After a successful launch in mid-December, the AMOS (News - Alert) 5 satellite from satellite communications leader Spacecom officially commenced commercial operations last week.
Now that it’s reached geosynchronous orbit at 17-degrees East, AMOS 5 has become a chief carrier of African satellite communications traffic in both broadcast and data services.
The AMOS-5 satellite launched Dec. 11, from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in snowy Kazakhstan, first soaring upward aboard a Proton Breeze-M launcher at 13.17 Israel time (6:17 a.m. EST), separating from the launcher’s last stage within nine and a half hours following ignition.
AMOS-5 joins forces with Spacecom’s previously launched AMOS-2 and AMOS-3 satellites collocated at Spacecom’s orbital “hot spot” – 4 degrees West. Once AMOS-5 is in orbit, a new fixed pan-African C-band beam as well as three steerable Ku-band beams will not only cover Africa and supply connectivity to the Middle East and Europe, but will also support multiple transponders in both C-band and Ku-band.
The positioning of the AMOS-5 satellite within Spacecom’s existing fleet of AMOS satellites will offer customers a plethora of services, including direct-to-home broadcasting, VSAT communications and broadband Internet, telephony services, data trunking, cellular backhaul and video distribution.
Coinciding with news of AMOS 5’s commencement, Spacecom has become a new member of the Space Data Association, a non-profit association of satellite operators that “supports the controlled, reliable and efficient sharing of data that is critical to the safety and integrity of satellite operations,” according to its website.
Spacecom joins a lengthy lineup of executive members responsible for the control and operations of in-orbit satellites. As a member, Spacecom will be provided secure and immediate access to precise information and analysis for improving operations for conjunction assessment; RF interference and geo-location support, and authoritative contact information for a given space object.
Tammy Wolf is a TMCnet web editor. She covers a wide range of topics, including IP communications and information technology. To read more of her articles, please visit her columnist page.
Edited by Stefania Viscusi