AMOS-4 is an

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

i commercial

communications 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 ...

, operated by Spacecom Satellite Communications,

Tel Aviv Tel Aviv-Yafo ( he, תֵּל־אָבִיב-יָפוֹ, translit=Tēl-ʾĀvīv-Yāfō ; ar, تَلّ أَبِيب – يَافَا, translit=Tall ʾAbīb-Yāfā, links=no), often referred to as just Tel Aviv, is the most populous city in the ...

-based, part of the AMOS series of satellites.

History

Spacecom, the AMOS satellites operator, announced in 2007 that it has signed an agreement to build and launch AMOS-4, with

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...

. IAI constructed the satellite for approximately US$365 million. Spacecom paid US$100 million for AMOS-4. The Israeli government paid Spacecom US$265 million generated from a pre-launch deal to supply it with services on AMOS-4 over the satellite's full 12 year life span. AMOS-4 was originally considered as a candidate for launch on a SpaceX Falcon-9

launch vehicle A launch vehicle or carrier rocket is a rocket designed to carry a payload ( spacecraft or satellites) from the Earth's surface to outer space. Most launch vehicles operate from a launch pads, supported by a launch control center and ...

. The satellite was later assigned to a

Zenit-3SLB The Zenit 3SLB or Zenit-3M is a Ukrainian expendable carrier rocket derived from the Zenit-2SB. It is a member of the Zenit family of rockets, which were designed by the Yuzhnoye Design Office. Produced at Yuzhmash, the rocket is a modified ve ...

launch vehicle and was finally launched in August 2013.

Launch

It lifted off on 31 August 2013, 20:05:00 UTC from Baikonur Cosmodrome,

Kazakhstan Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a transcontinental country located mainly in Central Asia and partly in Eastern Europe. It borders Russia to the north and west, China to the east, Kyrgyzstan to the southeast, Uzbeki ...

. The geostationary satellite provides

direct-to-home Satellite television is a service that delivers television programming to viewers by relaying it from a communications satellite orbiting the Earth directly to the viewer's location. The signals are received via an outdoor parabolic antenna commo ...

television broadcasting, multimedia, broadband Internet and mobile communications services for 12 years, to communication centers, distribution of internet services and data transmissions to communications networks. AMOS-4 extends Spacecom's coverage footprint to Russia and

Asia Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an are ...

, along with improving service in the

Middle East The Middle East ( ar, الشرق الأوسط, ISO 233: ) is a geopolitical region commonly encompassing Arabia (including the Arabian Peninsula and Bahrain), Asia Minor (Asian part of Turkey except Hatay Province), East Thrace (Europ ...

and Europe with

Ku-band The Ku band () is the portion of the electromagnetic spectrum in the microwave range of frequencies from 12 to 18 gigahertz (GHz). The symbol is short for "K-under" (originally german: Kurz-unten), because it is the lower part of the ori ...

and

Ka-band The Ka band (pronounced as either "kay-ay band" or "ka band") is a portion of the microwave part of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as frequencies in the range 26.5–40 gigahertz (GHz), i.e. wavelengths from slightly over one centime ...

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 tran ...

. The satellite is positioned in geostationary orbit 35,888 km over the equator at 65° East

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 lette ...

Mission

AMOS-4 was initially operated from 67.25° East longitude for in-orbit testing. The satellite is positioned at 65° East

in geostationary orbit.

References

External links

AMOS-4
{{Orbital launches in 2013 Satellite television AMOS-4 Communications satellites of Israel Communications satellites in geostationary orbit Spacecraft launched in 2013 Spacecraft launched by Zenit and Energia rockets 2013 in Israel

History

Launch

Mission

See also

References

External links