50 years since the space age - is humanity already there? Part II'

And this time, do we know that our lives depend on space, Israel's place in the field and what is expected in the future

to part A of the article

Launching spaceships is like building roads

Many countries understand that civilian and not just military investment in space has a national profit on its side, therefore part of the investment in civilian R&D (such as medicine, agriculture, environment, etc.) is converted to civilian investment in space. Nations understand today that investing in building a stable infrastructure in space will have the same meaning in the near future as the construction of roads or railways, the construction of electricity poles or the laying of water pipes or optical fiber cables, for the expansion and flourishing of the economy of those countries.
There are currently about 45 countries that are actively involved in space and have a national space agency. Only about 15 of them have a significant space program that includes launching satellites and research spacecraft. About 5 of them can be called a space power - the USA, Russia, the European Union, China and India have a space program of more than hundreds of millions of dollars per year, independent launch capability for low and high orbit and a large number of various satellites in orbit. 3 of them - the USA, the USSR and China - have the amazing ability to launch a person into space and bring him back safe and sound. The latter joined only recently, in 2003, and European countries, India and Japan are already hinting that they are on their way there. In connection with this, the Hebrew reader will be happy to know that the State of Israel is, according to almost all parameters, a space power, but due to reasons that I will list in the next special addendum at the end of this article, it is not considered such in the eyes of the nations of the world.

Even garbage is already in space
About 100 satellites are launched a year into space. About 30 of them for the geostationary belt. Over 300 tons of effective payload of satellites and spacecraft reaches space per year. When these satellites end their lives, some of them become "space junk" and pose a danger to the other satellites. Those who wish to measure the success of the space age based on this parameter alone - will find that humanity's natural tendency to pollute its environment definitely reached space successfully.
Most of the research spacecrafts to the neighboring planets that were launched in the 60s and 70s failed, but some of those that survived brought scientists on Earth unique information from a distance of tens and hundreds of millions of kilometers that taught them a lot. This information also gave them a new way of looking at the planet and changed the method in which they tend to solve problems at home. In the 80s, at the height of the space race, almost no spacecraft were sent to explore the solar system, but today, almost every planet in the solar system now has a spacecraft personally exploring it or will reach it in the coming years. Mars in particular has been attacked in the last decade by a fleet of research satellites and robots roaming its arid surface with the stated goal of finding remnants of life and actually with the practical goal of understanding how life began on Earth and how to prevent its destruction in the future. Two research spacecraft launched in the early 70s are at the edge of the solar system and are still making contact. A number of telescopes placed in space look deep into space and far into the past in a variety of wavelengths and camera keys to better know where we are in the universe by understanding the beginning of the universe, its structure and our future destiny.
Many other telescopes on Earth also study the sky to complement the capabilities of the telescopes in space. Some of them participate in the important operation of its kind to map all the objects in space that have a threat of destroying life on Earth by a future collision. But the other dreams of humanity are also about to come true.

The race to space continues on the moon
For various geopolitical reasons, President Bush announced in 2005 the US plan to return to the moon. First, the plan boldly talks about decommissioning the shuttle fleet as soon as possible, by 2010. The decommissioning of the shuttles will be carried out after the end of the American commitment to the construction of the International Space Station, whose future will be clouded after its goals have not been properly defined according to many.
As part of the program, NASA will design and build through its subcontractors, 2 new launchers and a new spacecraft, similar to the Apollo era spacecraft. The spacecraft will enable a flight to the Earth's orbit, but also a flight to the moon and a landing on its surface in 2018.
The main goal of the program is to create a permanent settlement of scientists and equipment on the surface of the moon and ultimately the spacecraft will enable the long and difficult journey to Mars and the landing of the first man on the surface of Mars and his safe return. Just last week, during the World Space Conference held this year in Hyderabad, India, for the first time in history, Mike Griffin, the head of NASA, announced the year of the landing on Mars - 2037. It is interesting to note that NASA's main problem today with the program is mainly the lack of public support that exists today among the American population for the issue of space and the threat for the budget cuts that will come with the expected change of government there next year.
But this announcement by the USA created a chain reaction among the other space powers, almost every one of them (Russia, China, India and even Japan!) has since announced the formulation of a plan to send people into orbit and to the moon and establish a permanent seat on it. These countries have already begun launching research spacecraft to prepare the ground and produce the knowledge and technology necessary to achieve this ambitious mission.
It is still too early to say if this will indeed be the case, but quite a few space experts in the world think that the second phase of the space race ahead of us will start in the coming years and it will be much more interesting and ambitious than the first phase. A head-to-head battle was predicted mainly between the USA and China or alternatively the renewal of the race between the USA and Russia, with China reinforcing it from the side or a completely different race between an Asian axis (Russia, China and India) and a Western axis (the countries of the European Union, the USA) and Japan)

