This is what the Director General of the Ministry of Science, Peretz Wezan, said at the press conference where the conclusions of the Space Committee, which was established following the explosion of the Amos 6 payload, were presented, which may thwart the sale of communications space to a Chinese company. Prof. Haim Ashad, member of the committee: The space sector can reach billions of dollars in exports per year. Space Agency CEO Avi Blasberger: If we don't man the points of the sky we may lose them
The operator of the satellites, whether it be a communications space company or another company, must be Israeli-owned. This is what the director general of the Ministry of Science, Technology and Space, Peretz Wezan, said at the press conference where the conclusions of the space committee established following the explosion of Amos 6 were presented. This recommendation written explicitly in the report could thwart the sale of communication space to a Chinese company
In response to a journalist's question as to whether the intention was that the operation of the satellites would be in the hands of an Israeli company and owned by an Israeli company - to prevent the acquisition of a communications space company by the Chinese company, Wazen said: We intentionally did not mention the name of the company in the report, it could be another company. It should be an Israeli company, owned by Israelis, in Israeli hands. This is an essential recommendation for the control of the State of Israel in this area.
Wazen: The lifespan of a satellite is 15 years and it is also stipulated that the minimum for manning is four satellites, the requirement is that one satellite should be produced every four years. The gap between the price of a satellite as an off-the-shelf product and aid to Israeli industry is NIS 70 million per year for both production and research and development. This is what the state will have to invest in order to sustain the Israeli space industry.
Minister of Science Ofir Akunis - The State of Israel should decide, not the Minister of Science should decide, the Minister of Science can recommend. I agree with the recommendations of this important committee that has been operating for the past two months, I recommend. Now we will bring the issue to the door of the government and the government has to decide if it wants as a country to remain with two satellites and in emergency situations the situation will get worse and worse. This is the decision that should be made with all the decisions. The meaning of such a decision is the rejection of the committee's recommendation. We need these things in all aspects, security, economic, day-to-day tactical and strategic. Usually there is a great deal of understanding among the ministers of the political-security cabinet and the prime minister. Do you need money? These things need money, the government needs to set priorities. I think that in view of the reality in our environment, the conclusion is that it would be very worthwhile to budget. The amounts taken this time - also on the basis of previous reports in which huge sums were not budgeted. The current proposal is realistic and therefore likely to be implemented.
In response to the question of the science website, is there a chance that the aerospace industry will export communication satellites and not just produce for the State of Israel? So far they haven't succeeded? Peretz Wazen answered: We deal with the urgent needs of the State of Israel. Of course, the more the aerospace industry produces, the more profitable it will be and it will also be able to export. Of course I am not against this export.
Prof. Haim Ashad, as the one who managed the defense space program for over 35 years and for the last six years I accompany the civil space field. The military space has reached amazing achievements, we are not saying that. Several years ago, the commander of the American Space Command, which is an order of magnitude larger than all the space agencies in the world, was here and expressed his admiration from the bottom of his heart.
The civilian side was supposed to leverage the achievements of the military space sector, such as defense exports - 8 billion dollars per year and like cyber which, according to Prof. Ben Israel, reaches 6-7 billion dollars per year.
The committee was established by the Minister of Science quickly and hastily following the crisis in the field of communication satellites. Amos 6 exploded not through the fault of the (aeronautical) industry but through the fault of SpaceX. We have two satellites left and we need four. Amos 5 Shebek about a year ago and Amos 2 ends his life. It's not taking advantage of an opportunity to support space because of the explosion of Amos 6. It's in our minds. This is a strategic opportunity. also business. This can leverage the State of Israel to export several billions like cyber.
Avi Blasberger, CEO of the Israel Space Agency, says that one of the points Wazen mentioned is the need to protect the points of the sky. Sky points are like territorial waters. In the geostationary area (a strip above the equator at an altitude of about 36 km where the satellites circle the earth once every 24 hours and therefore appear to hang in one place AB) there is room for a limited number of satellites. It is a strategic asset. Approval is needed through the UN, but once the country gets that point, it's not theirs forever. If it does not catch it in a permanent and continuous way, after three years in which there was no satellite at that point, it returns to the UN to the next country in line. The sky points are a strategic asset of the State of Israel. In addition, at each sky point you also get a frequency range (to avoid interference between nearby satellites AB) and this is also part of the property.
More of the topic in Hayadan:
- For the full report on the committee's conclusions
- Explosion at the SPACEX launch pad at Cape Canaveral * Prof. Ben Israel: the Amos 6 satellite was destroyed
- The Aerospace Industry: We will make communication space available - we hope that the government will act to preserve knowledge
- Space Communications is sold to the Chinese Xinwei Group just days before the Amos 6 launch
8 תגובות
sparrow
In addition to your words - the extent of the area needed to launch heavy satellites cannot exactly be found in a place where every centimeter is in dispute.
The only place where it will be possible to build such launchers is in the Negev region. And go argue with the Bedouin...
101
Launches from Israel are unfortunately carried out towards the west so as not to pass over our friends from the east, north and south. From this, Israel is not suitable for launching into a medium orbit, which in most cases has to be at a high angle to the equator, i.e. north or south, nor for launching into a geostationary orbit, which by definition is eastward.
In addition to this, the Comet launcher which is powered by solid fuel will not really be suitable for launching to high orbits, and cannot be used as a base for a significantly larger launcher, so the launchers you proposed would actually be a completely new development.
And in general, the State of Israel does not really manage to compete in the international production market either. who asked for a subsidy of 70 million NIS per year for the construction of a satellite for four years, which amounts to about 280 million NIS (!!!) or about half the cost of the satellite.
I have no problem with the interests of the defense industries at this point. The national interest and their interest seem similar to me.
What is more, there is nothing to talk about in Israel about the development of a plasma engine or a laser engine. This means that Israel defines space as the height of a satellite. There are laser scientists of all shapes and sizes here, and plasma too. The security industries are sold to anyone who wants to, in my estimation for 50 billion dollars - maybe I'm wrong. If they invest 25 million who will die.
Peretz and Zahn, Belberg and Akunis speak to the matter. The question is whether they will not be pressured by those with interests in the government.
They pleasantly surprise me, as political appointments I expected them to be purely self-interested. There are also interests here. Blasberg came from Elbit.
In fact, in their positions in Israel one should be with balls and not so much a scientist.
The State of Israel has everything needed to establish a thriving space industry that will become an integral part of the Israeli high-tech industry. What is needed is a deliberate policy outlined by the government and instructing the Ministry of Defense to develop 2 more models of a comet launcher, one for medium orbit and one more for geostationary orbit.
Someone is talking about it. Doesn't make sense in the State of Israel.