[Satellite Today 11-19-08] Thales Alenia Space signed a contract with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Ltd. for the development, delivery and installation of elements of the Amos-4 ground segment, Thales Alenia Space announced Nov. 19.
    Under the contract, Thales Alenia Space will provide the payload traffic manager, in-orbit test system, communication system monitoring and station monitoring and control for local and remote operation of the telemetry, tracking and control station.
    In July, Thales Alenia Space received a contract from IA to supply RF communication assemblies for Amos-4, which is being manufactured by IAI for Spacecom Ltd.
    Amos-4 will expand Spacecom’s range of Ku- and Ka-band capacity, providing international communications and broadcasting transmission services. The satellite is scheduled to be launched in the 2012 third quarter.