Israel launched new Ofeq-11 military surveillance satellite

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World Aviation Defense & Security News - Israel
 
 
Israel launched new Ofeq-11 military surveillance satellite
 
Israel's defense ministry announced Tuesday that Israel successfully launched a military surveillance satellite. The satellite Ofeq-11, lifted off in the afternoon from the Palmachim airbase south of Tel Aviv, was launched by the defense ministry and Military Industry, Israel's state-owned weapons company.
     
Israel launched new Ofeq 11 military surveillance satellite 640 001Israel's Ofeq-11 spy satellite being launched from Palmachim airbase
(Credit: Israel Ministry of Defense)
     
The satellite was expected to begin transferring information some two hours after the launch, the defense ministry said in a statement.

Ofeq-11 would patrol the skies above the Middle East to collect intelligence on countries such as Iran, reported the Hebrew Ynet news site.

Israel objects the newly signed nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, said the website.

The launch came almost two weeks after Amos-6, Israel's largest ever communication satellite, exploded during launching at Cape Canaveral in Florida over technical failure.

It turned out later in the day that the satellite's systems may be malfunctioning. "There are indications according to which things aren't working as we expected, and so we are trying to stabilize (the satellite). There are things that make us worried. The satellite orbits the earth once every hour and a half. It's possible that some systems are not in the correct condition," officials told the press Tuesday.

 

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