Ofek 5 successfully launched * will broadcast images from hostile countries

The Israeli spy satellite was successfully launched, and within a few weeks will begin transmitting images from space

 
The Ofek 5 spy satellite was launched into space and managed to reach its orbit
 
 Launched this evening using a "Shavit" missile manufactured by the Aerospace Industry, from the air force base in the center of the country; The satellite was launched towards the sea, in order to prevent harm to residents, especially in enemy countries, if the launch were to fail
 
2.6.2002
Launch of the previous Israeli satellite Ofek 3

The Israeli spy satellite "Ofek" 5 was launched on 29/5/2002 in the afternoon from Palmahim Beach, using the "Shavit" missile. The satellite was launched around 16:30 and now we are waiting to see if it enters its orbit as planned. (Note, at 00:05 a.m. on May 29, about seven and a half hours after launch, the Glatz website reported that the satellite was able to reach its designated orbit.

The satellite will take the place of Ofek 3, which ended its mission and burned up in space, after more than five years of full function. "Ofek" 5 is planned to operate in space for eight years.

"Ofek" 5 is considered, like its predecessor, to be a lightweight satellite that will orbit the earth at a low altitude - between 400 and 600 km. The satellite is developed and manufactured at the Mbat factory owned by the Aerospace Industry (TAA). The "Shavit" missile is developed and produced at the IA's MLM plant. The main equipment that "Ofek" 5 carries is a telescopic camera manufactured by "Alup", which is owned by Elbit Systems.

The main test of the satellite launch depends on the "Comet" rocket. According to foreign publications, the missile is based on the "Jericho" surface-to-surface missile. Because of the sensitivity of the systems installed on the satellite and because of its missions, it was decided that its launch would be carried out in Israel atop an Israeli launcher. Due to the geographical limitations, the satellite was launched from east to west, in the opposite direction to the earth's rotation, so that in the event of a malfunction the equipment would fall into the sea and not into the territory of an enemy country. Dispatch
Such is a greater technological challenge for planners.
The AP news agency reports:

Israel launched the Ofek 5 satellite, the spokesman for the Ministry of Defense stated that this was the case
Israel's observation capability, which had been missing for about a year, was restored. eyewitnesses
See the missile cross the clear sky over the Mediterranean coast, when
leaving behind a stream of white smoke that quickly disappeared.
The spokesman for the Ministry of Defense, Jordan Vetikai, confirmed that the spy satellite was launched
From the launch facility at the Palmachim air force base on the seashore south of Tel
Spring. It is not yet known if the satellite actually reached its intended orbit.
The launch will give Israel the expanded ability to monitor military developments
in the region, as well as to present its advanced military capability, say the experts.

The Israeli media reported that the satellite was launched with a home-made Comet rocket
Israel, belonging to the Jericho surface-to-surface missile family. Foreign experts were cited
As they say that the Jericho missile can carry a nuclear warhead, but
The senior officials in Israel never agreed to comment on this.
The first intelligence satellite, Ofek 1 was launched in 1988 and was subsequently launched
Ofek 2 in 1990. The third satellite was put into orbit in 1995. The launch
The next was carried out in 1988, but the launch of the satellite, Ofek 4, failed.

The IDF tried to extend the life of the Ofek 3 satellite through savings
in electricity, and thus his life was extended from three years to almost six, but finally he
Burned up in the atmosphere about a year ago. The IDF does not agree to say when it happened.
Since then, the IDF has used the private Eros satellite (which was also developed in Israel, and launched
by a private subsidiary company registered in the Netherlands of the aviation industry
the Israeli). Ofek 5, which will carry sophisticated cameras and sensors on board,
It was developed by Israeli companies and its route will be about 500 meters high
kilometers.

