Tag: Elbit

  • Israel successfully places surveillance satellite into orbit

    A Shavit 2 launcher takes off from Israel on Monday carrying the Ofeq 16 spy satellite. Credit: Israel Ministry of Defense For the first time in nearly four years, a rocket successfully shot into orbit from Israel on Monday with a military reconnaissance satellite to shore up the country’s space-based capability to surveil Iran and…

  • Photos: Vega rocket lifts off from French Guiana

    A four-stage Vega rocket streaked into space Tuesday night from French Guiana, hauling two Israeli-made satellites into polar orbit on military surveillance and environmental research missions. The 98-foot-tall (30-meter) rocket took off at 0158:33 GMT Wednesday (9:58:33 p.m. EDT; 10:58:33 p.m. French Guiana time) with the Optsat 3000 and Venµs spacecraft, each weighing less than a…

  • Vega launcher achieves on-target deployment of Earth-imaging satellites

    Firing off a launch pad on the fringes of the Amazon rainforest, a European Vega rocket climbed into space Tuesday night and deployed a new optical surveillance craft for the Italian military and a French-Israeli environmental satellite to monitor vegetation, snow cover and coastal waterways. The Optsat 3000 and Venµs satellites lifted off at 0158:33…

  • Live coverage: Arianespace launches 10th Vega rocket

    Live coverage of the countdown and launch of a Vega rocket with the Optsat 3000 and Venµs Earth observation satellites. Text updates will appear automatically below; there is no need to reload the page. Follow us on Twitter. Watch on a mobile device. Arianespace’s live video stream begins at approximately 0145 GMT (9:45 p.m. EDT).

  • Timeline for Vega launch with Optsat 3000 and Venµs

    A Vega rocket is set to deliver two satellites into similar but distinct orbits for the Italian military and the French and Israeli space agencies. Here are the key events scheduled during the European Vega rocket’s launch from French Guiana with the Italian military’s Optsat 3000 high-resolution reconnaissance satellite and the French-Israeli Venµs environmental satellite.…

  • Two Israeli-built satellites set for launch Tuesday

    The Optsat 3000 satellite, seen at top, awaits encapsulation inside the Vega rocket’s payload fairing last month. The Venµs spacecraft is closed up inside the black dual-payload structure below Optsat 3000. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – S. Martin A European Vega rocket is scheduled to launch Tuesday from a tropical spaceport…

  • Europe’s lightweight Vega launcher nears 10th flight

    The Vega rocket’s solid-fueled Zefiro 23 second stage was hoisted on top of the launcher’s first stage last month on a launch pad at the Guiana Space Center in Kourou, French Guiana. Credit: ESA/CNES/Arianespace – Photo Optique Video du CSG – P. Piron A solid-fueled Vega rocket has been stacked on a launch pad in…