Did you also use the space today?
But the truly amazing number that this article needs to provide is the billions of people who use space every day. Yes, the number is billions. who use space all the time. without even knowing.
To know how this happens and if we allow ourselves to stop referring to the success of the space age entering our lives in the number of feet that have stepped on the moon, or in the total mass of satellites launched into space every year and focus also on the field of civil and commercial space, then perhaps we will gain a great deal of refinement.
The space industry in the world generates huge sums - over one hundred billion dollars a year are invested in the development and production of satellites, which will be launched into space, the construction of control and control ground stations and other ground equipment.
Thanks to this industry, the Earth has truly become a global village when satellites allow immediate access to information, and communication between remote areas in the blink of an eye.

It is surprising to discover that the majority of the market is occupied by communication satellite operating companies that purchase satellites from manufacturers with extensive experience around the world and sell the satellite services mainly to companies that distribute TV channels, but also for satellite radio, telephony and Internet services. Communication satellites are simply a relay station in space that receives signals from a certain area, amplifies and transmits it back to the same area or another. Communication satellites are in fact a very important infrastructure of uninterrupted and borderless communication that can continue to function even during catastrophes of natural disaster or war, therefore its importance to sovereign countries is critical. The information age, which is also called in some cases, the age of communication, owes much of its entry into our lives to the capabilities provided by communication satellites for the people of the world. In Israel, all public channels and YES company broadcasts are transmitted all over Israel through the Amos satellites located in the Israeli sky point at 4 degrees West.
Many of us don't think twice before opening their GPS receiver to plan the route to the next destination in their private car or on their trip abroad. Few people know that GPS is a satellite navigation system that the Americans developed in the 90's originally for military use only. These are about 24 satellites that are in a high orbit where at any time a GPS receiver is required to be in eye contact with at least 4 such satellites in order to produce an accurate reference point on the ground. Today, anyone can use these satellites that have become a global navigation infrastructure and not just American. It is therefore not surprising that Europe, Russia and China are currently developing or maintaining an independent navigation system for their national use and the US is replacing its entire fleet of satellites with modern satellites to provide an even better service.
Low-orbit photography satellites provide humanity with a new way to look at Earth and the beam across it. Intelligence bodies of armies receive accurate visual intelligence information, clear and without human risk of the enemy's targets and ultimately lead to the fact that peace between countries is maintained; If everyone knows what everyone is planning, a military surprise is almost impossible in such a situation and therefore many military conflicts are avoided in this way and bring the parties to reach an understanding or an agreement in another way. The Israeli Horizon satellites are considered among the best intelligence satellites in the world.
And who does not know the spectacular images provided by the commercial photography satellites mainly for large national or industrial bodies and which can be obtained today for free via the Internet using the Google Earth software. You should know that the territory of the State of Israel is not sufficiently detailed through these images due to a special law enacted in the American Senate to protect Israel's security interest.
Meteorological satellites bring to each of us, at the end of the evening news, a much more accurate meteorological forecast than before. Today, forecasts during hurricanes in countries whose territory is prone to them lead to a sharp drop in the number of victims of those disasters. For example; If during the tsunami disaster about three years ago there was an appropriate satellite warning system, the lives of tens of thousands of people would have been avoided. Such a system will save many in the future.
And finally, we will also mention the research satellites that watch the Earth, which follow the climate changes that are happening and study the nature of our planet so that we know how to continue living and preserve it for us and for future generations.
And if we have already mentioned the "green" issue, protecting the environment - in the distant future, it will be possible to use platforms in space that will concentrate solar energy on the surface as an alternative source of energy to the oil and coal that pollute the environment and we will even be able to mine minerals and precious metals from asteroids close to the Earth and stop exploiting it for our consumption.

