Monday, August 6, 2012

Israel Exports Its Spy Satellites

August 4, 2012: An Israeli firm is building a surveillance satellite for Italy. This bird will weigh under 400 kg (880 pounds) and will use a 600 kilometers high orbit. The Italian satellite appears to be an improved version of the Israeli Ofek photo satellite. The first one of these went up in 1988 and the latest one (Ofek 9) went up two years ago and weighs about 300 kg (660 pounds). The Ofek 9 has a new generation of sensors that are able to see objects as small as 55 cm (twenty inches).
Israel also developed its own satellite launcher; Shavit. The first two stages of the Shavit are also used for the Israeli Jericho 3 IRBM (Intermediate Range Ballistic Missile). With a range of nearly 5,000 kilometers, the Jericho 3 can drop a nuke anywhere in the Middle East. Jericho is a 30 ton, solid fuel, two stage missile, with a half-ton payload. Israel sometimes uses launchers from other nations. Four years ago, an Israeli radar satellite, TekSar, was launched using an Indian launcher. In addition to Israeli built Ofek and TekSar birds, Israeli intelligence also uses Eros B and Eros A (Israeli civilian photo satellite) for some military missions.


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