Spacecom’s newest satellite, Amos-17, has been launched from Cape Canaveral.
Amos-17 was aboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 launch vehicle when it took off at 23.23 UTC on Tuesday night (August 6).
The satellite separated from the launcher’s second stage at the 33-minute stage following ignition and, as planned, is in constant contact with its ground station.
It will ultimately be located at 17 degrees East.
“Amos-17 places us directly into the exciting growth of Africa’s Sub-Saharan vibrant markets,” said Spacecom CEO and president David Pollack. “As a leading multi-regional satellite operator, Spacecom is introducing the most technologically advanced satellite with HTS beams to service Africa where Amos-17 will deliver a large selection of services to a variety of broadcast, broadband and telecom clients.”
Manufactured by Boeing Satellite Systems International, Amos-17 is 6.5-ton high-power, HTS, whose payload has been designed to meet the demand of the African continent, though it will also have connectivity to the Middle East, Europe, India, China and as far west as Brazil.
In orbit tests are expected to take about three weeks.
