The Israeli advanced spy satellite “Ofek-10,” launched into orbit in April, has so far been fully functional and has conducted successful missions above the earth, a Defense Ministry official said Thursday.
Amnon Harari, the ministry’s space program director, praised the satellite’s unique surveillance capabilities, and added that all of the spacecraft’s systems were operating as its designers had anticipated, Israel Radio reported.
Ofek-10 was launched from the Palmachim IAF base near Rishon Lezion. The spacecraft currently orbits the Earth every 99 minutes at an altitude of 600 kilometers (373 miles).
According to media reports, the satellite has improved photographic capabilities, is able to distinguish between objects a half a meter in size, and can take pictures under various lighting and weather conditions.
Times of Israel Staff contributed to this report.
Get The Times of Israel's Daily Edition
by email and never miss our top stories
By signing up, you agree to the
terms
Help us report truthfully on social media
As a multimedia journalist, my job is to take the quality, fact-based journalism produced by The Times of Israel newsroom and make it accessible across every platform — from Instagram posts to podcasts to short-form videos.
This is how many, especially young people, consume news these days. But misinformation is rampant on social media. Our team at ToI produces accurate, responsible short-form reporting on Israel and the Jewish world.
If you believe in the importance of factual social media journalism, please consider joining our reader support group, The Times of Israel Community. Your financial support is essential to sustain responsible multimedia reporting.
— Gabriella Jacobs, multimedia journalist
Support our work
Support our work
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
You're a dedicated reader
We’re really pleased that you’ve read X Times of Israel articles in the past month.
That’s why we started the Times of Israel - to provide discerning readers like you with must-read coverage of Israel and the Jewish world.
So now we have a request. Unlike other news outlets, we haven’t put up a paywall. But as the journalism we do is costly, we invite readers for whom The Times of Israel has become important to help support our work by joining The Times of Israel Community.
For as little as $6 a month you can help support our quality journalism while enjoying The Times of Israel AD-FREE, as well as accessing exclusive content available only to Times of Israel Community members.
Thank you,
David Horovitz, Founding Editor of The Times of Israel
Join Our Community
Join Our Community
Already a member? Sign in to stop seeing this
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on Google
