Israel Heading Into Space

Spacecom, operator of the AMOS satellite fleet, announced that Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) has selected Space International Services, Ltd. (SIS) to launch the AMOS-4 commercial satellite. The launch is scheduled to take place this Saturday night from the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

AMOS-4 will be the second AMOS satellite launched by SIS on its Zenit-3SLB launch vehicle. AMOS-3 was launched to its 4ºW orbital position in 2008 on the same vehicle. AMOS-4's launch weight will be approximately 4.2 tons, demonstrating that SIS has significantly increased the Zenit-3SLB vehicle's performance since the AMOS-3 launch.

The satellite is expected to have a lifespan of 12 years.

Here are some photos from its construction and transportation to the launch site.

Cool. I wish I was going with it.