Israeli operator Spacecom is likely to make a partial insurance claim after another power supply failure on its Amos-5 satellite left it with only two out of eight thrusters.
The company told the stock exchange on 21 October that the bird, launched at…
Israeli operator Spacecom is likely to make a partial insurance claim after another power supply failure on its Amos-5 satellite left it with only two out of eight thrusters.
The company told the stock exchange on 21 October that the bird, launched at the end of 2011, could lose 11 months of life if it is unable to find alternate means to fire up the engines
Shares in the company have plummeted around 20% since the announcement, closing at NIS 47 (US$13.33) on 24 October.
Spacecom declined to comment. Marsh is the spacecraft’s broker and has also declined to comment.
An insurance industry source doubted the issues can be resolved, adding that a partial loss is “highly likely”.
Amos-5 was the first commercial version of ISS Reshetnev’s Ekpress-1000N platform, and at the time was the only one of Spacecom’s satellites not built by its partner Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).
Rumours that the satellite was experiencing anomalies on its propulsion sub-system first emerged late last year, when Spacecom was said to have filed a ‘notice of occurrence’ – the first step in a partial loss claim.
The bird was launched by Russia’s International Launch Services on December 2011 to 17E.
Its customers include Europe’s Signalhorn, which is providing broadband across Africa, and DTH operators in the country, including eight in Nigeria.
