(JNi.media) Israel Aerospace Industries is in advanced stages of development of a communications satellite named AMOS-E that, at 1.5-2 tons, weighs half of what today’s comparable communications satellites do, Israel Defense reported. AMOS-E’s life expectancy is about 15 years, and it is designed to serve up broadband Internet and Television signals.
The AMOS-E will be able to maneuver in space guided by an innovative, electric propulsion system, more efficient and smaller compared with the chemical propulsion systems currently being used by most communications satellites. The advanced technology is what made it possible to cut the satellite’s weight by half, resulting in a cheaper launch price tag, which, in turn, making it available to smaller businesses looking to own affordable communications satellites with the capabilities available to the big guys.
IAI has also started construction of new observation satellites, using Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) or electro-optical payloads, providing users with cutting edge performance. The launch date for those is 2018 at the earliest. One of those satellites is Eros C, a commercial high-resolution imagery satellite for ImageSat International (ISI). It weighs less than 400 kg, and is expected to join Eros-A and Eros-B in orbit in 2018, with high-quality imagery, superior resolution, increased coverage and improved accuracy.