A stamp of the Israel Postal Authority on the Ofek 3 satellite
The Ofek 5 satellite is launched into space

YNET reports that: Many residents of Gush Dan were amazed on 29/5, when a missile passed not far from them. "I opened the window, and all of a sudden a huge rocket passed me and it was visible right next to the window," said Naor, a resident of Tel Aviv.
The rocket the residents envisioned carried the Ofek 5 satellite into space. The satellite was launched at 18:25 on a "Shavit" model rocket, manufactured by the Aerospace Industry, from a site in the center of the country. The missile was launched towards the west so that in the event of a malfunction, its operators could drop it into the sea. The launch to the west is considered technologically more complicated because it is the opposite direction to the direction of the earth's rotation.
At around 20:00 the satellite enters a low orbit around the Earth and later it is supposed to circle the Earth every hour and a half at an average height of about 450 km. In the coming days, the satellite will begin to launch images, and then the security system will finally know if the launch was successful.
The spokeswoman for the Ministry of Defense announced that "once the satellite is placed in orbit around the Earth, it will undergo a series of tests to verify its integrity and level of performance. The satellite has advanced technological capabilities, which allow its utilization for a variety of national needs."
The Minister of Defense, Binyamin Ben-Eliezer, said that "the launch of the satellite is a tremendous achievement for the Israeli security system and is a significant technological advance at the national level."

Cost: $60 millionThe cost of building the new satellite is estimated at about 60 million dollars. "Ofek" 5, which is being created by the Space Division of the Aerospace Industry, will replace "Ofek" 3 which was launched into space in April 1995. About a year and a half ago, "Ofek" 3 stopped operating because the gas that allows it to correct its orbit in space ran out.

At the same time, the Ofek 4 satellite was developed, but the project failed, because a malfunction occurred during the launch, and the satellite fell into the sea. Since the operation of "Ofek" 3 was stopped, the intelligence community in Israel received photographs via the civil satellite "Eros". This is a project managed by the Israeli "Imagesat" company, which works in collaboration with the aerospace industry.
"Ofek," 5 whose optical system was manufactured by the "Alup" company, will send photographs to the ground station, in which it will be possible to distinguish different bodies. The exact capabilities of the Israeli satellite were not disclosed, but Hazi Carmel, an Israeli expert on satellites, told Ynet: "American satellites today are capable of photographing bodies 20 cm in size with very good resolution."
The former commander of the Air Force, Avihu Ben Nun, said yesterday that "the contribution of the satellite to security is clear and great. In both Iran and Iraq it is difficult to obtain intelligence in other ways. Such a satellite can provide both warning information and information about targets, although it has various limitations such as weather." According to Ben Nun, "In recent years it is possible to buy satellite images of other countries, but the resolution that can be bought is not the best
Good, and it's hard to spot small targets. And another thing, thanks to a private satellite
You can shoot targets without others knowing about it."
Ben Nun emphasized that "a satellite of this type is not used for real-time intelligence,
Like a report on the launch of missiles from Iraq, but for long-range strategic intelligence
long". He states that "There is no doubt that this is an extraordinary achievement that affects
Our deterrence in the Arab countries, mainly thanks to the presentation of the technological capability
launch the missile and bring the satellite into its orbit, which is very difficult to do
In Israel, because it should be shot only to the west and not to the east as is customary, because of the direction of the earth's rotation."
 
 Ofek 5 will launch first images tomorrow

By Amnon Barzilai, 1/6/2002

All the systems of the Israeli spy satellite "Ofek" 5 that was launched yesterday
For the space they operate as a standard. Some of the antennas on top of the satellite were opened tomorrow
The broadcast of the first images to be recorded at the ground station in Israel is expected.
A senior official in the defense system said yesterday that the successful launch has
A strategically significant importance concerning the performance of a launcher
The satellites - "Shavit".
According to foreign publications, the launcher is a derivative of the surface-to-surface missile
"Jericho". At launch, the rocket carried a heavy photo satellite about one-third the weight of
The "Ofek" 3 spy satellite that Israel launched into space in 1995 has been verified
This indicates a great improvement in the capabilities of the "Comet".

