Tel Aviv: Israel is now receiving a steady flow of radar images from the payload of its newest spy satellite the Ofek 13.
About two weeks after the satellite’s successful launch into space, the DDR&D’s Space Administration engineering teams, Israel Aerospace Industries, and the IDF’s 9900 unit activated the “Ofek 13” satellite’s synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) for the first time last night. The first satellite images received at the IAI control station were of excellent quality.
Since the satellite launch on March 29, the IAI and IMoD teams conducted a planned series of tests during which they gradually activated all of the systems and subsystems that comprise the satellite including the SAR payload. The tests were successfully activated. The engineering teams will continue the rigorous testing process to prepare the satellite for operational use in accordance with the pre-planned protocol.
The “Ofek 13” satellite is a SAR observation satellite with advanced capabilities. In the coming weeks, following the completion of the In Orbit Tests led by IAI, the DDR&D and the IDF, the Israel Ministry of Defence will deliver the satellite to the IDF’s 9900 Intelligence Unit for operational use.
-The writer is an Israel-based freelance journalist. The views expressed are of the writer and do not necessarily reflect the views of Raksha Anirveda
