The Israeli communications satellite Amos 2 is due to be launched into space on Saturday night at 11:30 PM local time. The satellite is being launched from Kazakhstan aboard a Russian Soyuz rocket.
Amos 2 represents the second generation of communications satellites made by Israel Aircraft Industries. It weighs 1.4 tons and is capable of broadcasting both to Europe and to Iraq, Kuwait and the Gulf states. It is owned by the Israeli company Spacecom, a joint venture between IAI and three partners.
According to Spacecom CEO David Pollack, 70 percent of the satellite’s capacity has already been sold to Israeli and European cable television companies. In light of the American victory over Iraq, he added, the company is also considering trying to sell capacity on Amos 2 to the American government, the United Nations and commercial firms in the United States for use in their broadcasts to Iraq and its neighbors.
Saturday night’s launch is taking place almost a year behind schedule. The initial delays were due to production problems. Later there were problems with the French launcher, Ariane 5, which were eventually resolved by transferring responsibility for the launch to Starsem, a joint venture between the French company Ariane Space and the Russian company that makes the Soyuz rocket.
Amos 1, Israel’s first civilian communications satellite, is still in space and is expected to keep functioning until 2008. Pollack said that Spacecom is now trying to raise money to finance construction of Amos 3, with the goal of having it ready to launch in 2007.