From the monitoring conducted by the engineers of the Space Directorate at the Mbat plant of the industry
Al-Hairit, the manufacturer of the satellite, indicates that the solar panels have also started
act. These systems absorb solar energy and charge the batteries
that operate some of the satellite systems.

The launch arouses interest all over the world. Besides Israel there are about 4-5 more
Countries with independent capability in building and launching photography satellites.
The aerospace industry estimates that the success of the launch will promote construction deals
Photography satellites for foreign customers.

Last year the Mbat plant won the award of the Association of Manufacturers for excellence.
The factory, located in Yehud, employs about 1080 workers and is one of the most prosperous
in the aerospace industry. The volume of his orders is about one billion dollars.
29.5.2002
 
By: Amnon Barzilai
 
 
 
Photo: Alon Ron, the missile launch. All launcher systems were working properly

The Israeli spy satellite "Ofek" 5 was successfully launched yesterday (Tuesday) using the Israeli satellite launcher "Shavit", and entered a low elliptical orbit around the Earth. The satellite will begin transmitting images from space, mainly from the countries that threaten Israel, within a few weeks. The launch was carried out from the Palmachim air force base in the center of the country.

The countdown to the Ofek launch began yesterday in the early hours of the morning, under the watchful eye of the engineering teams of the Mbat and MLM factories of the Aerospace Industry (TAA) - the manufacturers of the satellite and the launcher. The launch moment was postponed several times and the countdown started again and again.
Towards the evening hours, the final preparations were completed and at 18:25 the "Comet" broke out, then the launch with "Horizon" 5 in its bow and moved quickly towards the west.

Because of Israel's geographical location, a "comet" is launched towards the west (against the earth's rotation) so that in the event of a malfunction - it will not fall into the territory of an enemy country. This fact required the planners to build a launcher with extremely powerful engines. According to foreign publications, the "Shavit" is a derivative of the Israeli "Jericho" surface-to-surface missile.

The tension in the control room increased after the launcher disconnected from its first stage (the first engine) and accelerated its speed towards its exit from the atmosphere. The previous launch in 1998 failed due to a system failure in the second stage (the second engine) of the launcher. Joyful cheers were heard in the control room, when the engineering team reported that the "Comet" stuck to the flight path outlined for it, disconnected from the second stage of the launcher's flight and left the atmosphere.

The first two rocket engines, produced by the Givon plant of the military industry, brought the launcher to an altitude of about 110 km. From this point, while cruising, the launcher reaches an altitude of about 250 km and positions itself to remove the canopy covering the satellite. After removing the canopy, the main instrument compartment and the spark plug of the third stage engine (manufactured by Rafael) are separated, during release, at the end of which the satellite is separated in orbit at an altitude of about 260 km.

At this point, when the satellite launcher "Shavit" completed its mission, the "Ofek" ground station came into the picture, which was established inside the Mbat plant in Yehud. From this station, the CEO of the Aerospace Industry, Moshe Kerat, and the plant manager, Yitzhak Nissan, also monitored the operation of the satellite. The two joined the team of engineers waiting for the first signals that the satellite was supposed to transmit, with the completion of the first lap around the Earth after 90 minutes. From the signals coming from the satellite it appeared that all the satellite systems are functioning properly.

Upon placing it in orbit around the Earth, the satellite will undergo a series of tests designed to verify its integrity and level of performance. The satellite carries a telescopic camera manufactured by "Alup" and owned by "Elbit Systems", which has a remote sensing capability that enables observation from space at a high level of separation (resolution). The images are transmitted using a data system developed by "Tadiran Specterlink".
The main mission of the satellite is to track, identify, locate and provide information available to the IDF and the security establishment, about the movements of military forces or changes in formations and mobilizations of all countries that are in conflict with Israel.

Although "Ofek" orbits the earth once every hour and a half, because of the rotation of the earth, and the changes in its flight path, the satellite returns to the same point only two days later. In order to back up and compensate for these lost days, the Ministry of Defense receives the services of the civil photography satellite "Eros". The Ministry of Defense receives satellite photography services from another source.

