Spacecom loses contact with Amos-5

Satellite operator Spacecom has lost “all communications and signals” from its Amos-5 satellite at the 17°E orbital position, it announced over the weekend.

The company said that the failure happened on Saturday and that it was working to re-establish communication with the satellite, but that it did not have further information about the cause of the “anomaly”.

“Spacecom is working around the clock, doing the utmost to speed service recovery for its customers. Our service teams are looking for solutions for our customers to enable their broadcast signals and data communications streams to continue with minimal interruption,” said Spacecom CEO and president, David Pollack.

Launched in 2011, the Amos-5 satellite offers direct-to-home TV, VSAT communications and broadband and other services to Africa.

The satellite features a fixed pan-African C-band beam and three steerable Ku-band beams — all covering Africa with connectivity to Europe and the Middle East.