Israel on Tuesday evening the Ofek-9 spy satellite, which becomes the sixth Israeli satellite operating in space at this time. The newest member of the team will permit higher resolution surveillance, defense establishment experts explain.
The Defense Ministry issued an official statement, saying that the Ofek 9 satellite “was launched and successfully injected into orbit by means of a Shavit satellite launcher.”
“In the next phase, the satellite will undergo several tests for validation of its serviceability and satisfactory performance,” the statement said, noting that Ofek-9 is an “advanced technology remote sensing satellite.”
Minister of Science Rabbi Professor Daniel Hershkowitz called the launching another significant Israeli accomplishment.
(Yechiel Spira – YWN Israel)
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2 Responses
Ofek 9 has a sophisticated electro-optical sensor, comparable with the best currently up there. Its resolution is better than the 70 cm quoted in the public media.
Ofek 9 is terribly small to have the capability to be”comparable with the best currently up there.” Resolution is a good thing, but by itself it does not make a system a world beater. Collection capacity, agility, scan rate, data storage, data downlink capacity, accuracy of ephemeral data, and much more determine the value of an electro-optical system. Ofek 9 is just too small a satellite (weight determines capability to a large extent in spacecraft) to be called world class. Check out the specifications on WorldView 1 and 2 and GeoEye 1 before claiming Ofek 9 is as good as they come. Not many nations can build a satellite like Ofek 9, but don’t get ahead of yourselves. You can only pack so much in a 300 kg package.