- From right to left: Israel Space Agency Director Zvi Kaplan, NASA Director Charles Bolden, Science Minister Daniel Hershkowitz
From the book of the 2006 Space Conference held on 31/1 at the Air Force Base in Herzliya, by the Ministry of Science, the Space Agency, the Chief Scientist at TMT and the Fisher Institute
Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Science and Technology
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In 1963, the National Academy of Sciences established the National Council for Space Research headed by Professor Aaron David Bergman. The establishment of the council reflected the fact that the scope of research in the universities, the amount of publications, their diversity and quality have formed into a research discipline that stands on its own, maintains international relations and becomes an independent and high-quality body in the research mosaic in Israel.
Towards the 80s, a research and development infrastructure in the field of space began to develop in the country, mainly around the defense industries and research institutes. In this activity there was a clear trend of developing the ability to build satellites and the means to launch them, along with a stated ambition to enter the club of countries with such ability. In April 1983, the government, under the initiative of Prof. Yuval Naaman, the Minister of Science at the time, established the Space Exploitation Agency (SAA) as a coordinating and supervising body for the national space program.
SLA is a state body operating within the Ministry of Science and Technology. It is his duty to outline plans and methods of action to advance Israel's civilian national goals in the field of space, and to carry them out within the budgetary framework designated for this purpose. On July 27, 2005, the steering committee of Salah met and approved the agency's vision:
"The exploration of space and its utilization is an essential tool for the protection of life on Earth; A key to knowing the universe, the earth and its environment; lever for technological advancement; A key to the existence of a modern society and a developed economy based on knowledge; A center of attraction for quality scientific and technological personnel". Salah's vision is: "to preserve and expand Israel's comparative advantage and place it in the group of five leading countries in the world in space exploration and utilization".
The overarching goals in the realization of the vision are: to build and maintain satellite systems in space for space exploration and for Earth research from space; to develop the technologies, knowledge and scientific infrastructure (including laboratories, etc.) necessary for space exploration; to promote international cooperation in space exploration and utilization in order to strengthen the overall interests of the State of Israel; To act to strengthen the relationship between research and the use of space and society in Israel.
The Israel Space Agency has signed cooperation agreements with the space agencies of: France (CNES), the United States (NASA), Canada (CSA), India (ISRO), Germany (DLR), Ukraine (NSAU), Russia (RKA), Netherlands (NLR) and Brazil (AEB).
The Israel Space Agency operates within the Ministry of Science and Technology. The role of chairman of the SLA is held by Major General (res.) Prof. Yitzhak Ben Israel and the position of CEO of the SLA is held by Dr. Zvi Kaplan.
Major projects at the Israel Space Agency:
Venus: development, construction and launch into space of a scientific microsatellite for Earth research. Partners: Government, IAA, Elbit (Aluf), Rafael, the Israeli Space Agency and the French Space Agency (CNES).
TAUVEX: manufacturing and launching a space telescope in the ultraviolet range for the purposes of astronomical observation from space. Partners: Government, Elbit (Aluf), the Israeli Space Agency and the Indian Space Agency (ISRO).
SLOSHSAT: a microsatellite for the study of the phenomenon of the wading of liquids in space. Partners: Rafael, NLR Laboratories, FOKKER-SPACE, the Israeli Space Agency and the European Space Agency (ESA).
