Israel questions new Amos satellite plan
July 11, 2017
By Chris Forrester
July 10th saw Israel’s parliamentary Science & Technology committee discuss the planned replacement for the lost Amos-6 satellite, dubbed Amos-8.
Spacecom, the owners of the Amos fleet, have invited international manufacturers to build Amos-8. The Israel parliamentary committee discussed whether it would fund part or all of the new satellite, and to what extent there should be an Israeli governmental payload on the satellite for special military communications.
The head of Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), Opher Doron, which in the past has been closely involved in the building of the Amos fleet, says that IAI’s planning teams have been broken up, acquisitions have stopped.
“We’re paying a lot of money to lease the satellite that replaced Amos-6. Unfortunately, an international bid has been announced for the Amos-8 satellite that will replace it, and an international company is likely to win, ending Israel’s ability to provide [independent] satellite communications,” he said.