Official visit to the aerospace industry facilities
VP of Israel Aerospace Industries Yitzhak Nissan next to a model of the future AMOS HP satellite. Photo: Avi Blizovsky
Control of the Amos 2 communications satellite was transferred yesterday morning in a solemn ceremony from the Aerospace Industry, which developed it and oversaw its launch by the Russian company Starst, to the "Communication Space" company, which will operate it. At a ceremony held at the control center for the satellite in the center of the country, the CEO of Halal Communications, David Polak, said that the company paid NIS 585 million for the satellite. The Aerospace Industry to build Amos 3 to replace Amos 1 towards the end of 2007.
While this plan was known, Polk surprised his new age: Space is looking for a point in space over East Asia so that it can launch there a satellite approximately 3 times larger than Amos 2 that will be able to provide communication services to a much larger market. For this, the aerospace industry will need much greater capacity, but it has already begun planning a 4-ton communications satellite (compared to the 1.4-ton weight of Amos 2) for the Chinese, but development was stopped when the deal was canceled.
"This activity is an export activity. Amos satellites constitute an extremely important communication infrastructure and technological infrastructure for the State of Israel. Without business ventures of this type, the Israeli space industry will have difficulty developing, and that is to say the least, and I am using this platform to call from here on the government officials in Israel - ministers, Knesset members, To look up to the infrastructure and services that the citizens receive from these satellites and enable the conditions for the acceleration of this service." Polk summarizes.
Yitzhak Nissen - VP of the aerospace industry and head of the Space Division: "The launch was successful. We have 4 active satellites. Here is a technological achievement of the aviation industry, what's more, we had to change the launcher from Ariane to Starst within half a year. I want to congratulate the employees of the barrage division - missile and space systems, and the space employees for the joint work and look forward to the continuation in Amos 3".
The chairman of Israel Aerospace Industries, Moshe Keret, said at the ceremony that the space industry in Israel is no longer a curiosity, and that it is now a creative and legitimate thing that deserves the name: an industry.
Moshe Kerat: The launch of Amos 2, like every launch, is accompanied by great excitement. A lot of tension is created, because the moment comes when you have done everything you could do and the rest goes into other hands or into the hands of heaven. This birth was not easy either, we had to move to another site, and there was a race against time, we had to launch before the end of last year because otherwise we would have run into additional problems that would have burdened Haman. In the end, all is well that ends well, the launch was successful, the satellite is functioning perfectly and this is an achievement that we all deserve to be blessed with in the relatively young Israeli space industry.
Nissan did not mention the Technion satellite either. Five satellites makes the subject of the space industry from curiosity something more stable and legitimate to call it a space industry. At the beginning of the journey when I came to this or that place - we launched one satellite, does that make us admissible to this community? To be able to participate in programs with others or to provide subsystems or components requires some kind of tradition and if you don't have a tradition you can't penetrate the market. One way or another it turned out that we are on our own, we have already created the situation where we have a community of satellites in space. Of course, that's not the end of the story. We will hear the intentions regarding Amos 3, and also about other satellites - civilian and military - in the coming weeks, so that the issue of space will expand and occupy a large place both on the industrial and economic side, both for the aviation industry and for the country.
I want to congratulate the space company that receives a product that it ordered, at a high level. And we wish them success in marketing all the capacities and volumes of this satellite and we will be happy to receive additional orders and fulfill them successfully.
David Polak: "I thank the CEO of the Aerospace Industry, Yitzhak Nissan, and all the personnel of the Aerospace Industry who took part in the program for the effort, expertise and knowledge they invested in the Amos 2 satellite. Similar to Amos 1, which has been working continuously since 1996, Amos 2 also operates with impeccable performance. In most important areas the performance is better than expected.
A check for NIS 585 million. We offer a home-made satellite without any fear, and we also want tradition.
We also have the same requirement as the aviation industry.
Amos 2 allows us to expand westward in Europe and also to the USA. Soon we will be able to announce the launch of an important, innovative and interesting service in the German TV market which is new to us and on top of it as an additional layer, a satellite internet service for those customers. In the USA we recently signed an agreement with a very important Teleport in Connecticut Owned by Telenor. We hope that the cooperation with them will allow us in the coming months to take part in the large communication traffic between the USA and Europe and the ID.
