Ofek 19 is the latest in a long line of advanced Israeli observation satellites and it specifically enhances Israel’s all-weather, day-and-night intelligence-gathering capabilities through its radar technology.

By Yaakov Lappin, JNS

Israel successfully launched the Ofek 19 Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) advanced observation satellite into space on the night of Sept. 2, a move designed to enhance the nation’s intelligence-gathering capabilities against enemies throughout the Middle East.

The launch, conducted by the Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), comes as the Israeli defense establishment moves to expand its foothold in space, a domain whose critical importance was proven during the “Rising Lion” war with Iran in June this year.

The role of satellites and particularly radar satellites in that conflict was critical.

During the 12-day operation, Israel’s space assets captured over 12,000 satellite images across Iranian territory, with hundreds of thousands of square kilometers (miles) surveilled, and provided the Israel Defense Forces with hundreds of targets without exposing personnel to danger in the intelligence gathering process.

This enabled rapid target engagement, according to defense sources.

A Western observer told JNS, “The advantage of the radar is that it is good both day and night, in clouds, in all weather, and it sees things that are not seen in optics [camera payloads].”

He noted that IAI’s CEO had revealed that the resolution of Israel’s SAR satellites is better than half a meter (about 20 inches).

The observer provided historical and technical context for the launch, noting that Israel’s first Ofek satellite was launched in September 1988, 37 years ago.

Israel launches its satellites westwards to avoid flying over and dropping rocket stages on populated areas. While this requires more energy than an eastward launch, it is a safety necessity.

The source noted that the Shavit launcher is built by IAI’s Missiles and Space Group, while IAI’s Elta Group built the advanced SAR payload.

The rocket launch engines are manufactured by Israeli defense companies Rafael and Tomer.

While Ofek 19 represents the cutting edge of current technology, this launch also marks the end of an era.

“This is the last launch of the Shavit launcher. The next generation of launchers is in development,” the observer revealed.

“There is a larger launcher that Israel intends for the next generation of satellites, which will be almost twice as heavy as the current ones.”

This move towards larger, more capable satellites is part of a two-pronged, hybrid approach to maintaining space superiority. “There is a pincer movement,” the observer explained.

“One arm moves up to heavier satellites that will be launched in the coming years. The other arm moves down.”

He noted that other Israeli defense companies, like Elbit and Rafael, are developing small satellites that are launched commercially, often as piggyback payloads on commercial rockets.

“If you have many small satellites, you can improve your revisit rate [the rate that an area in enemy territory can be observed] and achieve a situation of coverage every few hours, or even every quarter of an hour, depending on the number of satellites,” he said.

While these smaller satellites may not have the same high resolution as the large Ofek platforms, they provide the persistent coverage needed for near-real-time intelligence.

“The solution is a hybridization of the two channels,” the observer concluded.

Ofek 19 was launched at 10:30 p.m. from a test site in central Israel aboard a three-stage launcher called Shavit.

According to the Defense Ministry, the satellite successfully entered its orbit, began transmitting data, and is currently undergoing a series of tests by engineers from the ministry’s Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) and IAI’s Space Division.

Once fully commissioned, it will be handed over to Unit 9900, the IDF’s visual and geospatial intelligence unit.

Ofek 19 is the latest in a long line of advanced Israeli observation satellites and it specifically enhances Israel’s all-weather, day-and-night intelligence-gathering capabilities through its radar technology.

According to the official Israel Aerospace Industries statement, the Ofek 19’s SAR payload, produced by IAI’s ELTA Group, is what allows it to provide crucial intelligence regardless of visibility conditions, a capability deemed by IAI CEO, Boaz Levy, as “essential now more than ever.”

Defense Minister Israel Katz stated, “Israel, once again, demonstrates its supremacy as one of the world’s leading technological and defense powers. Launching the Ofek 19 satellite into space represents another building block in Israel’s power projection on the global stage, reflecting the advanced capabilities of the Ministry, the IDF and IAI.”

