AMOS-2 is an Israeli commercial second generation

communication satellite A communications satellite is an artificial satellite that relays and amplifies radio telecommunication signals via a transponder; it creates a communication channel between a source transmitter and a receiver at different locations on Earth. ...

, part of the AMOS series of satellites. The satellite was positioned at 4° West

longitude Longitude (, ) is a geographic coordinate that specifies the east- west position of a point on the surface of the Earth, or another celestial body. It is an angular measurement, usually expressed in degrees and denoted by the Greek lett ...

in the

geostationary orbit A geostationary orbit, also referred to as a geosynchronous equatorial orbit''Geostationary orbit'' and ''Geosynchronous (equatorial) orbit'' are used somewhat interchangeably in sources. (GEO), is a circular orbit, circular geosynchronous or ...

. Transmission and

communication Communication is commonly defined as the transmission of information. Its precise definition is disputed and there are disagreements about whether Intention, unintentional or failed transmissions are included and whether communication not onl ...

services given by this

satellite A satellite or an artificial satellite is an object, typically a spacecraft, placed into orbit around a celestial body. They have a variety of uses, including communication relay, weather forecasting, navigation ( GPS), broadcasting, scient ...

include: direct distribution of

television Television (TV) is a telecommunication medium for transmitting moving images and sound. Additionally, the term can refer to a physical television set rather than the medium of transmission. Television is a mass medium for advertising, ...

and

radio Radio is the technology of communicating using radio waves. Radio waves are electromagnetic waves of frequency between 3 hertz (Hz) and 300 gigahertz (GHz). They are generated by an electronic device called a transmitter connec ...

translations to communication centers, distribution of internet services, data transmissions to communication networks. The new satellite, like its predecessor, will be positioned 36,000 kilometers above the

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to Planetary habitability, harbor life. This is enabled by Earth being an ocean world, the only one in the Solar System sustaining liquid surface water. Almost all ...

, and it will lie close to AMOS-1, so that the two can share a single space antenna.

Satellite description

AMOS-2 carries 28 Ku-band

transponders In telecommunications, a transponder is a device that, upon receiving a signal, emits a different signal in response. The term is a blend of ''transmitter'' and ''responder''. In air navigation or radio frequency identification, a flight trans ...

; twenty-two active with six as backups. With a mass of 1370 kg at launch, AMOS-2 incorporated a 400

newtons The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). Expressed in terms of SI base units, it is 1 kg⋅m/s2, the force that accelerates a mass of one kilogram at one metre per second squared. The unit i ...

liquid apogee boost motor and fourteen 10 newtons reaction control thrusters for raising the satellite's orbit from

geostationary transfer orbit In space mission design, a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) or geosynchronous transfer orbit is a highly elliptical type of geocentric orbit, usually with a perigee as low as low Earth orbit (LEO) and an apogee as high as geostationary orbit ...

(GTO) to its final geostationary orbit as well as for its

attitude control Spacecraft attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of a spacecraft (vehicle or satellite) with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, ...

. It carried 450 kg of propellant (

Monomethylhydrazine Monomethylhydrazine (MMH) is a highly toxic, volatile hydrazine derivative with the chemical formula . It is used as a rocket propellant in bipropellant rocket engines because it is hypergolic with various oxidizers such as nitrogen tetroxide () ...

and MON-1). AMOS-2 measures 11.03 m in length in its final in-orbit configuration. It is 3-axis body stabilised using

Sun The Sun is the star at the centre of the Solar System. It is a massive, nearly perfect sphere of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core, radiating the energy from its surface mainly as visible light a ...

and

sensor A sensor is often defined as a device that receives and responds to a signal or stimulus. The stimulus is the quantity, property, or condition that is sensed and converted into electrical signal. In the broadest definition, a sensor is a devi ...

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (: momenta or momentums; more specifically linear momentum or translational momentum) is the product of the mass and velocity of an object. It is a vector quantity, possessing a magnitude and a direction. ...

and

reaction wheel A reaction wheel (RW) is an electric motor attached to a flywheel, which, when its rotation speed is changed, causes a counter-rotation proportionately through conservation of angular momentum. A reaction wheel can rotate only around its center ...

s. Its solar array generates 1900

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of Power (physics), power or radiant flux in the International System of Units (SI), equal to 1 joule per second or 1 kg⋅m2⋅s−3. It is used to quantification (science), quantify the rate of Work ...

s power, backed up by 24 A·h nickel–cadmium batteries.

Launch

Launch was originally planned on an Ariane but it could not wait until a launch orbital position was available. France sold the launch orbital position to another customer, due to what it claimed were delays in the satellite's production. After IAI threatened a lawsuit,

Arianespace Arianespace SA is a French company founded in March 1980 as the world's first commercial launch service provider. It operates two launch vehicles: Vega C, a Small-lift launch vehicle, small-lift rocket, and Ariane 6, a Medium-lift launch vehicl ...

arranged the alternative launch on the Soyuz-FG Fregat, which is made by a company jointly owned by Arianespace. It was therefore transferred on

Soyuz-Fregat Soyuz (, GRAU index: 11A511) is a family of Soviet and later Russian expendable medium-lift launch vehicles initially developed by the OKB-1 design bureau and manufactured by the Progress Rocket Space Centre factory in Samara, Russia. It hold ...

. AMOS-2 was launched on 27 December 2003, at 21:30:00

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

from

Baikonur Cosmodrome The Baikonur Cosmodrome is a spaceport operated by Russia within Kazakhstan. Located in the Kazakh city of Baikonur, it is the largest operational space launch facility in terms of area. All Russian Human spaceflight, crewed spaceflights are l ...

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a European Kazakhstan, small portion in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the Kazakhstan–Russia border, north and west, China to th ...

and it serves clients in three service regions:

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

(including Israel), Europe and eastern coast of United States. After its launch into

(GTO) by

Soyuz-FG The Soyuz-FG was an improved variant of the Soyuz-U launch vehicle from the R-7 (rocket family), R-7 rocket family, developed by the Progress Rocket Space Centre in Samara, Russia. It featured upgraded first and second stage engines, RD-107A and ...

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

, AMOS-2 was taken to its final geostationary orbit by firing the apogee boost motor in phases. After it reached the geostationary orbit, its antenna and

solar panels A solar panel is a device that converts sunlight into electricity by using photovoltaic (PV) cells. PV cells are made of materials that produce excited electrons when exposed to light. These electrons flow through a circuit and produce direct ...

were deployed and the satellite was finally placed in its allocated orbital position of 4° West longitude. AMOS-2 and AMOS-3 are placed in proximity to create common location, which enables to satellite users to increase user abilities without additional antennas.

Mission

In April 2017, Amos Spacecom announced that AMOS-2 has reached the end of its commercial life, and is being cleared from the geostationary orbit to the

graveyard orbit A graveyard orbit, also called a junk orbit or disposal orbit, is an Orbit (physics), orbit that lies away from common operational orbits. One significant graveyard orbit is a supersynchronous orbit well beyond geosynchronous orbit. Some satellit ...

References

External links

AMOS by Spacecom

International Media Switzerland
Official provider's site
AMOS-2 digital platform on RRsat
{{Orbital launches in 2003 Satellite television Satellites using the AMOS bus Communications satellites of Israel Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 2003 2003 in Israel Spacecraft launched by Soyuz-FG rockets Derelict satellites orbiting Earth

Satellite description

Launch

Mission

See also

References

External links