Scientists at Israel’s Technion Institute of Technology are developing miniature satellites that can identify people in distress from orbit. Researchers aim to launch three small satellites, weighing no more than six kilograms each, in 2015. The satellites will orbit at an altitude of 600 km for one year, pinpointing people in distress, charting the migratory patterns of birds and conducting other missions. Project head Pini Gurfil received a $2.1 million grant from the European Research Council last June …More

After several delays, Israel’s Amos-5 satellite finally launched Sunday from Russia’s Kazakhstan space center. The communications hub will join the satellite grouping of Amos-2 and Amos-3 to provide various satellite services to customers in the Middle East, Europe, Asia and Africa. Amos-4 and Amos-6 are still under construction, planning launches for next year and 2014 respectively. Operator Spacecom will use Amos-5 as a remote transmission and broadcast hub for Internet providers, television …More

Israeli company Spacecom Satellite Communications, which operates the international Amos communications satellite system, won a $27.6 million five-year contract to supply communications from its latest satellite, Amos 5. In December 2009, Spacecom signed an agreement to provide satellite communications to Africa, temporarily via the Amos 5i satellite until the Amos 5 launched in mid-2011. But a component issue, discovered in July of 2011, delayed the launch of Amos 5. Russian Manufacturer ISS Reshetnev began …More