Israel is doing what it does best. It is taking appropriate defensive action. Following is an abridged version of an Associated Press report.
David
By MARK LAVIE
JERUSALEM (AP) – Israel launched a spy satellite called “Ofek 9” late Tuesday, Israel’s Defense Ministry and officials said, increasing Israel’s capacity to keep an eye on enemies like Iran.
The Defense Ministry issued a statement saying the satellite was launched late Tuesday from the Palmachim air force base on Israel’s coast south of Tel Aviv.
Defense officials said Ofek 9 is a spy satellite with a high resolution camera.
Addition of a new satellite gives Israel the capability of sending space-borne cameras over sensitive areas more frequently. One of Israel’s main targets for spy photos is Iran, because of its nuclear program.
Addition of a new satellite gives Israel the capability of sending space-borne cameras over sensitive areas more frequently. One of Israel’s main targets for spy photos is Iran, because of its nuclear program.
Israel is also thought to be targeting Syria with its satellites.
Defense officials said that with each successive Israeli satellite, cameras are more advanced and offer higher resolution.
Isaac Ben-Israel, a former head of the Israeli space agency, told Israel Radio that the new satellite weighs about 650 pounds (300 kilograms), small in comparison to American spy satellites.
In 2008, an Israeli spy satellite launched from India took aloft an advanced radar system that would allow photography in all weather conditions and at night. Besides its spy satellites, Israel also has a number of communications satellites in orbit.
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