SpaceX announced on 2 January 2017 that it had identified the cause of the catastrophic explosion of its Falcon-9 space launch vehicle (SLV) containing Israeli company Spacecom’s AMOS-6 communications satellite on 1 September 2016. SpaceX and U.S. government and space industry experts believe that the explosion occurred due to the …
Read More »AsiaSat will fill in for Spacecom’s lost AMOS-6 satellite
Spacecom has announced that it entered into an agreement with AsiaSat to relocate its AsiaSat 8 satellite, from its current orbital position to Spacecom’s 4°W orbital position. AsiaSat 8 will be co-located with AMOS-3, for a four (4) year period. AsiaSat 8 will complement AMOS-3 in offering a full range …
Read More »The #SpaceWatchME Interviews: Markus Fritz of Eutelsat
In the latest SpaceWatch Middle East interview series, Torsten Kriening speaks to Markus Fritz, Director of Commercial Development and Marketing, at Eutelsat. They discuss the Middle East satellite market, areas for growth, company innovation and the future of the business. Eutelsat is one of the satellite operators in the Middle …
Read More »China’s Xinwei buys Israel’s Spacecom for $190 million
Chinese telecommunications company Beijing Xinwei Technology Group will buy Israeli satellite communications company, Spacecom, for U.S.$190 million, according to Israeli press reports. Beijing Xinwei Technology Group was originally going to pay U.S.$285 million for Spacecom, contingent upon the successful launch of Spacecom’s Amos-6 communications satellite. The Amos-6 communications satellite was …
Read More »UAE’s Yahsat tapped by Eutelsat to put African broadband programme back on track
Eutelsat Communications and Yahsat, the Abu Dhabi-based international satellite operator, have signed a multi-year capacity agreement giving Broadband for Africa, Eutelsat’s African broadband venture, access to high-performance commercial Ka-band capacity for broadband services across Sub-Saharan Africa. According to the terms of the agreement Broadband for Africa will use capacity on …
Read More »Israel’s great space recovery? IAI engineers fixing Ofek-11 in orbit, first images transmitted
Israeli press outlets are reporting that Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) engineers are resolving many of the technical faults discovered on its latest reconnaissance satellite – Ofek-11 – launched last week on 13 September 2016 from Palmachim Air Base in Israel. Further, IAI engineers are quietly confident that the remaining problems …
Read More »Interview: Eran Privman of Israel’s SpaceIL – Ready to Play With the Big Boys
It’s been a disappointing few weeks for the Israeli space sector with the loss of Amos-6 and the troubled Ofek launch, but Eran Privman, CEO of SpaceIL – the Israeli outfit competing in the Google Lunar XPrize – is undeterred and is ready to take Israel to the Moon. SpaceWatch Middle …
Read More »Israel’s double space whammy? Newly-launched Ofek-11 spy satellite not responding to commands
The Israeli government secretly launched its Ofek-11 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite on a Shavit space launch vehicle from Palmachim Air Base in Israel on the night of Tuesday, 13 September 2016. Shortly after launch, however, it became apparent that there were problems with the Ofek-11 satellite, built by Israel Aerospace Industries …
Read More »Israel’s Spacecom unveils recovery programme after Amos-6 loss
Spacecom announced on 5 September 2016 that it is developing a plan of action following the loss of the AMOS-6 communication satellite due to the explosion of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket on the launch pad. The company has begun measures to recover funds invested in the project. The company’s management …
Read More »Eutelsat estimates 50 million Euro loss with Amos-6 accident
Eutelsat Communications (Euronext Paris: ETL) regrets the loss of Spacecom’s AMOS-6 satellite following the launch pad explosion today of the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in Cape Canaveral. In collaboration with Facebook, Eutelsat had contracted a multi-year agreement to lease the satellite’s Ka-band payload covering Sub-Saharan Africa, with a view to …
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