Ofeq

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Launch of Ofeq 7

Ofeq ( Hebrew אופקfor horizon ) is the name of an Israeli series of reconnaissance satellites that began in 1988.

All satellites, with the exception of Ofeq 8, were launched into retrograde orbits with Shavit rockets from the Palmachim rocket launch site . These cost more fuel, but have the local advantage that burned-out missile stages fall into the Mediterranean instead of on inhabited enemy territory.

As Low Earth Orbit satellites, they need about 90 minutes to orbit the earth, depending on the altitude. The launch of Ofeq 1 made Israel the eighth nation to put its own satellites into orbit with its own transport system. The satellites are being manufactured by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) on behalf of the Israel Defense Ministry , while the optical components are manufactured by Elbit Systems for the Israel Space Agency .

From Ofeq 3 onwards, all satellites were used for military reconnaissance. The data obtained will be evaluated by the intelligence unit of the Israeli military intelligence service Aman.

Satellites

Ofeq 1

Ofeq 1 was launched on September 19, 1988 and weighed 155 kilograms. It orbited the earth in an orbit with a perigee of 150 miles and an apogee of 1149 kilometers on an orbit inclined at 142.9 degrees. He mainly carried out tests on his solar cells and radio transmission. It burned up as planned when it re-entered the earth's atmosphere on January 14, 1989 and has the COSPAR designation 1988-087A.

Ofeq 2

The Ofeq 2, launched on April 3, 1990, circled the earth on an orbit inclined at 143.2 degrees with a perigee of 149 kilometers and an apogee of 251 kilometers. Ofeq 2 performed communication tests. It burned up on re-entry into the earth's atmosphere on July 9, 1990 and has the COSPAR designation 1990-027A.

Ofeq X

Another satellite in the Ofeq series, which was launched on September 15, 1994, is likely to have failed.

Ofeq 3

Ofeq 3

The reconnaissance satellite Ofeq 3 was launched on April 5, 1995 with the new version Shavit-1. It weighed 225 kg and had a perigee of 369 km and was the first operational Israeli satellite for military reconnaissance using photography. It has the COSPAR designation 1995-018A.

Ofeq 4

Another reconnaissance satellite, Ofeq 4, was launched on January 22, 1998, but failed to enter orbit and was lost. It has the COSPAR designation 1998-F01.

Ofeq 5

On May 28, 2002, the Ofeq 5 reconnaissance satellite was launched. The 300 kilogram satellite orbits the earth on an orbit inclined by 143.5 degrees with a perigee of 262 kilometers and an apogee of 774 kilometers. In the course of its mission, its perigee was raised to 369 km and its apogee was lowered to 771 km to extend its lifespan. Ofeq 5 - 7 and 9 form the second, improved generation of Israeli reconnaissance satellites. Ofeq 5 has the COSPAR designation 2002-025A.

Ofeq 6

On September 6, 2004, the launch of the Ofeq 6 reconnaissance satellite failed. The third stage did not separate from the second stage of the launcher, which crashed into the sea with the payload. It has the COSPAR designation 2004-F01.

Ofeq 7

Ofeq 7 was first launched on June 10, 2007 with a Shavit-2 missile from Palmachim. It weighs 300 kg and is supposed to take pictures of the earth with a resolution of 0.7 m from its 300 to 600 km high orbit. Ofek-7 is intended to replace the Ofek-5 satellite launched on May 28, 2002. It has the COSPAR designation 2007-025A.

Ofeq 8

The TechSAR radar reconnaissance satellite, also known as Ofeq 8, was launched into orbit on January 21, 2008 from the Satish Dhawan Space Center in Sriharikota , India with an Indian PSLV launcher. Ofeq 8 has the COSPAR designation 2008-002A.

Ofeq 9

Ofeq 9 was launched on June 22, 2010. The perigee of the orbit is about 320 kilometers and the apogee 580 kilometers with an orbit inclination of 141.8 °. The 300 kg heavy and 2.1 m high satellite is intended to carry out optical reconnaissance in the area between 40 ° north and 40 ° south and delivers images from a height of 500 km with a resolution of at least 70 cm. It complements the still active Ofeq 5, Ofeq 7 and TechSAR. Ofeq 9 has the COSPAR designation 2010-031A.

Ofeq 10

Ofeq 10, also known as TechSAR 2, launched on April 9, 2014 and weighs 400 kg and is an improved variant of Ofek-8. As with Ofeq 8, a Synthetic Aperture Radar was used. Ofeq 10 has the COSPAR designation 2014-019A.

Ofeq 11

Ofeq 11 was launched on September 13, 2016. The satellite reached its orbit, but initially did not work as expected. The unspecified problems were apparently resolved after a few days. With Ofeq 11 a new, fourth generation of Israeli reconnaissance satellites started. Ofeq 11 has the COSPAR designation 2016-056A.

Ofeq 16

Ofeq 16 launched on July 6, 2020 at 4:00 a.m. local time with a Shavit rocket. The satellite reached its orbit on schedule and began transmitting data. Its COSPAR designation is 2020-044A.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b c Gunter Krebs: Ofeq 1, 2 (Oz 1, 2). In: Gunter's Space Page. April 3, 2019, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  2. ↑ a b Gunter Krebs: Ofeq 3, 4. In: Gunter's Space Page. July 21, 2019, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  3. ↑ a b c d Gunter Krebs: Ofeq 5, 6, 7, 9. In: Gunter's Space Page. July 21, 2019, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  4. ↑ a b Gunter Krebs: Ofeq 8, 10 (TECSAR 1, 2 / TechSAR 1, 2). In: Gunter's Space Page. April 3, 2019, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  5. ^ New Israeli spy satellite blasts off into the night. spaceflightnow.com, accessed June 23, 2010 .
  6. ↑ FliegerRevue August 2010, p. 9, Israel launches reconnaissance satellites
  7. ↑ Thomas Weyrauch: Israel launched the Ofeq 10 radar satellite. Raumfahrer.net, April 10, 2014, accessed on April 11, 2014 .
  8. ^ Judith Abramson: Senior level Israeli defense official: “Things are not working as we expected”. Jerusalem Online, September 13, 2016, accessed September 14, 2016 .
  9. ↑ a b Gunter Krebs: Ofeq 11. In: Gunter's Space Page. July 6, 2020, accessed on July 7, 2020 .
  10. ↑ IsraelDefense , accessed July 6, 2020

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