Thales Successfully Launches Amos 4 Satellite

The Amos 4 telecommunications satellite, featuring radio frequency (RF) equipment built by Thales Alenia Space under contract to Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI), was successfully launched today.  

The Payload performance still to be verified during the Payload In-Orbit-Test (IOT) which is planned to start at mid-September 2013. 

IAI built the Amos-4 satellite for Spacecom Ltd, the Israeli satellite services operator. 

Amos-4 will increase the operator's Ku- and Ka-band capacity, enabling it to expand its top-quality communications and broadcasting services in Israel and international markets. 

The satellite weighed about 3 metric tons at launch, and offers payload power of more than 4 kW. Amos-4 will be placed into a geostationary orbit, in a different orbital position than its predecessors, the Amos-1, 2 and 3 satellites. These three satellites are positioned in geostationary orbit at 4° West, allowing Spacecom Ltd. to provide communications services for the Middle East, Central Europe and the United States. 

Amos-4 will be positioned in 65° East, allowing Spacecom to provide services to a much wider range of customers, with higher quality, while expanding its footprint to include Asia.

Following Amos-1, Amos-2 and Amos-3, today's launch of Amos 4 reflects the long-standing cooperation between IAI and Thales Alenia Space, as well as the latter's leading role in the satellite telecommunications market.