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° West – AMOS-3 and AMOS-7, one satellite at orbital position 65° East – AMOS-4, and one satellite at orbital position 17° East – AMOS-5.

History

Spacecom was established in 1993 with the defined goal of marketing AMOS-1, a newly built communication satellite manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries. In 2003, Spacecom launched its second satellite, AMOS-2, owned entirely by the company. In 2008, the AMOS-3 satellite was launched to replace AMOS-1 and increase coverage and traffic abilities.
Until 2005, Spacecom was a private company controlled by four companies, including IAI and Eurocom Group. It went public on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2005.
In August 2016, Spacecom shareholders agreed to sell the company for US$500 million to Beijing Xinwei Technology Group via a Luxembourg business entity. The deal, announced 24 August 2016, was pending the successful entry into service of AMOS-6 after the launch. On 1 September 2016, two days before the scheduled launch date, the satellite was destroyed during the run-up to a static fire test of the Falcon 9 launch vehicle. Later statements from both companies stated that negotiations were ongoing, but that the purchase price was likely to be reduced. However, by April 2017 talks between Spacecom and Xinwei had failed, and Spacecom began a new search for buyers. In October 2021 Spacecom and 4iG Plc., a Hungarian information technology and telecommunications company, signed an agreement in which 4iG is acquiring a majority stake in Spacecom.

Coverage

Spacecom satellites provide coverage to most of the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa.

Services

Fleet

Former
In orbit
NameBusPayloadOrderLaunchLaunch VehicleLaunch ResultLaunch WeightStatusRemarks
AMOS-1AMOS7 Ku-band16 May 1996Ariane 44LLaunched along Palapa-C2. Sold in 2009 to Intelsat as Intelsat 24.
AMOS-2AMOS22 Ku-band17 December 2003Soyuz-FGReached end of life on 2 April 2017.
AMOS-3AMOS15 Ku-band and Ka-bandSeptember 200528 April 2008Zenit-3SLBStraight GEO launch.
AMOS-5Ekspress-1000H18 C-band and 16 Ku-band2011-12-11Proton-M / Briz-MLaunched along Luch 5A. Failed on 21 November 2015.
AMOS-4AMOS 40008 Ku-band and 4 Ka-band31 August 2013Zenit-3SLB
AMOS-6AMOS 40002 S-band, 43 Ku-band and Ka-band20123 September 2016Falcon 9 Full ThrustElectric propulsion for station keeping.
AMOS-7SSL-130024 Ku-band, 1 Ka-band5 August 2014Falcon 9Four-year lease of AsiaSat 8.
AMOS-17BSS-702MPKa-band, Ku-band, C-band20166 August 2019Falcon 9Deployed with a free launch due to the loss of AMOS-6.
AMOS-8AMOS 400039 Ku-band, 24 Ka-band, 2 S-band2018Falcon 9CancelledSpacecom selected SSL to build satellite, based on SSL-1300 bus. AMOS-6 replacement. This order was eventually cancelled.