Israel's Defense Ministry has announced the successful launch of a new spy satellite that the ministry said would provide high-quality surveillance for its military intelligence.
Israel has been building up its surveillance capabilities to monitor enemies such as Iran, whose nuclear program Israel sees as a major threat to its security.
The Defense Ministry said the Ofek-16 satellite was launched at 4 a.m. on July 6 from central Israel by a locally developed Shavit rocket. It described the Ofek as an “electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities.”
The first images from the satellite are expected in about a week.
"We will continue to strengthen and maintain Israel's capabilities on every front, in every place," Defense Minister Benny Gantz said in a statement.
Israel's network of satellites allows the country to watch the entire Middle East, including Iran.
'Iranian Nuclear Threat'
Gantz said that “technological superiority and intelligence capabilities are essential to the security of the state of Israel.”
He didn’t give further details on the satellite's mission, but Israeli public radio said it would be used to monitor Iran's nuclear activities.
Foreign Minister Gabi Ashkenazi confirmed on July 6 Israel is taking action to stop the Iranian nuclear threat.
Ashkenazi made the comment in response to a question about a series of mysterious incidents at Iranian facilities, including at Natanz, the Islamic republic's main uranium-enrichment center.
"We have a long-term policy over the course of many administrations not to allow Iran to have nuclear abilities," The Jerusalem Post quoted the minister as saying at a conference.
"We take actions that are better left unsaid," he said.
Iran denies its nuclear program has any military dimension.
The main contractor for the Ofek-16 project was the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries, while the satellite's payload was developed by defense firm Elbit Systems.
Quelle: RadioFreeEurope
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Israel successfully launches new spy satellite
The Space Administration in the Ministry of Defense led the development and production of "Ofek 16", an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities
Israel successfully launched its new spy satellite, the Ofek 16, early Monday morning. The reconnaissance satellite was launched into space on a Shavit launcher at 4 a.m. from the Palmachim airbase in central Israel and it is expected to further enhance Israel's spying capabilities from space.
“The Space Administration in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D), of the Israel Ministry of Defense (IMoD), and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), have successfully launched the "Ofek 16" reconnaissance satellite into space, today at 4:00 AM,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement.
Shortly after the launch, Ofek already began orbiting around Earth and transmitting data.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz called the launch an "extraordinary achievement."
"Technological superiority and intelligence capabilities are essential to the security of the state of Israel," he said. Gantz added that Israel is among only 13 countries that can launch their satellites independently, standing alongside the U.S., Russia, China, France, Italy, U.K., India, Japan, South Korea, North Korea, Ukraine and Iran.
The launch of Israel's first intelligence-gathering satellite, called Ofek1, was conducted on September 19, 1988. The launch was carried out in secret in order not to reveal to Israel's regional enemies the country's technological advancement.
The last time Israel launched a spy satellite was four years ago, when Ofek 11 took off from the Palmachim airbase in September 2016.
"Ofek 16" is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities. Its development was the result of experience gained by the defense establishment in the production of earlier satellites in the Ofek series.
“IMoD and IAI engineers have started a series of pre-planned tests to determine the performance level of the satellite before it begins its full operational activities,” said the Defense Ministry.
"We will continue to strengthen and maintain Israel's capabilities on every front, in every place,” added Gantz.
While the launch was planned long ago, it comes amidst heightened tensions between Israel and Iran, with the New York Times reporting on Sunday that it was Israel which planted a bomb at the Natanz nuclear complex last week, causing significant damage to a building where advanced centrifuges were being developed.
The Space Administration in IMoD has led the development and production of the satellite and its launcher. IAI is the prime contractor, having assigned the program to its Systems, Missiles and Space Group together with the MLM Division, which is responsible for the development of the launcher. Elbit Systems is responsible for the development and production of the satellite's advanced camera and payload. The launch engines were developed by Rafael Advanced Defense Systems and Tomer, a government-owned company. Additional companies have participated in the program, including Rokar and Cielo.
Once the satellite is deemed fully operational, the Ministry of Defense will deliver responsibilities to the IDF's '9900' Intelligence Unit.
Quelle: CTech
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Israel launches Ofek 16 recon satellite into orbit
Space dep't of Defense Ministry research arm, Israel Aerospace Industries team up to launch Ofek 16 into space
A new advanced Israeli reconnaissance satellite took off and reached the planet's orbit Monday morning, Israel's Defense Ministry announced.
According to a press statement, the satellite, dubbed Ofek 16, took off from a launchpad in central Israel at 4:00 am local time -- 21:00 Eastern Time.
The launch came as a joint endeavor of the Space Administration of the defense ministry's research and development arm and the Israel Aerospace Industries company.