Ofek 5 belongs to the category of light and small satellites. Its weight at launch is about 300 kg, its height is 2.3 meters and its diameter is 1.2 meters. Due to the increase in its weight, the telescopic camera also increased. The satellite will move in a low orbit around the earth, at altitudes between 370 and 600 km. The size of the lens and the distance from the Earth will dictate the level of separation of the images. It is estimated that the camera is able to detect objects less than a meter in size on the ground.

"Ofek" 5 will replace "Ofek" 3 in space, which ended its role about two years ago. After the failure of the Ofek 4 launch, the defense establishment decided to take a break and reorganize the entire project. It was also decided to develop the next generation of spy satellites. Apparently, the systems placed on "Ofek" 5 are much more sophisticated than on "Ofek" 3, the images are colored and of higher quality. The cost of the project is over 80 million dollars and it is budgeted as part of a multi-year plan built by the Ministry of Defense for the development of military space projects.

A particularly bright new "horizon". Soon the launch  
17.12.2001 
 
The head of Mapa'at HaForash, Yitzhak Ben Israel, reveals in an interview with "Haaretz" that
In the coming months, Israel will launch into space the next photography satellite in the series
"Ofek", which will have a particularly high resolution. He further reveals that
Israel is in an advanced process of developing a missile-carrying drone system
To destroy surface-to-surface missile launchers. Ben Israel estimates that Israel will be forced to pay
China has a billion dollar compensation for canceling the Falcon deal, after
that the Americans rejected an appeal to finance the reparations

By Amnon Barzilai

 

horizon. A new satellite no longer has a name

General Dr. Yitzhak Ben Israel will retire from his position as head of the Development Administration
Weapons and infrastructure (MPA) at the Ministry of Defense at the end of the month is in full swing
of a debate about his successor. Director General of the Ministry of Defense Amos Yaron and the Chief of Staff
Shaul Mofaz not only failed to reach an agreement regarding Ben's replacement
Israel but also disagree on the question of whether it will be a military man or a civilian.

In one matter there is no dispute: with the retirement of Ben Israel it will come to an end
A period - ten years in which he left his mark on all directions of development
the technological of the IDF. For about six years, Ben Israel served as head of research
and development (R&D) in the IDF and served as number two to the head of Mafat. at half past four
The last few years he climbed to the top of the pyramid and was actually the head of Mafat
The chief scientist of the defense establishment.

As someone who has served in the last decade in the two senior positions in the field of research
And the security development of the State of Israel, Ben Yisrael accompanied all areas
The development of the weapons systems includes the concept of all projects until their completion
and brought them to full operation. He therefore enjoys great prestige in the country
and in research institutions abroad, and especially among defense ministries around the world
who are in connections, some of them secret, with the State of Israel.

Balloons carrying sensors

Ben Israel sees the change in the perception of the place of the means of warfare
and the technology in current security (BTS), within the framework of the limited conflict,
as the main achievement of his tenure. "They once said that technology is needed for wars
greatness In the Batash, a soldier stands against a soldier and they will fight with their hands, with their teeth,
With a gun and a knife."

"Four-five years ago," says Ben Israel, "we made a change in perception
that I was one of his deputies. We decided that technology should be introduced
to the war in Lebanon. We worked on a project that aims to create a situation where it is in place
that soldiers would lie in ambush and wait for them to happen to pass through Wadi Anshi
Hezbollah, they will use the technologies of sensors for detection and detection."

"When the intifada broke out," says Ben Israel, "we transferred the technologies
These are for the fight against the Palestinians, and we have drastically reduced their number
the victims". As a result, according to him, "in the military conflict we are in a situation of
overwhelming superiority. The confrontation with you is high-tech, and that's why
to our relative advantage vis-à-vis the Palestinians. We do things we didn't before
We could have done, like entering the cities without there being hundreds of deaths."

