An advanced Israeli spy satellite meant to improve the Jewish state’s surveillance of Iran plunged into the sea on Monday after a malfunction on liftoff, officials and defense sources said.
The Defense Ministry blamed a failure in the third stage of the rocket launch for the loss of the $50 million Ofek-6 satellite. Witnesses saw a flash of light near the launch site, coastal Palmahim air base. There were no reports of casualties.
Ofek-6 — the latest in an Israeli line of spy satellites first put into orbit in 1988 — was destroyed when it crashed into the Mediterranean Sea. Officials vowed to investigate.
“The damage in terms of intelligence, financing, and prestige caused by the botched launch are unacceptable,” said Ephraim Sneh, head of the parliamentary defence subcommittee.
Abort procedure followed
The Ofek-6’s watery end was part of an established abort plan. Israel launches satellites to the west, rather than east in synch with Earth’s orbit, to ensure they do not fall into the hands of its Middle East foes should there be a mishap.
But the crash was a major setback to Israel’s attempts to upgrade methods of gathering intelligence on sworn enemies such as Iran, which it accuses of developing nuclear weapons.
Satellites are Israel’s first bulwark against ballistic missiles, being designed to spot the incoming threats as they break through the atmosphere after launch and then alert defensive systems such as the Arrow 2 missile-killer.
“Such incidents are very expensive for all involved,” a defense source said about Monday’s botched launch.
Ofek-6 was developed by a consortium led by state-owned Israel Aircraft Industries. Israeli media said it was to have improved on Ofek-5 by using night-vision cameras. Work on a replacement is expected to take up to two years.
Implications of failure
The malfunction could also have ramifications for Israel’s offensive capabilities. According to independent analysts, the Shavit rocket that carried Ofek-6 is akin to Israel’s ballistic missile Jericho-2, which can deliver nonconventional warheads.
Ofek — Hebrew for “horizon” — orbits 190 to 430 miles (300 to 700 kilometers) above Earth, over a preset flight path. It weighs 660 pounds (300 kilograms) and has a lifespan of about five years.
The setback came days after Arrow 2 failed to shoot down a dummy missile in a test firing off the California coast.
Israeli officials blamed a technical glitch fir the failure of the Arrow missile to hit its target, but said the world’s first missile-killer had passed the main requirement of the test, to identify the incoming threat and its warhead.
The Defense Ministry named Israel Military Industries, Rafael, Elbit Systems and the Elisra Group, which is 70 percent owned by Koor Industries, as partners in Ofek-6’s development.
