This is what Science Minister Ofir Akunis said this evening, although without specifying the names of the satellites in the evening that dealt with the Israeli space industry during Globes' Israel Business Conference. The Venus satellite, which has been delayed for many years, will also be launched in the spring
Ben Gurion University's BGU SAT satellite and the Space Pharma company's medical experiments satellite will be launched from India in March. This is what Science Minister Ofir Akunis said this evening, although without specifying the names of the satellites in the evening that dealt with the Israeli space industry during Globes' Israel Business Conference. The science site learned that these are satellites. In addition, Minister Aconis said that the Israeli-French satellite Venus will be launched in the spring.
The satellites will be launched together with 81 other small satellites on a new polar orbiting launcher of the Indian Space Agency. The GSLV Mark-III launcher was developed in India over the past five years and has an engine powered in part by liquid hydrogen and oxygen.
The space agency or by its official name the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) strives to get a bigger share of the microsatellite launch market. Its commercialization arm Antrix plans to launch the satellites in the first quarter of 2017 aboard the 'PSLV-C37' launcher from its Satish Dhawan Launch Center in Sriharikota.
The main payload of the launcher will be the Indian Cartosat-2 satellite weighing 730 kg. And in addition to it, as mentioned, another 80 satellites from all over the world, as mentioned Israel, Kazakhstan, Holland, Switzerland and the USA.
BGU SAT is a pico-satellite type student satellite, based on the CubeSat series, which is also the basis for the Dokifat 1 and 2 student satellites. The weight of the satellite is one kilogram and it will enable the testing of innovations in the field of microelectronics, including a space computer and radio communication systems. The students participating in the project will be responsible for handling a wide variety of aspects, including determining the cruise altitude of the satellite and controlling it, the energy systems, telemetry and integration.
The satellite of the Space Pharma company, of an Israeli startup company by that name, will allow pharmaceutical companies to conduct experiments in microgravity.
In other matters - the committee chaired by the director general of the Ministry of Science Peretz Wazen, which was established at the request of the minister after the explosion of the Amos 6 satellite, is supposed to submit its recommendations next week. Minister Akunis did not want to name the amounts but said that the increase in the space agency's budget would be realistic. "In the past, there were recommendations by various committees that included empty - imaginary amounts, but they were not carried out. To help the space industry we need to be realistic. The recommendations will be forwarded to the government. I hope that the recommendations that will be submitted will be such that the government can adopt and they include both money and the safety net that was promised to the space industry. The conversation with the Minister of Finance was good. The officials are the main obstacle.
The Globes reporter, Liat Ron, who moderated the discussion, praised Akonis, saying that the ministry's budget has increased and next year will exceed half a billion shekels, but this amount is half of the budget of the Ministry of Culture headed by Minister Miri Regev. To this Minister Akunis responded: "Culture is important, science is also very important and there are other very important things. You will not be happy to hear that unfortunately the budget of the broadcasting corporation is bigger than the budget of the Ministry of Science. Approaching 700 million. I entered my position with a lower budget and I am happy that I was able to bring it within the limits you mentioned. We are reaching an all-time high and with a tremendous series of activities that emphasize science and technology for all Israeli citizens. The heads of the local authorities received 30 million shekels and they decide on the science basket that the students in their localities will receive themselves. I abstained from voting on canceling the core subjects and there is no stopping some of the heads of authorities from using this to strengthen English, math and science.
In response to the moderator's question about the launch of the Shalom satellite, Minister Akunis replied: "I have held talks with the Minister of Defense, the Minister of Finance and the Prime Minister. In the end, a decision will have to be made. I announced that I am in favor of budgeting for Project Shalom and I believe that in the first half of the year its fate - its very existence - will be decided."
Later, the minister shared his impressions from his visit last week to India, and in particular to Bangalore, where there are also investors who are interested in Israeli high-tech. The minister signed with his Indian counterpart a memorandum of understanding to conduct joint research with a budget of one million dollars per year on each side.
