The Amos-3 satellite is finally off the ground. Four days after the launch was postponed, a launcher with Amos-3 on top lifted off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan this morning, Galei Tzahal (Israel Army Radio) reports. By around 15:000 this afternoon (Israel time) the satellite will be in position 36,000 kilometers above the earth. For the next eighteen years, Amos-3 will provide telecommunications services. It is not intended for military use.
The launch was due to take place on Thursday, but was delayed because of a technical hitch, causing great embarrassment to President Shimon Peres, who had arranged a reception to mark the occasion. Spacecom Satellite Communications Ltd. (TASE:SCC), which developed the satellite in partnership with Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) (TASE: ARSP.B1) MBT Space Division, decided this time not to screen the launch on live television, in case of further failures.
Some $170 million was invested in the satellite, which will be positioned at longitude 4° west. This position will enable Spacecom to provide television, radio, and data communications services in the Middle East, Europe, and the east coast of the US. According to initial estimates, the satellite will generate revenue of some $500 million over its planned 18 year life.
Published by Globes [online], Israel business news - www.globes.co.il - on April 28, 2008
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