In conclusion, today there is almost no person in the western world who does not use space directly or indirectly and benefits, even without knowing it, from the many assets that humanity has in space today.
It could perhaps be said that the real achievement of the space age is in its rapid becoming transparent to the man in the street who uses space without needing to know that he is actually doing so.

"They (the aliens) don't tell us anything about intelligence somewhere in the universe, but they do prove its lack here in the universe." Arthur C. Clark. Geostationary belt thinker and science fiction writer.

Israel - almost 20 in the space age
When the Hal shuttle first flew in the early 80s in Israel, they began to learn the basic generalities of satellite engineering.
Precisely the late start forced the Israeli industry to take advantage of relatively new technologies that the world's giants did not dare to take advantage of and therefore this industry reached significant achievements in relation to investment.
It turns out that the Israeli satellites are of the highest quality in the world, even though their weight does not exceed half of the weight of similar satellites. Israel has an independent launch capability and is one of 7 countries in the world with such capability.
Today there are 7 blue-white satellites in space; 2 military spy satellites; 2 photography satellites and 2 commercial communication satellites and one more small research satellite. All satellites that have been launched and reached space have been 100% successful to date.
There is no doubt that even in relation to other achievements that the small state of Israel has achieved to date, the space program is a great success and can be a source of great pride for every citizen.
But the State of Israel is not considered a space power, but lags far behind other developed countries in this matter and few people in Israel are engaged in this to improve the situation.
The real story behind the double meaning of a great but invisible achievement is the government's dismal failure in the twenty years since Israel entered the space age to build a real space policy.
The State of Israel, unlike many developing countries, some of which do not even build satellites, has no space program at all. The only significant budget is in the hands of the Ministry of Defense for the development, production and launch of the military photography satellites. It is amazing to see the many achievements of the Israeli military space program in light of this poor budget which, according to foreign publications, does not exceed 70 million dollars per year, which is news for the mornings under the ax of cuts.
We have already clarified in this article that the truly significant thing for national security and the country's economy is the construction of the national space infrastructure, and this is done in other countries through the space agency, which should be a diverse body with a respectable budget. But the Israeli Space Agency is currently an institution of only one person and has a budget that is almost non-existent. (Author's note: Neighboring countries hostile to Israel such as Saudi Arabia and Iran have more developed space agencies). The State of Israel today hardly invests in technological satellites and future research satellites and the reliability of its launcher is in doubt. This situation could in the foreseeable future lead to a serious crisis in the Israeli space industry, which will not be able to compete with other space industries, and will not only go bankrupt regarding its ability to supply satellites to commercial companies, but also will not be able to supply the operational satellites that are so necessary to maintain the deterrent and warning security of our country The sacrifice of the 60th year of its founding and this cannot be passed in silence.
The State of Israel must build for itself a national space program budgeted at an annual level of between 100 and 150 million dollars as a start (just for the civilian program) in order to make its achievements real and meaningful for it. This is how the leading 15-20 countries in space will screw up, those countries that realized that building power in space means investing in the country's future just like investing in education, health and security.

EpilogueSpace today is in the life of almost every one of us even though we have not yet established colonies in space or on the moon and we have not yet put a man on Mars or sent groups of people to distant stars as many thirty years ago thought would happen until today.
In my opinion, the main and true measure of the success of the space age in penetrating our lives is the "gut feeling" reaction that exists in a large part of the population when we hear in the media about this or that investment in space, whether it is in a research mission or even a communication or photography satellite intended for public service in the end.
Unfortunately, the first and almost the only response often sounds like this: "Another satellite? Who needs it? Not a waste of money? There are much more important things to invest in on Earth. What about eradicating poverty? Why not invest more in curing cancer? And AIDS? Have we run out of important things on Earth that need to be thrown into space? "
Of course there is a clear and correct answer to these very strong arguments and that this sheet that I have laid out for you so far should give the readers the tools to give themselves the answer to this in a complete way.

And how will we measure whether the space age has indeed entered our lives on the 100th birthday of Sputnik? I believe that the same human saying that comes from the stomach will still be an excellent measure.