrieved April 28, 2008.
  3. "Amos 4 satellite launched into space". Ynet. August 31, 2013. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  4. "Satellite Coverage Maps | AMOS-4 | 65°E". Spacecom. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  5. Magnezi, Aviel (December 11, 2011). "Amos 5 satellite launched into space". Ynet. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  6. O'Sullivan, Arieh (July 9, 2012). "Israel's domestic satellite industry saved". The Jerusalem Post. Archived from the original on August 22, 2012. Retrieved July 9, 2012.
  7. Malik, Tariq (September 1, 2016). "Launchpad Explosion Destroys SpaceX Falcon 9 Rocket, Satellite in Florida". Space.com. Retrieved September 1, 2016.
  8. Lappin, Yaakov (September 6, 2018). "Israel orders Amos 8 satellite". Jane's Information Group. Retrieved August 3, 2019. The Israeli government announced on 3 September that it has commissioned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) to build the Amos 8 communications satellite, two years after the Amos 6 satellite was destroyed during a SpaceX rocket malfunction.
  9. Henry, Caleb (October 18, 2017). "Spacecom returns to SpaceX for one, possibly two launches". SpaceNews. Retrieved August 3, 2019.
  10. "AMOS-17 MISSION" (PDF). spacex.com. August 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.
  11. "AMOS-17 MISSION". youtube.com. SpaceX. August 6, 2019. Retrieved August 6, 2019.

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