Among the means, Ben Israel specifies, "listening methods, remote photography, airplanes
Without a pilot (drones) and balloons. The point is that the object does not feel
who are filming him. And that's how we get early intelligence. We developed sensors
To discover people and illegal immigrants for the purpose of discovering their activity. These are sensors
They can be carried on vehicles, towers, airplanes and balloons. we developed
Technologies for locating shooting sources".

The new technologies, Ben Israel clarifies, make a significant contribution to countermeasures
the targeted "Ask yourself which conditions must be met, and which ones
Intelligence and verification systems are required, so that there are no innocent people there
a crime And in case of thwarting you have to hit in real time because you can't
prepare a missile today and fire it tomorrow. You have to hit at the right time.
It is about a lot of systems and a lot of technologies. Israel specialized in this a lot
years".

According to Ben Israel, "We prevent about 90% of the attacks. But there isn't
Possibility of preventing the action of suicide bombers. Those who are ready to die, it is not easy to stop
him. We are the first in the world to deal with this phenomenon of
Mass suicide".

On the eve of the American attack on Afghanistan, Ben Israel and CEO Yaron traveled
to the USA and held a series of talks with Pentagon officials. The two offered
The Americans have operational methods for locating Osama bin Laden; Ben Israel
He presented the technologies developed by Israel for low-intensity conflicts.
The Americans were enthusiastic. As far as is known, they chose some advanced technologies
for the war on terrorism. This is in addition to the "Popeye" missiles and Lightning systems
are flown to identify targets for the H-16 aircraft that are already in operation
operational with the Americans.

One of the achievements of the head of the Mafat is his part in the transformation that took place in the command approach
The IDF's chief for defense research and development. Despite the budget cuts
Defense in the last decade, the R&D budget has tripled in the five years
the last and is currently about three billion shekels per year, about 10% of the share
The shekels of the defense budget (that is, not including American aid).
This budget does not include the R&D budgets of the defense industries
Israeliness which is the same scope. The bad news, says Ben Israel, is
that in order to fulfill all of Israel's security needs, it is necessary to double the
The defense R&D budget.

Another bad news is related to the relationship between the State of Israel and China. son
Israel was part of the small group that, together with CEO Yaron, manages the
The contacts with the Pentagon and China, in an attempt to settle the conflict regarding cancellation
The spy plane deal ("Falcon") signed between the governments of Israel and China.
The US forced Israel to cancel the deal on the grounds that the sale of the planes
China is a strategic threat to her. in the talks that took place recently in Beijing
The question of financial compensation to settle the dispute between the two countries came up
Cancellation of the deal. In Israel they say that the Chinese think that the US will pay.

Ben Israel: "The Chinese are demanding more than a billion dollars in compensation. but
When we talked to the Americans that they would finance the reparations, they did
They didn't want to hear." Ben Yisrael clarifies that "there is probably no choice." Whoever needs it
The Israeli taxpayer will have to pay more than four billion shekels."

Mapat programs include dozens of ambitious development projects
Unique technologies and weapon systems. "The Americans," says Ben Israel,
"We invest approximately 40 billion dollars a year in defense R&D. They have a majority
The money goes to the development of platforms (ie weapons). We're going
on power multipliers (systems that improve the platforms' capacity). we
Develop elements that give power a different meaning and praise it. and in this
We are not bad."

According to Ben Yisrael, until today Israel has invested a lot of money and "wisdom" in Shisha
Areas in which it is indeed strong: a weapon for precise attack from short ranges
and long with point impact capability; Real time intelligence and drones
for continuous activity; Defense against surface-to-surface missiles (SMS); superiority
aerial; Maneuvering on the land battlefield: tanks, firepower, firing computers,
shielding shells; Electronic Warfare.

Antivirus software

The two new fields added in the last five years are satellites
and information warfare. Ben Israel says that following a decision that was made before
About two years ago, Israeli experts began developing anti-jamming software
and against viruses. "If you are not protected it is very easy to penetrate you. if four
Children from the tunnels can and the enemy can just as well, and you should
Be protected with software. We develop an antivirus that is the middle
the last one".

