AMOS-1, then INTELSAT 24, is a 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 Ear ...

which was operated by

Spacecom Spacecom, or Space Communication (), is an Israeli communications satellite operator in the Middle East, European Union and North America headquartered in the city of Ramat Gan, Israel. Spacecom operates two satellites at orbital position 4° ...

as AMOS-1, for ''Affordable Modular Optimized Satellite'' and formed part of the AMOS series of satellites. It was the first

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 civilian communications satellite, and was initially 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 let ...

in geostationary orbit. Then in September 2011, it was moved to 31° East.

Satellite description

Its development was based on experience from

Ofeq Ofeq, also spelled Offek or Ofek ( he, אופק, ''lit.'' Horizon) is the designation of a series of Israeli reconnaissance satellites first launched in 1988. Most Ofeq satellites have been carried on top of Shavit 2 launch vehicles from Palmac ...

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

s in association with

DASA ''Dasa'' ( sa, दास, Dāsa) is a Sanskrit word found in ancient Indian texts such as the '' Rigveda'' and '' Arthasastra''. It usually means "enemy" or "servant" but ''dasa'', or ''das'', also means a "servant of God", "devotee," " votary" or ...

and Alcatel Espace. It was used for home television services ( DTH/

DBS DBS may refer to: Music groups * The dB's, a power pop band of the '70s and '80s *d.b.s., a Canadian punk rock band from 1992 to 2001 * Death by Stereo, an American heavy metal/punk rock group from California Companies and organizations Schools ...

by " Yes" company in

and by HBO and others in Europe). Spacecom succeeded quickly to fill all transmission abilities of AMOS-1 and accumulated additional requests. Therefore, Spacecom decided to build AMOS-2, which replaced AMOS-1 on orbit at 4° West. AMOS-1 carries nine

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 ...

transponders. Weighing 970 kg at launch, AMOS-1 incorporated a 400

newtons The newton (symbol: N) is the unit of force in the International System of Units (SI). It is defined as 1 kg⋅m/s, the force which gives a mass of 1 kilogram an acceleration of 1 metre per second per second. It is named after Isaac Newton in ...

liquid apogee motor and fourteen reaction control thrusters, each delivering ten newtons of thrust for raising the satellite's orbit from

geostationary transfer orbit A geosynchronous transfer orbit or geostationary transfer orbit (GTO) is a type of geocentric orbit. Satellites that are destined for geosynchronous (GSO) or geostationary orbit (GEO) are (almost) always put into a GTO as an intermediate step f ...

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

attitude control Attitude control is the process of controlling the orientation of an aerospace vehicle with respect to an inertial frame of reference or another entity such as the celestial sphere, certain fields, and nearby objects, etc. Controlling vehicle ...

. It carried 450 kg of propellant (

Monomethylhydrazine Monomethylhydrazine (mono-methyl hydrazine, 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 a ...

and MON-3). AMOS-1 measures 10.55 m in length in its final in-orbit configuration. It is 3-axis body stabilised using

Sun The Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. It is a nearly perfect ball of hot plasma, heated to incandescence by nuclear fusion reactions in its core. The Sun radiates this energy mainly as light, ultraviolet, and infrared rad ...

and

Earth Earth is the third planet from the Sun and the only astronomical object known to harbor life. While large volumes of water can be found throughout the Solar System, only Earth sustains liquid surface water. About 71% of Earth's surf ...

sensors,

momentum In Newtonian mechanics, momentum (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. If is an object's mass ...

and

reaction wheel A reaction wheel (RW) is used primarily by spacecraft for three-axis attitude control, and does not require rockets or external applicators of torque. They provide a high pointing accuracy, and are particularly useful when the spacecraft must be ...

s. Its solar array generates 1380

watt The watt (symbol: W) is the unit of 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 quantify the rate of energy transfer. The watt is named after James Wa ...

s power, backed up by 24 A·h nickel–cadmium batteries. Cost: US$250 million. The Israeli government supports the program since 1991 with US$15 million per year.

Launch

It was launched on 16 May 1996 from

Centre Spatial Guyanais The Guiana Space Centre (french: links=no, Centre spatial guyanais; CSG), also called Europe's Spaceport, is a European spaceport to the northwest of Kourou in French Guiana, a region of France in South America. Kourou is located approximatel ...

Kourou Kourou () is a commune in French Guiana, an overseas region and department of France in South America. Kourou is famous for being the location of the Guiana Space Centre, the main spaceport of France and the European Space Agency (ESA). It ...

French Guiana French Guiana ( or ; french: link=no, Guyane ; gcr, label=French Guianese Creole, Lagwiyann ) is an overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department/region and single territorial collectivity of France on the northern Atlantic ...

, aboard an

Ariane 4 The Ariane 4 was a European expendable rocket, expendable space launch system, developed by the ''CNES, Centre national d'études spatiales'' (CNES), the Government of France, French space agency, for the European Space Agency (ESA). It was man ...

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 syste ...

flying in the 44L configuration, which launched together with

Indonesia Indonesia, officially the Republic of Indonesia, is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania between the Indian and Pacific oceans. It consists of over 17,000 islands, including Sumatra, Java, Sulawesi, and parts of Borneo and New Guine ...

n Palapa-C2 satellite using Ariane 4's SPELDA system that can launched two satellites stacked on top of another. After its launch, it was raised to its final geostationary orbit by firing the apogee boost motor in phases. After it reached the geostationary orbit, its antennae and

solar panels A solar cell panel, solar electric panel, photo-voltaic (PV) module, PV panel or solar panel is an assembly of photovoltaic solar cells mounted in a (usually rectangular) frame, and a neatly organised collection of PV panels is called a phot ...

were deployed and the satellite was placed in its allocated slot at 4° West longitude. AMOS-1 and AMOS-2 were placed near each other to enable

satellite A satellite or artificial satellite is an object intentionally placed into orbit in outer space. Except for passive satellites, most satellites have an electricity generation system for equipment on board, such as solar panels or radioiso ...

users to aim once and reach either satellite from the same antenna. Launch was insured for over US$145 million. The satellite AMOS-1 was operational on 1 July 1996.

INTELSAT 24

In 2009, AMOS-1 was sold to

Intelsat Intelsat S.A. (formerly INTEL-SAT, INTELSAT, Intelsat) is a multinational satellite services provider with corporate headquarters in Luxembourg and administrative headquarters in Tysons Corner, Virginia, United States. Originally formed as ...

, and became INTELSAT 24 (IS-24). Intelsat moved it over 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 ...

, put it into an inclined orbit to conserve fuel, and rented its capacity to Tachyon Networks for U.S. military communications.

References

{{Orbital launches in 1996 Satellite television AMOS-1 Communications satellites of Israel Spacecraft launched in 1996 Intelsat satellites 1996 in Israel

Satellite description

Launch

INTELSAT 24

See also

References