For the Israelis, the value of satellite imagery was not unknown before the Yom Kippur war. Faced with invading armies on two fronts in October 1973, Israeli military attachés in Washington urgently requested satellite information from the United States about the disposition of the Egyptian and Syrian forces.
According to former Israeli Defence Forces (IDF) Chief of Staff Gen. Mordechai Gur, who had been one of those attaches, US authorities responded that the information was unavailable due to ‘damage’ to the satellite.
It was later revealed that the United States had acquired “wonderful coverage, but…didn’t get the pictures until the war was over”.3 For the Israelis, the lesson was immediate, which made it clear to them, that during periods of such extreme exigencies, they have to fall back on technologies that they have indigenously acquired or have control over. This forced them to develop and acquire an independent space reconnaissance capability.
Though information about the development of the satellite program remain limited, after the launch of Ofeq-1 in 1988, Israel Space Agency (ISA) chairman Yuval Ne’eman disclosed that Israel had been working on the satellite since the early 1970s.
Loss of Ofeq-5 satellite
However, as the world braces for a potential widening of the conflict in the Middle East following the recent assassinations by Tel Aviv of Hamas leader Ismail Haniyeh and Hezbollah senior commander Fuad Shukr, Israel is grappling with the loss of some of its satellite intelligence capabilities.
The IDF’s oldest spy satellite recently went out of service after 22 years and burned up in the atmosphere. Ofek-5, launched on May 28, 2002, was one of Israel’s first operational imaging satellites.
Since February, Israeli Military Intelligence has lost three of its seven Ofek spy satellites which completed their life spans and burned up in the atmosphere.
This large number of satellites allows closer monitoring of sites in Iran, Yemen, and other regions.
Concern over a potential threat to Israeli intelligence superiority in the Middle East skies exists.
Ofek-5, launched on May 28, 2002, was one of Israel’s first operational imaging satellites. It recently went out of service after 22 years and burned up in the atmosphere. According to NASA and other sources, it went out of orbit on February 21 this year.
Like other imaging satellites operated by the IDF’s Intelligence Division, Ofek-5 was built at the Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) space plant in Yehud and was equipped with a space telescope made by El-Op, a subsidiary of Elbit Systems, with a resolution of about 70 cm, which was impressive for its time and size.
The satellite was equipped with a propulsion system made by Rafael and launched from the Palmahim Airbase using a Shavit rocket built by IAI, with engines made by Rafael and the state-owned Tomer company.
The launch occurred after a severe crisis in the satellite program led by the Defense Ministry following the failed launch of Ofek-4 in 1998. That malfunction caused it to fall into the Mediterranean Sea, resulting in a loss not only of Israel’s intelligence-gathering capability over distant targets but also tens of millions of dollars.
Previously, only one operational satellite, Ofek-3, had been launched successfully in 1995, also after two expensive failures. The Israeli spy satellite program, conceived in the late 1970s to replace reconnaissance flights, prohibited over Egypt following its peace agreement with Israel, was in danger of cancellation.
Hope in the horizon
Israel put a new version of its Ofek spy satellite into orbit recently; with the Defence Ministry saying it would enhance around-the-clock regional monitoring as the country braces for a possible showdown with Iran.
“The ‘Ofek-13’ satellite is a synthetic-aperture radar observation satellite with advanced capabilities,” the Defense Ministry said in a statement after the launch.
Defense Minister Yoav Gallant hailed the launch of the Ofek-13 as “yet another important example of the Israeli defense establishment’s groundbreaking innovation.”
“Israel has already proved its diverse space capabilities many times and is one of very few countries to possess such capabilities, capabilities that we continue to develop and strengthen,” Gallant added.
The satellite, Ofek-13, manufactured by state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Ltd, is the latest in a series of locally produced satellites first put into orbit in 1988, according to Reuters report.
It was launched on a Shavit missile over the Mediterranean Sea, a westward trajectory Israel usually opts for as a precaution against sensitive technology falling into the hands of hostile Middle East neighbours should there be a malfunction.