Land Launch Delay Creates Stir in Israel

TEL AVIV, Israel -- The debut of the Land Launch Zenit-3SLB rocket carrying the Israeli Amos-3 telecommunications satellite was aborted just 90 seconds before a planned Thursday liftoff due to a ground equipment glitch at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan.

Russian space agency officials and executives at Spacecom, the Tel Aviv-based owner and operator of the Israeli-built Amos-series spacecraft, attributed the glitch to a malfunctioning transporter-erector crane that failed to separate at a sufficiently safe distance from the three-stage rocket.

"The supporting arm of the launcher did not reach nominal separation distance from the launcher, and it was decided to delay the launch until the required inspections are performed," Spacecom announced after the aborted Thursday launch.

Originally planned for late 2007, the Amos-3 satellite is the first payload for Land Launch, which uses the same Russian- and Ukrainian-built rocket as the Sea Launch venture but operates from Baikonur rather than an ocean-going platform. Sea Launch does marketing for the affiliated Land Launch venture.

Amos-3 is the latest in the series of geostationary communications satellites built by Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI). Weighing 1,270 kilograms fully fueled, the $170 million satellite features 12 Ku-band transponders and two wide-band Ka-band transponders, steerable antennas, and an 18-year operational lifespan.

Spacecom Chief Executive David Pollack said it would take a few days to complete the requisite inspections, but stressed that Amos-3 and its launcher remain ready for launch. He noted that it would take at least a day to drain hazardous fuel from the third stage of the launcher; and "another day or two or three" to ascertain that all ancillary equipment is functioning properly.

"The countdown was progressing perfectly, and everything was going smoothly ... up until a minute and a half before launch," said Pollack.

The mechanical malfunction prompted disappointment and embarrassment in Jerusalem, where Cabinet members, foreign dignitaries and industry executives had gathered at the home of Israeli President Shimon Peres to witness the launch.

In an extraordinarily elaborate pre-launch fete organized by Spacecom as part of Israel's 60th Anniversary Independence Day celebrations, presidential guests monitoring the live feed from Kazakhstan were visibly discomfited by the aborted countdown.

And while Peres sought to shift focus from the aborted launch attempt to more positive aspects of Israel's technological achievements in space, government and industry officials quietly criticized Spacecom for its public relations pursuit.

"Unexpected problems happen all the time in this business, and people always need to be prepared for potential disappointment," said Isaac Ben-Israel, chairman of the Israel Space Agency and a member of the governing Kadima party in the Israeli Knesset.

Ben-Israel said the delayed launch is insignificant and that the satellite is among the world's most advanced for one with its relatively small size. "The unique added value of this satellite is its bandwidth-to-kilo ratio, and in this regard, it's a leader among [geostationary] communications satellites," he said.

In an Thursday interview, a senior Israeli industry executive said several members of the Spacecom board of directors, as well as officials at IAI, warned Pollack and others not to link the Amos-3 launch so directly with presidential prestige and the nation's Independence Day festivities.

"The whole thing was a huge embarrassment and highly irregular. Our style has always been to avoid big expectations and big promises. But they wanted to go for the glory, and this huge promotion they created just blew up in their faces," he said.

In response, Pollack adamantly insisted, "Great things come to those who dare. If we're afraid, we'll achieve nothing." He said the aborted launch does not detract from Israel's technological achievements in space, nor does it impact negatively on national prestige.

"What's the big deal? There was good food, good music ... and people had a good reason to visit the holy city of Jerusalem during the [Jewish Passover] holiday," Pollack said.

Pollack said "this brief delay" would have no material impact on Spacecom or customers signed up to receive Amos-3 services.

Pollack said services for Amos-3 already are fully booked, and that the company plans to launch three additional satellites in the coming four years. "Within a few short years, we aim to have an operational fleet of five extremely high-performance spacecraft to serve our growing base of customers," he said.

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