  The Alpha Magnetic Spectrometer (AMS) is a particle physics detector designed
to measure charged cosmic ray spectra with energies up to the TeV region and
with high energy photon detection capability up to few hundred GeV. It will be
installed on the International Space Station (ISS) in 2008 and will operate for
more than three years. Due to its large acceptance, the flight duration and the
state-of-art of particle identification techniques, AMS will have a remarkable
sensitivity on antimatter and dark matter searches. The addition of different
detector systems provide AMS with complementary and redundant electric charge
and velocity measurements. The velocity of singly charged particles is expected
to be measured with a precision of 0.1% and charge separation up to iron is
attainable. The AMS capability of measuring a large range of electric charges
and accurate velocities, will largely contribute to a better understanding of
cosmic ray production, acceleration and propagation mechanisms in the galaxy.