In the field of photography satellites, today the security system helps with photography
The civilian satellite "Eros", developed by the Israeli Aerospace Industry
As a derivative of Ofek satellites. Lockheed Martin provides the satellite services
The "Ikonos" photograph that she owns. Ben Israel discovers that the intelligence satellite
"Ofek" will be launched in the coming months. It has not yet been decided whether the new satellite will be read
"Ofek" 4 like the previous one that fell into the sea during the launch in January, '98 or "Ofek
.”5 For the purpose of the decision, a committee was established.

What is the difference between Ofek and the other satellites?

"The main and essential difference will be its resolution, which is much higher
higher than that of 'Eros' and 'Ikonos', because these are civilian satellites and there are
Limitations on their resolution (resolution is the ability to photograph objects
of a certain size. According to foreign publications, the resolution of Ofek 3 was
1.5 meters, AB). Ofek is a military satellite. four years ago when
Ofek 4 fell into the sea and we asked ourselves what to do. Do you build another one?
Within a year or so we will build the next generation satellite.
We decided to go for the next generation. This is a satellite that weighs about 20 percent more
Maofet 3 (which weighed about 250 kg and stopped working at the end of 2000 AB). the drawback
We knew it would take four years to build it. The question was what would happen if
Ofek 3 will also fall. We decided to rely on the civil enterprises and that's what
which we did".

Eros provides us with photos from Afghanistan?

"Afghanistan does not interest us from space. But if the war on terror gets closer
For our region, it will be important. The Americans have not yet decided. but
Iraq is one of the options, and then what happens there will be important to us."

Regarding the plan to launch communication satellites, Ben Israel says that the IDF
In the stage of defining the needs: what volume of communication needs to be transferred per unit of time,
Encryption level, ranges. We asked the industries to receive offers for watches
for the needs of the IDF".

Ben Yisrael led in the late 90s together with the Air Force Commander at the time
General (Res.) Eitan Ben Eliyahu, the struggle to adopt the concept of an attack
A combination of surface-to-surface missile launchers (SMS) using fighter jets
and missile-carrying drones. The concept (known as BPLI) is intended to replace concept
predecessor (BPI), which preferred a ballistic missile attack immediately after it was triggered.

This project stalled because of the resistance of the Americans to finance it?

"The previous administration did not give us a positive answer. But in our estimation the war
In Afghanistan, the reference point was reset for the Americans. Today they understand
Much better how important the concept we offered can be for them.
We estimate that today there is a better chance of getting 400 funding
A million dollars for the development of a prototype".

Israel decided in the meantime not to wait. "We decided to invest large sums
is very. The Aerospace Industry, which developed the "Machats" UAV, is the contractor
the head of the project. But because of the size of the amounts, it goes much slower."

One of the projects that is fully supervised by Mapat is the development of the "Hats" system
to intercept ballistic missiles. Before the Gulf War, Ben Israel was head
A department in the Air Force that dealt with anti-aircraft missiles and arrows, and opposed the project. "I thought
So it's a project that won't justify the money that needs to be invested in it," he explains.

Meanwhile, there was a change in his position. "Two things changed my mind. Gulf War
And the fact that the Iraqis fired missiles at us. Although the damage was marginal, this
It was a blow to the mind. The second point is that most of the money was given by me
U.S. Dayan once said that only a donkey does not change its mind."

"I think the same about the anthrax," declares Ben Israel. "someone
Use it. And I think it would be nationally irresponsible to say no
We will prepare and not vaccinate the population. in the reality of the Middle East
We were exposed to something. So they have biological weapons, and we will act like
Heroes"?

"The American Senate," notes Ben Israel, "has already approved a joint production line
for the arrow assembly in the United States. The assumption of the experts in the Congress is
that the joint committee (the conference) for the Senate and the House of Representatives budget for the project
Tens of millions of dollars. Meanwhile, these days the draft contract has actually been completed
with the Boeing company to establish the production line in the United States, and its establishment will continue
About a year."