Three weeks after its transponders went dark, Spacecom is preparing to declare the Amos 5 satellite a total loss.
The operator is filing a $158 million insurance claim after failing to make contact with the four-year old craft.
Around one-third of Spacecom’s revenues come from Amos 5, which concentrated on the African market through contracts with local operators such as Orange.
Investors have been told manufacturer JSC Information Satellite Systems has declared Amos 5 to be ““fully de-energised.”
Amos 5 has not been without its problems since launch. In 2013 a fault with the satellite’s propulsion system led to the insurers placing an exclusion on any future claims were similar issues to arise.
Spacecom is confident that it was not the propulsion that finished the satellite off, but is unclear as to what the problem actually was. “According to optical observation, the satellite was seen in orbit on its course spinning around at a pace typical for satellites in which systems are totally malfunctioning.
“According to the manufacturer, the most likely reason for the malfunction is a complete failure of the power supply system, as a result of a malfunction inside or from an object hitting a part of the power supply system or the associated wiring.”
