AMOS 2

AMOS 2 (Affordable Modular Optimized Satellite) represents the second generation of communications satellites built by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). Its predecessor, AMOS 1, was launched in 1996. AMOS 2, which weighs 1.4 tons, will cover the entire Middle East and Europe, and will be able to transmit higher-powered broadcasts than the one-ton AMOS 1. The new satellite, like its predecessor, will be positioned 36,000 kilometers above the earth, and it will lie close to AMOS 1, so that the two can share a single space antenna. The Spacecom-owned AMOS 2 will provide communications services to television networks in Israel, Europe and the United States. According to Spacecom CEO David Pollack, the company has already signed contracts for about 70 percent of the satellite's broadcast capacity - a noteworthy achievement when compared to AMOS 1, which did not have a single customer at the time it was launched. AMOS 2's customers will include the Israeli government, the Yes satellite television company, the Israel Broadcasting Authority, Gilat Satellite Networks, Germany's RTL television station and the American cable television station HBO. The latter will broadcast to six countries in Europe via AMOS 2.