Defense Minister Director General Maj. Gen. (res.) Amir Baram directly linked the launch to the lessons of the recent war.

“The Swords of Iron War, particularly Operation Rising Lion, demonstrated that modern warfare extends into space. Expanding and strengthening our foothold in space is a central objective in the Ministry’s strategy,” he said.

“In the coming decade, we will invest billions in deploying a satellite constellation that will allow us to maintain persistent, simultaneous surveillance of any point throughout the Middle East.”

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Israel’s most advanced communications satellite, Dror-1, was successfully launched into space from Cape Canaveral aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

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Its geostationary position will allow for continuous and flexible communication coverage for various government systems.

By JNS

Israel’s new national communications satellite, “Dror-1,” was launched into space on Sunday morning, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) announced.

Designed to meet Israel’s national communication needs, the Israeli-made satellite lifted off at 8 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral, Florida, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

Weighing 4.5 tons and with an 18-meter wingspan, Dror-1 separated from its launcher approximately 40 minutes after liftoff and began independently orbiting the Earth.

The satellite is expected to reach its final geostationary orbit, 36,000 kilometers above the equator, within about two weeks following a series of maneuvers.

Dror-1 was developed and manufactured by IAI to ensure the country’s industrial and technological independence in this strategically vital sector.

Its geostationary position will allow for continuous and flexible communication coverage for various government systems.

“Israel Aerospace Industries has led the nation’s space program since the 1980s, when the first observation satellite, Ofek-1, was launched. Since then, IAI has developed, produced, and launched additional communications and observation satellites for national, civilian, and scientific missions both in Israel and abroad,” the company said.

Over the coming weeks, IAI engineers will perform a series of tests designed to verify the satellite’s successful operation. From then on, it will embark on its multi-year journey in space as the State of Israel’s national communications satellite.

“‘Dror 1’ is the most advanced communications satellite ever built in Israel, designed to preserve this national strategic capability in the country while providing Israel with essential satellite communications capabilities for years to come,” said IAI President Boaz Levy.

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Space-based, intelligence-gathering satellites captured images of tens of millions of square kilometers.

By Vered Weiss, World Israel News

Millions of photos were needed for Israeli satellites to capture over 12,000 images of strategic areas in Iran before Operation Rising Lion, Israel’s Defense Minister Israel Katz said in a statement.

The space-based, intelligence-gathering satellites captured images of tens of millions of square kilometers.

Iran spans approximately 1.6 million square kilometers, which means that many pictures were taken of the same strategic places from different angles and at various times during the day and night, particularly in Tehran and the Western part of the country.

During that time, Israel had refined its use of satellites, upgrading from a snapshot method with individual pictures to a continuous video, which provided the capability for real-time surveillance.

The satellites enabled Israel’s Air Force to make adjustments in missions based on the positioning of Iran’s ballistic missiles.

Additionally, the technology enabled prompt damage assessment to determine the success of military strikes.

This also allowed Israel’s military to decide if a mission was complete or if additional aerial sorties were needed to complete it.

Crucial to the success of Israel’s operation was the introduction of the Ofek 13 satellite, which was introduced in 2023.

The Ofek 13 satellite, developed jointly by the Israeli Defense Ministry and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), was launched from a site in central Israel using a Shavit 2 rocket.

At the time, Avi Berger, head of the defense ministry’s space directorate, said, “The launch went smoothly and exactly as planned. The initial signals from the satellite are very promising. Over the next few weeks, we’ll complete the technical evaluations and begin receiving the first images.”

Alongside the ministry and IAI, several Israel Defense Forces divisions, including Unit 9900 and the air force, also participated in the satellite’s development and production.

“Ofek 13 is a radar-based observation satellite with some of the most advanced capabilities of its kind anywhere in the world—all developed entirely in Israel,” Berger said.

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Israel’s national atomic clock to serve new role as part of cybersecurity defense of the country’s infrastructure.