The latter is the manufacturer of Shavit launcher, one of which was used to deliver Ofek 16 to orbit.
Following the launch, the electro-optical reconnaissance successfully made it to the orbit and sent in the first data transmissions. It will now go through a number of tests and calibrations before entering service.
Welcoming the launch, Israel's Defense Minister Benny Gantz said: "The successful launch of the 'Ofek 16' satellite overnight is yet another extraordinary achievement for the defense establishment, for the defense industries as a whole, and for Israel Aerospace Industries in particular."
Gantz stressed that technological and intelligence advantage was crucial for Israel's security and stressed that only 12 countries besides Israel were capable of launching their satellites themselves.
Earlier, the Israel Aerospace Industries, as well as another Israeli company -- Rafael Advanced Defense Systems -- signed a memorandum of understanding with Group 42, a UAE-based high-tech enterprise.
Quelle: i24
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With Iran in its sights, Israel launches new spy satellite into orbit
Ofek-16, an ‘optoelectronic reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities,’ undergoing tests after entering orbit. Netanyahu: Boosts ability to tackle enemies ‘near and far’
Israel launched a new spy satellite into orbit from a launchpad in the center of the country early Monday morning, the Defense Ministry said.
“The Defense Ministry and Israel Aerospace Industries successfully launched into space the reconnaissance satellite ‘Ofek-16,’ which entered into its orbit,” the ministry said in a statement.
Defense Minister Benny Gantz hailed the launch of the Ofek-16 satellite as a “mighty achievement for the defense establishment, the defense industries in general and Israel Aerospace Industries in particular.”
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said the successful launch “very much increases our ability to act against Israel’s enemies, near and far alike. It greatly expands our ability to act on land, at sea, in the air and also in space.”
Israel is one of a small number of countries in the world that operate reconnaissance satellites, giving it advanced intelligence-gathering capabilities. As of April, this cadre included Iran, which successfully launched a spy satellite into orbit after years of failed attempts.
“Our network of satellites lets us watch the entire Middle East — and even a bit more than that,” said Shlomi Sudari, the head of IAI’s space program.
The reconnaissance satellite was fired into space at 4 a.m. using a Shavit launch vehicle that took off from a launchpad in the Palmachim air base in central Israel, the ministry said.
The Ofek-16 is an “optoelectronic reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities,” the ministry said. It is the latest satellite in the Ofek series to be launched into space, following the Ofek-11, which entered orbit in 2016.
According to Sudari, the Ofek-16 is the “brother” of the Ofek-11, containing many of the same capabilities, along with a few “light improvements, in terms of precision.” Defense Ministry officials refused to comment on the jump in the name, from Ofek-11 to Ofek-16.
“The Ofek-16 is highly advanced, including breakthrough ‘blue and white’ technology that serves our defense interests,” Sudari said, using a term that refers to the colors of the Israeli flag to signify domestically produced capabilities.
Though the main function of the new spy satellite will likely be monitoring Iran and developments in its nuclear and missile programs, defense officials denied any symbolism in conducting the launch amid growing reports that Israel was responsible for a number of recent explosions in the Islamic Republic, including one at a uranium enrichment facility and another at a missile production plant.
“The timing was planned far in advance,” Sudari said.
Sudari said the Ofek-16 would operate on a low-Earth orbit, similar to the other Ofek satellites.
“Under the original launch plan, the [Ofek-16] satellite entered orbit around the Earth and began to beam back data,” the Defense Ministry said early on Monday.
Engineers from the ministry and Israel Aerospace Industries began performing a series of tests to ensure that the satellite was operating correctly. The ministry said these checks would continue “until the satellite enters full operation shortly.”
Amnon Hariri, the head of the Defense Ministry’s Space Department, said, beaming, that the launch went off with no hiccups.
Once operational, the satellite will be operated by the Israel Defense Forces’ Unit 9900, a visual intelligence detachment that controls all of the nation’s spy satellites.
“The State of Israel’s technological and intelligence superiority is the cornerstone of its security,” Defense Minister Gantz wrote on Twitter. “We’ll continue to strengthen and fortify Israel’s strength on every front and every place.”
This was the first launch of an Israeli spy satellite into space since the Ofek-11 in September 2016. The Ofek-11 experienced initial technical issues shortly after launch, but engineers on the ground were able to stabilize it and get it working. According to the Defense Ministry, there were no such issues with the Ofek-16.
Last year, Israel also put the Amos-17 communications satellite into orbit, using a SpaceX rocket that was launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida.
Israel launched its first satellite, the Ofek-1, into space in 1988, footage of which was released by the Defense Ministry in 2018.
It was not until seven years later, in 1995, that Israel launched a reconnaissance satellite into space capable of photographing the Earth.
Quelle: The Times of Israel