Intelsat 24

Intelsat 24, previously Amos-1, is a commercial communication satellite which is operated by Intelsat. It was previously operated by Spacecom as Amos-1, and formed part of the AMOS series of satellites. It was the first Israeli communications satellite, and was initially positioned at 4° West longitude in geostationary orbit. It has since been moved to 47.3 degrees East.

Its development was based on experience from Ofeq reconnaissance satellites in association with DASA and Alcatel Espace. It was launched on May 16, 1996 from Kourou in French Guiana, aboard an Ariane 4 rocket flying in the 44L configuration. It was used for home TV services (DTH/DBS by "Yes" company in Israel and by HBO and others in Europe). Spacecom succeeded quickly to fill all transmission abilities of Amos-1 and accumulated additional requests. Therefore, Spacecom decided to build AMOS 2, which replaced AMOS-1 on orbit at 4 degrees West. AMOS-1 carries nine K_u band transponders.

Weighing 970 kg at launch, Amos-1 incorporated a 400 Newton liquid apogee motor and fourteen reaction control thrusters, each delivering ten Newtons of thrust for raising the satellite's orbit from geostationary transfer orbit to its final geostationary orbit as well as for its attitude control. It carried 450 kg of propellant (monomethyl hydrazine and MON-3).