The misfortunes of the Amos 2 satellite are continuing. After a six-month delay in the launching, Spacecom Satellite Communications notified the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange today of another four-day postponement.
The announcement said that the launch had been delayed, due to indications of a possible malfunction in the launching rocket that will put Amos 2 into orbit. At the same time, the announcement said, “An initial analysis of the findings by Starsem shows that launching company believes it likely that the findings are not due to a malfunction.”
The launching company, however, decided to play it safe and postpone the launch by four days, in order to re-examine the rocket. If no malfunctions are discovered, the launch is expected to take place on December 29.
If, however, an examination reveals malfunctions in the rocket, the launching could be delayed past December 31, which would constitute a violation of Spacecom’s new financing agreement with the banks. In that event, Spacecom could find itself in further discussions with the banks, leading to a delay the payment of interest on its bonds.
Published by Globes [online] - www.globes.co.il - on December 7, 2003