AMOS 4

AMOS 4 [IAI]

Spacecom, the AMOS satellites operator, announced in 2007 that it has signed an agreement to build and launch AMOS-4, the newest addition to the AMOS constellation, with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). IAI will construct the satellite for approximately US $365 million. AMOS-4 is scheduled to be launched in 2012 with a 12-year lifespan.

Spacecom will pay US $100 million for AMOS-4, with a US $22.5 million first payment scheduled for January 2010 and a $6.25 million final payment upon the satellite's delivery. The Israeli government will pay Spacecom US $265 million generated from a pre-launch deal to supply it with services on AMOS-4 over the satellite's full life span.

The satellite's weight at launch will be approximately 3.4 tons. AMOS 4 will carry a large number of transponders in high power Ka and Ku bands. AMOS-4, located around the 64ºE to 76ºE orbital slot, broadens the range of markets Spacecom can reach and the number of potential clients the company can serve. Spacecom's current constellation includes AMOS 1 and AMOS 2 operating at 4ºW, an orbital position it will share with AMOS 3 when the satellite launches in early 2008. When AMOS-4 comes online, Spacecom will reach close to 80 percent of the world's population.

After pre-sold capacity to the Israeli government is utilized, AMOS-4 will have available eight Ku-band transponders of 108 MHz and four high power Ka-band transponders of 218 MHz with steerable beams.

AMOS-4 was originally considered a candidate for Spacecom's yet unassigned launch contract on a SpaceX Falcon-9 launch vehicle. The satellite was then assigned to a Zenit-3SLB rocket and launched in May 2011.