By Pesach Benson, TPS

To enhance the cybersecurity of critical infrastructure, Israel’s national clock, located in the National Physics Laboratory, was connected to the “time distribution” system of the national digital system on Sunday.

Based in Jerusalem, the National Physics Laboratory upholds national standards for measuring time, mass and pressure, as well as electrical capacity. This includes four cesium-type atomic clocks measuring time and frequency for security and civilian purposes such as television broadcasts, telephone calls, computers, navigation devices and military systems

The clocks were synchronized and connected with the National Digital Array, a government body which promotes digital advances in the public sector.

Many information systems are based on quoting time from the GPS satellite system. But such systems can have difficulty getting a correct time reading if satellites are jammed, requiring backup, which the National Physics Laboratory can provide.

“The significance of national time in ensuring the safety and protection of state infrastructures has grown considerably over the past decade due to the escalating number of cyber attacks targeting digital information systems and satellite signals, including jamming and spoofing,” said a joint statement issued by the Ministry of Economy and Industry, the National Digital Array and the National Physics Laboratory.

In addition to the clocks, the National Physics Laboratory houses equipment for international comparisons, measurements, and calibrations for industrial and military clients such as Rafael, Elbit, the Aerospace Industry, Air Force, and Electricity Company.

To ensure accuracy, the laboratory compares time measurements taken in Israel with those from other national laboratories around the world — 86,400 times each day.

The new-generation atomic clocks and comparison system were introduced to the laboratory in 2019.

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Tel Aviv University’s first nanosatellite launched into orbit on Saturday evening Israel time from a NASA launch facility in Virginia.

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Watch the video below to see what you may have missed this week but shouldn’t have!

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“Our greatest fear in a satellite collision isn’t just losing them, but also the fact that their debris could end up scattered in space.”

By Udi Etsion, Calcalist

Some days you open your email to find a spam message from a Nigerian prince asking for money, and there are other days when you find a message from the European Space Agency (ESA) warning that your satellite is on a collision course with another, and you better do something about it fast.

That’s what happened at the beginning of December to the Israeli-French environmental research satellite Venus’ operational team.

Israel Aerospace Industries constructed it along with the Israel Space Agency and the Ministry of Science and Technology in a collaboration with the French space agency. Since its launch in 2017, IAI is also responsible for operating it just like it does with its vast array of space communications and spy satellites.

The Venus satellite is responsible for tracking and predicting weather patterns and other phenomena that can affect the environment, and particularly Israeli agriculture.

“Our greatest fear in a satellite collision isn’t just losing them, but also the fact that their debris could end up scattered in space, and endanger other satellites, spacecraft, or the International Space Station (ISS),” the head of Satellite Systems at IAI, whose name is undisclosed said.

In the past, the scientific community has estimated that there is only a slight chance that two satellites could collide. However, that all changed on Feb. 10, 2009, when flying at 42,000 km/hr above Siberian skies, a Russian Kosmos-2251 military communications satellite collided with the commercial U.S. Iridium-33 communications satellite.

Both satellites were obliterated, and created more than a thousand pieces of debris over 10 cm long floating through space. Operational satellite teams and the ISS were forced to alter their flight courses in order to prevent hitting those objects.

Since then, NASA has increased its tracking of space debris and satellites, whose primary purpose is to protect the U.S government’s dozens of communications and spy satellites.

The ESA joined it to monitor potential collisions and even predict them a few days in advance, to identify possible courses of collison. That’s when the warning about the Venus satellite came through: there was a high probability that within five days Israel’s Venus satellite would collide with NASA’s Terra, its oldest environmental research satellite that was launched in 1999.

“We typically get two or three alerts like this a month, we check everything and move our satellite due to a risk of it crashing on average once a year,” said a Venus systems engineer, whose name was undisclosed as well.

