Israel Successfully launches new Spy Satellite*

by Hana Levi Julian

(IsraelNN.com) Israel’s latest eye in the sky, Ofek-7, blasted off at
2:40 a.m. Monday from the Palmachim Air Force Base, south of Tel Aviv,
under the watchful gaze of Professor Chaim Eshed, head of the Defense
Ministry's Space Program.

The satellite was launched using a “Shavit” rocket. Within two hours, it
was orbiting the earth and beginning to gather information.

Yitzchak Nissan, CEO of Israel Aircraft Industries which created the new
satellite, said all systems were running smoothly after the launch.

Ofek-7 is equipped with a GPS (Global Positioning System), a central
computer, gas tank and a telescope, among its other advanced components.
It is expected to provide continuous intelligence and other information
for the next four to six years.

The success of the launch is of special significance since OFEK-7 will
provide information regarding Iran, among other targets of interest.
“The satellite has advanced capabilities... which will significantly
improve Israel’s operational and intelligence capabilities,” said a
senior security official.

The initial success is also especially important in light of the fate of
its predecessor, Ofek-6, which crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. That
failure came with a price tag of $80 million and several years’ worth of
anticipated intelligence information.

The October 2004 fiasco sent its designers back to the drawing board,
said the security source, to examine the design fault that caused the
failure. The lessons learned from that failure were used to implement
changes in the design of Ofek-7, he added.