Israel Plans It's First Nano - Satellite Launch

Thursday, May 17, 2007
WorldTribune

HERZLIYA, Israel — Israel has planned the first launch of a nano-satellite.

Industry executives said the state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries intends to launch at least one nano-satellite by the end of 2008, Middle East Newsline reported. The executives identified the platform as the U.S.-origin CubeSat, which has become the standard in the nascent nano-satellite industry.

So far, 32 nano-satellites have been launched — with a success rate of 50 percent — throughout the world.

"Israel has entered this area relatively late," David Zusiman, a member of the Israel Nano-Satellites Association and a space industry executive, said. "But Israel could lead the field."

Zusiman said IAI, which purchased two CubeSats, intended to launch one or more nano-satellites at the end of 2008. Addressing the first association conference on Tuesday, he said the platforms would be sent into space orbit by the Russian-origin Dnepr rocket. This would mark Israel's first nano-satellite launch and employ platforms purchased from the U.S. firm Boeing.

The Jewish state has been a leading developer of miniature satellites for reconnaissance missions. The Israeli nano platform, termed Space Qualification and Heritage Satellite, would contain an atomic clock, GPS payload and perhaps a laser communications device, executives said. The atomic clock would be provided by the Israeli firm Accubeat.

Industry analysts said nano-satellites, meant to total $1 million for platform and launch, remain incapable of military missions, including reconnaissance and communications. At this point, they said, CubeSat would be limited to technology demonstrations and space experiments.

"CubeSat's configuration is not a substitute for the next Ofeq or Amos," Tal Inbar, deputy director of the Fisher Brothers Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, said. Ofeq has been Israel's military reconnaissance satellite, while the Amos is a communications facility. IAI has built both space platforms.

Still, Inbar envisioned a growing and increasingly aggressive nano-satellite market. He said Israel could develop CubeSat for synthetic aperture radar and anti-satellite protection operations. "Israel should be proving nano-technology and raising funds for research and development," Inbar said.