“This time we checked and concluded that we needed to alter its trajectory. On one hand, we received a warning five days in advance, while on the other hand, similarly to a big ship, changing its trajectory is a slow process. You want to start such a maneuver as early as possible, so that you can conduct it while using the least amount of fuel possible, since fuel consumption shortens the satellite’s lifespan.”

After the team finished altering the satellite’s trajectory, it passed on the updated trajectory course to the French space agency, who would further verify the calculations, and then to NASA, who would be updated on Venus’s altered flight path. Only after the U.S. approved, did the Venus satellite receive the final instructions to change course, merely three days ahead of the potential collision time.

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A nano-satellite developed by Israeli students will conduct cosmic radiation measurements that will help develop better protection for astronauts and equipment in space, ILTV reports.

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The DIDO-3 unit will conduct four experiments on drug resistance in optimal microgravity conditions.

By Batya Jerenberg, World Israel News

The Israeli and Italian space agencies successfully launched a shoebox-size satellite into space Wednesday night that will run medical experiments by remote control, the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) announced Thursday.

Four “ground-breaking medical-scientific experiments” on the DIDO-3 nano-satellite will be managed by scientists from the Technion, Sheba Medical Center and the Hebrew University of Jerusalem in partnership with Italian researchers. The four will test drug resistance from a chemical, biological and medical perspective.

Doctors have been struggling for years with antibiotic-resistant bacteria, so-called “super-bugs” that have built up resistance to today’s medications. The UN estimates that millions of people will die in the coming decades if a solution isn’t found.

Prof. Ohad Gal-Mor, director of the Infectious Diseases Research Laboratory at Sheba told The Jerusalem Post on Thursday why experiments in outer space can help with this problem.

“At Sheba Medical Center, we already have preliminary data suggesting that micro-gravity reduces antibiotic resistance acquisition from experiments we performed on the ground using a special device that mimics micro-gravity conditions to some extent,” he said.

“Now we are able to repeat these results under ‘real’ micro-gravity conditions and see how the conditions in space affect this process.”

The DIDO series of nano-satellites were developed by Israeli-Swiss company SpacePharma, founded in 2012 to use the weightless conditions in space to research and develop new medications.

They contain miniaturized, end-to-end laboratories that can perform many kinds of medical experiments while being operated from anywhere in the world. The whole satellite weighs a mere 2.3 kilo (5.06 pounds).

According to ISA head Avi Blasberger, SpacePharma is the only commercial competition NASA has in conducting space-based lab research.

The DIDO-3 was one of some 50 nano-satellites from 13 countries that took off on a rocket launched from French Guyana. It is expected to begin emitting its first signals from space at 11:00 a.m. Israel time Thursday, and spend two months up in space.

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Israel is one of only 13 countries in the world capable of launching into space.

By David Isaac, World Israel News

Israeli successfully launched its Ofek-16 (or, “Horizon-16”) satellite at 4:00 a.m. on Monday. It joins a collection of satellites Israel has deployed recently.

Not only the satellite, but its Shavit launcher were developed locally in Israel. The project could be described as all ‘Blue and White,’ a term referring to Israel’s national colors and often used to describe locally produced products.

The satellite has already entered orbit and has undergone initial tests. It will begin transmitting its first pictures next week.

Ofek-16 is a reconnaissance satellite. Although Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) made no comment about the details of its mission, reports have assumed that it will bolster Israel’s ability to monitor Iran, particularly its nuclear weapons development.

Israel is one of the few countries with satellite-reconnaissance capabilities. Iran is another in that elite group.

Update: The Israel Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries have successfully launched the Ofek 16 satellite – *which has begun its orbit in space* pic.twitter.com/ubNWFsf1Q0

— Ministry of Defense (@Israel_MOD) July 6, 2020

Defense Minister Benny Gantz tweeted on Monday, “Israel’s technological and intelligence superiority is a cornerstone of its security.”

“The success of the launch of the satellite tonight is another tremendous achievement for the defense establishment, the security industry in general and the aerospace industry in particular,” he said.

