#BIAFRA : ISRAELI SATELLITE FORMERLY CARRYING RADIO BIAFRA WHICH WAS BOUGHT OVER BY NIGERIA HAS GONE MISSING IN THE ORBITS
Israeli satellite Amos 5 goes incommunicado
Communications satellite’s owner, Spacecom,
has no explanation for loss of contact, expects that even a total loss
will have only a minor effect on finances • Amos 5 was launched in 2011
and generates $40 million in Internet and TV orders annually.
Ilan Gattegno
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The Amos 5 satellite
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Photo credit: Reuters |
Customers whose communication services are
provided by Israel’s Amos 5 satellite found themselves at loose ends on
Saturday when contact with the satellite was lost at 6:45 a.m.
In a report to investors and the Israel Stock
Exchange, Spacecom, which owns the Amos 5, said it had no explanation
for what specifically had caused it to lose contact with the satellite. A
mechanical failure, a short circuit, or being struck by a meteor or
space junk are all possibilities.
Amos 5, which was launched in 2011, includes
68 segments and covers the Middle East, Europe, and Africa. According to
Spacecom records, Amos 5 has generated a total of $140 million in
service orders. The satellite generates some $40 million in revenue
annually and its worth is assessed at between $190 and $160 million.
Amos 5 is insured by an international
syndicate for $158 million. In the letter to investors, Spacecom stated
that initial calculations indicated that a total failure of the
satellite would have only a marginal effect on the company’s capital.
Eurocom Group, which holds the rights to the
satellite’s position at 17 degrees east will now have to locate a
replacement satellite. A new satellite can be built and launched, or
another satellite already in space and available for purchase can be
acquired and moved into position to continue providing Internet and
television services to the African market.
Only last week, reports were published that
Spacecom had been contracted to provide television and Internet services
to Cameroon.
The news that contact with Amos 5 has been
lost comes as Eurocom, which owns 64.5% of Spacecom, is in the process
of selling the company, whose market value recently stood at 1.1 billion
shekels ($280 million).
Source : http://www.israelhayom.com/site/newsletter_article.php?id=29849
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