We have started the Amos 3 satellite program. Time is pressing because Amos 3 needs to reach point 4 West at the time Amos 1 ends its life. This is a point that has 2 satellites, mutual backup. Amos 3 will be an improved model of Amos 2, it will have a mobile beam that during service can be directed to where it is needed. We are trying to go 18 years ahead with production. Need the flexibility.
They want to reach the markets of East Asia and it will no longer be on 4 West, a larger satellite will be needed, perhaps cooperation. The penetration to the west and in the future also to the east will turn us from a regional supplier to a global one.
This activity is an export activity. Amos satellites constitute an extremely important communication and technological infrastructure for the State of Israel. Without business ventures of this type, the Israeli space industry will find it difficult to develop, and that is to say the least, and I am using this stage to call on Israeli government officials - ministers, members of the Knesset, to look up to the infrastructure and services that the citizens receive from these satellites and allow the conditions for the acceleration of this service.
It will be a bigger satellite, the markets there are bigger. We have long looked into the possibility of a point in the east for our expansion to the east, Afiki Communications Company did this work for us. There are several options, more than one point, one of the issues is which point to choose so that the transmissions are not interrupted.
Will we have to choose options beyond Amos 1 and 2?
Amos 1 and 2 are excellent satellites. An infrastructure was built here for the production of satellites that are active for a long time and also their lives are extended beyond planning so that the service providers gain years of activity. I believe that the aviation industry will be able to face this challenge. By the way, they have already started planning a satellite of between 3.5 and 4 tons of the big satellite.
What is the share of use between civilian and military uses?Polak: "In the American security system, 85 percent of its uses are civilian communication satellites. We want to enter the American market - for whatever they are willing to use. At the moment we only use it for civilian uses. The Israeli security system does not currently use satellites."
What are the schedules of Amos 3 and the Asian satellite?"Amos 1 ends its life in 2008. We need a satellite before that in space, we need a positive overlap. We need to work today and we have already started working. It needs to be launched at the end of 2007. It takes between two and three years to develop and launch it.
There is no contract, we started working on both the characterization and the commercial negotiations. I believe and hope that we will finish it on time and that no attorney will get us stuck for half a year on half a line."
Satellites in progressAt the end of the ceremony, the journalists toured the building where the satellites are manufactured. As far as we have seen there are two satellites under construction. One of them is the next satellite in the Eros series, and the other satellite was covered. The hall has a vibration device as well as an empty chamber where the satellite is exposed to the conditions of lack of air and excess radiation in space. Also displayed in the room are models of Ofek and Eros satellites, the larger follow-on satellite of the Amos series, as well as a model of a satellite for radar photography that can 'see' in all weather conditions.
HLL will provide Telenor with Amos 2 services in a multi-year contract
The deal includes capacity and services via the "Amos 2" communications satellite for the Middle East, Europe and the US.
3.3.2004
Telenor Satellite Services and Space-Satellite Communications Ltd. from Ramat Gan, Israel, announced today the signing of a 3-year service contract between the two companies.
Under the terms of the agreement, Telenor will offer advanced communication services through the "Amos 2" satellite of the Space Company, including the provision of VSAT networks with a successful cost-benefit ratio and powerful broadband services that are suitable for Internet services and content providers. Also, future business opportunities, which will be made possible thanks to the "Amos 2" satellite, will combine private and secure distribution of cable and satellite services.
Telenor's teleport facility in Southbury, Conn., will serve as the primary U.S. hub and one-stop shop for these services. The company has erected a new antenna to support the space company's U.S. business.
"Southbury's long history of providing unmatched quality services in support of live and secure communications services for almost 30 years will create a valued and reliable communications bridge for the Amos 2 spacecraft," said David Polk, CEO of Halal, operator of the Amos communications satellite systems.
"The new agreement positions Telenor Satellite Services so that it can serve as the foundation for the space company's 'satellite communications bridge' from the US and Canada to the Middle East," said Tor Hild, CEO of Telenor Satellite Services. "Through our teleport facility based in Connecticut, and our global network of facilities in the US and Europe, Tenlor is uniquely able to provide government and commercial customers with advanced, immediate, reliable and secure communications via the 'Amos 2' satellite."
"Amos 2" was launched in December 2003 and was put into commercial use recently. It provides ubiquity and communications services capabilities between Europe, the Middle East and the US East Coast, thus creating a vital link from the Middle East to the US-based IP corridor for advanced broadband services.
