Israeli real time sat requirements?
Allen Thomson
Well, this is kind of interesting. The Ofeks are in highly retrograde
orbits, which means they go east to west, meaning that they're be able
to download imagery of, say, Pakistan, to Israel within a few minutes
of taking it. Imagery of targets near Israel can already be
downlinked in realish time. So what other targets might require real
time coverage that would justify the expense of a relay satellite?
Sudan?
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/at_950411.htm
http://www.fas.org/spp/military/program/asat/at_950415.htm
======================================================
http://www.jpost.com/Defense/Article.aspx?id=220011
Israel to invest millions in real-time satellite capacity
By YAAKOV KATZ
05/11/2011 01:42
Exclusive: Upgrade would enable live feeds from anywhere, removing 90-
minute delay that can be critical in times of conflict.
The Defense Ministry is set to invest millions to upgrade Israel’s
space communication capabilities, to enable reconnaissance and
surveillance satellites used by the IDF to provide real-time
intelligence. As things stand, Israeli satellites can only download
their data when they fly directly over Israel – which can mean a delay
of up to 90 minutes, a critical handicap in times of conflict.
Israel currently operates the Ofek 9, Ofek 7 and the Ofek 5
satellites, as well as the advanced TecSar satellite which is one of
only a handful in the world that uses advanced radar technology
instead of a camera. The IDF also receives services from two
commercially owned satellites known as Eros A and B.
Sources in the IDF’s C4I Directorate said on Tuesday, however, that
one of the current drawbacks for Israel was its inability to download
footage taken by a satellite before it completes its 90-minute orbit
across the Earth when it can link up to one of Israel’s satellite
ground stations.
“We are looking into ways to be able to download material from
satellites even when they are not over Israel and in sight of the
ground stations,” one officer said. “This will give us the ability to
receive live footage from an area of interest.”
Currently, Israel’s satellite coverage is considered fairly
comprehensive due to the relatively high number of satellites it
operates in space. With at least four military-designated satellites,
the IDF can continuously track targets or areas of interest by having
satellites fly over them at short intervals.
To facilitate the data transfer back to Israel, the Defense Ministry
is considering launching a communications satellite that will be
solely used for military purposes. Such a project is considered
ambitious and extremely expensive.