“The fact that Israel is one of 13 countries in the world capable of launching into space is not self-evident and stands first and foremost thanks to the people who have been working on these systems and advancing breakthrough capabilities over the years,” he added.

Israel’s Ofek-16 follows the 2016 launch of Ofek-11. Israel Aerospace Industries wouldn’t comment on the jump in numbers.

“The Ofek-16 is highly advanced, including breakthrough ‘blue and white’ technology that serves our defense interests,” said Shlomi Sudari, who heads IAI’s space program.

“We will continue to strengthen and fortify Israel’s power on every front and everywhere,” Gantz said.

Israeli defense firm Elbit systems, which specializes in electronic defense systems, developed the satellite’s payload.

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Spacecom’s new satellite will provide television broadcasting and Internet services mainly to the African continent.

By World Israel News Staff

Israeli communications satellite operator Spacecom has received the green-light to launch its “Amos 17” satellite into space on August 4 or 5, depending on weather conditions, from the Cape Canaveral Space Center in Florida.

Amos 17 will provide television broadcasting and Internet services mainly to the African continent. It was built by U.S. aviation corporation Boeing and will be launched by Elon Musk’s SpaceX, according to Globes.

Spacecom credited these companies and their advanced technologies for creating this unique satellite, which has an expected 20 years of service. The satellite establishes Spacecom’s international standing as a provider of innovative communications services.

“Africa is a huge continent,” Eran Shapiro, director, Business and Technology Ventures at Spacecom, told reporters. “It’s the fastest growing continent. By the end of the century, Asia and Africa will be equal in terms of population, which means that in terms of the percentage of the young population, it will be the largest young population in the world, so there will be a demand for content.”

At the time of launch, Amos 17 will weigh 6.5 tons with more than half of that weight fuel. It is 35 meters long with its solar panels open. The cost of the satellite is $250 million. The satellite is supposed to reach a point of 36,000 kilometers from Earth.

The current launch is the first by the company since its 2016 disaster, when its Amos 6 exploded before launching.

With Amos 17’s supreme technology over its competitors above the African continent, Spacecom is expecting one of its contracts to be with Facebook.

The satellite has already undergone thousands of tests to help ensure a smooth launch.

Spacecom already has $58 million in backlogged orders for communications services in Africa as well as other services.

With a successful launch of Amos 17, the company plans to increase sales and sign more large contracts, making it a leading multi-regional satellite operator, according to Globes.

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Researchers in Israel are building satellites smaller than shoe boxes that can transmit high-res photos and videos back to earth, leading some to call the new crafts the future of space travel and exploration.

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By: World Israel News Staff

As Israel prepares to celebrate the 30th anniversary of its first orbital spy satellite, the Ofek 1, the Defense Ministry released several current surveillance photos taken by its current fleet of satellites.

Among the images released were a number of sites located deep into Syrian territory, including an image of the palace of Syrian dictator Bashar Assad.

Israel’s decision to reveal the image has been interpreted as a warning to the Syrian ruler regarding the IDF’s military capabilities and the Israeli Air Force’s knowledge of the lay of the land.

The other two photos that Israel released depict Syrian tanks on a military base and the Damascus international airport, which Syria claims Israel targeted on Saturday evening.

The Israeli military’s ability to strike Syrian targets, as well as Iranian military assets and personnel within Syria, is no secret, with the Jewish state carrying out hundreds of air strikes since 2017. While Israel generally neither confirms nor denies the strikes initially, it has on a number of occasions subsequently taken responsibility for destroying Syrian and Iranian military facilities and weapons shipments.

Israel has consistently made it clear that Iranian entrenchment in Syrian territory is a red line it will not countenance, resorting to both military and diplomatic responses to the Islamic Republic’s use of the Syrian civil war as cover for its regional expansionism and attempts to carve out a Shiite corridor in the Middle East.

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Israel sent two new satellites into space at the same time, including its first environmental research satellite.

