PARIS — Satellite fleet operator Spacecom of Israel on Nov. 1 said the builder of Spacecom’s Amos-5 satellite has figured a workaround for a power supply anomaly that likely will enable Amos-5 to operate for its full 15-year service life.
Amos-5 was launched in December 2011 and operates from 17 degrees east, a new Spacecom slot that the company is using to develop its business in Africa. Amos-5 was built by ISS Reshetnev of Russia.
Following the recent discovery of a problem with Amos-5’s power supply, Reshetnev had told Spacecom that Amos-5 might face an 11-month reduction to its operating life, and perhaps more depending on how the situation developed. The announcement sent Spacecom’s stock tumbling on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange.
In its Nov. 1 statement, Spacecom said Reshetnev has concluded a fresh assessment of the satellite’s fuel supply and concluded it can operate the eight on-board thrusters for 15 years.
“The company has received a report from the satellite’s manufacturer, according to which it is possible to operate the engines in alternative activation methods, and it is possible to activate all of the satellite’s eight engines with power supply 2,” Spacecom said in the statement. “These alternative methods increase the redundancy of the operation via this power supply.”
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