Early Wednesday morning, the Israel Space Agency (ISA) simultaneously launched two satellites on the Vega launcher in French New Guinea.

The satellites are the OptSat 3000 spy satellite, acquired by Italy’s Ministry of Defense, and Israel’s first environmental research satellite, Venus.

Venus, which stands for “Vegetation and Environment Monitoring on a New Micro Satellite,” is a flagship satellite project between the ISA and the French government’s space agency, Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales.

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev said in a press release that the Venus satellite is Israel’s first scientific observation satellite capable of conducting agricultural and ecological research.

Prof. Arnon Karnieli, head of the Remote Sensing Laboratory at the Jacob Blaustein Institutes for Desert Research in Sde Boker, Israel, is Venus’ principal investigator and will use the satellite to collaborate with his French counterpart, Dr. Gerard Dedieu.

Israel’s Scientific ‘Courage and Innovation’

The university said that environmental research satellites have become increasingly important in recent years in light of rising environmental hazards such as population overcrowding, the dwindling of arable land, pollution and natural disasters. The satellite will track agricultural fields and other natural areas, recording data about the status of the land, foliage, forestation, agriculture, quality of water sources, and more. The satellite will transmit images every two days of the chosen research sites worldwide to Karnieli and Dedieu. The first images are expected to be available to researchers on November 1.

“Israel is renowned the world over for its courage and innovation, elements which are expressed in the technological development of Venus as well,” said Israel’s Science, Technology and Space Minister, Ofir Akunis.

This launch was the first instance in which two Israeli satellites were sent into space simultaneously, other than concurrent launches of microscopic nanosatellites.

By: JNS.org and World Israel News Staff

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Israel’s Defense Ministry is reporting that its recently launched spy satellite, the Ofek 11, is now working properly after undergoing some technical difficulties.

Ofek 11, the new and recently launched Israeli spy satellite, is operational and taking high-quality pictures after experiencing technical difficulties shortly after its launch earlier this month.

Amnon Harari, director of the Defense Ministry’s space administration, said satellite operators downloaded the first images from the satellite on Thursday.

“The images are splendid, very good,” he told reporters.

The satellite was initially “not acting as expected.”

Harari said that since then, technical teams have been busy stabilizing the satellite and its systems.

Ofek 11 has been described as the country’s most sophisticated spy satellite. It is expected to be used to keep tabs on Iran’s nuclear and military development and other regional adversaries.

“It’s going to be used for looking at a lot of bad guys all over the place,” said Ofer Doron, head of the space division at state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), the manufacturer of the satellite.

Doron said the satellite took images of “interesting” places in the region on Thursday. He declined to provide details, but said the photos were “absolutely” the quality the satellite’s designers had intended.

“You should smile when you look up at it,” he said.

Its predecessor, the Ofek 10, was launched in April 2014. The Ofek 11 is Israel’s seventh espionage satellite. The Ofek 9 and 10 have reportedly sent back exceptional high-quality images and are able to record objects just tens of centimeters in size. Very few other countries have this technology.

“Satellites are a tool that allow us to look beyond the horizon, to see and investigate all of our areas of interest and best deal with threats,” explained Maj. Guy, Head of the Advanced SIGINT and Space Department in the Israel Air Force (IAF). “The satellites allow communication at all times and anywhere. The satellites are a power multiplier and produce a great amount of product for the IAF.”

The Israeli satellites add another layer to the deciphering of the aerial image performed by intelligence units in the IAF and IDF and they are of a great significance in the strategic and tactical aspects of Israel’s strength and security.

“The Israeli satellites have a long lifetime and we enjoy their products for a long time, but we are working on the improvement of resolution and availability and want to advance into various worlds of knowledge,” shared Maj. Guy. “The main challenge is the launch. We must take the launch area into consideration and make sure that there is no falling debris, so everything has to be very carefully calculated.”

By: World Israel News Staff
AP contributed to this report.

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