TEL AVIV, Israel -- Israel’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) is overseeing development and production of four separate satellites, all of which are planned for completion by 2008, along with technologies and subsystems for a constellation of small, modular spacecraft capable of working as a team to satisfy multiple mission requirements.
According to the MoD roadmap, an unclassified portion of which was provided to Space News, Israel will complete its Ofeq-6 imaging satellite -- a follow-on to the Ofeq-5 electro-optical system launched in May 2002 -- in late 2004 or early 2005.
By 2008, MoD expects to complete the Ofeq-7 satellite, which officials here described as an entirely new generation of optical remote sensing, with extremely high resolutions.
Although officials here refused as a matter of security to discuss emerging capabilities of the Ofeq-5 or planned follow-on satellites, a source from Israel’s scientific community said Israel was getting closer to the so-called defraction limit where light is defracted to a point where pictures cannot be captured.
"The defraction limit for visual range is close to 10 centimeters resolution. We’re getting better resolutions all the time and getting closer to the limit, but we don’t disclose details," the source said.
In addition to electro-optical satellites, Israel plans to complete a technology demonstrator satellite equipped with synthetic aperture radar (SAR) sometime in 2005 or 2006. The estimated 250 kilogram SAR demonstrator, dubbed TechSAR, will expand Israel’s imaging options in all weather conditions and at night.
Elta Systems Ltd., Israel’s leading radar development house, is developing the SAR payload.
Although MoD officials refused to discuss planned imaging capabilities of the satellite-based SAR system, Elta has advertised similar airborne and ground-based payloads as "producing high resolution radar images which approach photographic quality and operate as true all-weather, day and night sensors capable of penetrating clouds, rain, smoke and a variety of man-made camouflage."
Brig. Gen. (ret.) Haim Eshed, head of space programs at Israel’s MoD, said Israel’s military users want the ability to image areas of interest in the day, at night and in all types of weather conditions. To satisfy this requirement, MoD aims to exploit the full spectrum of imaging capabilities, including increasingly high-resolution electro-optics, infrared, hyper-spectral, SAR and three-dimensional mapping.
"The idea is to create constellations of many satellites in a wide spectrum of wavelengths," Eshed said of the ministry’s vision for future space programs.
A fourth satellite to fall under MoD’s purview is a dedicated, secure military communications satellite; a larger and more capable version of the Amos-2 commercial communications satellite planned for launch later this year.
Eshed declined to provide additional details of the military communications satellite program. A uniformed officer from the Israel Defense Forces general staff said the satellite is planned for launch in 2007, provided that MoD continues to fully fund the program.
All four new satellites, as well as the commercial Amos-2, are being built by the MBT Division of Israel Aircraft Industries Ltd., MoD’s designated lead contractor for satellite systems.
In the realm of launchers, MoD has improved the reliability and lift capacity of its Shavit series, which Israel will use to loft the planned Ofeq satellites into low Earth orbit, officials here said.
However, Israel’s planned military communications satellite -- which is expected to weigh more than two tons -- will have to be launched by a non-Israeli system capable of putting satellites of that size in geostationary orbit.
"We intend to keep improving our own indigenous ground-based launch capabilities for mini satellites," Eshed said, in reference to the class of satellites weighing from 100 kilograms to 500 kilograms.
For the larger satellites, such as Amos-2 and the planned military communications satellite, Eshed noted, "We will not launch geostationary. For this, we will have to go to outside providers."
Regarding Israel’s vision for future military space, Eshed said MoD is pursuing multiple developments involving a low-cost satellite bus as well as myriad payloads and associated technologies aimed at deploying a constellation of small, modular satellites capable of satisfying a variety of military requirements.
In a July 30 interview, Eshed said he envisions a period not too long from now -- perhaps within five years -- when the Israel Air Force will be able to use fighter aircraft to launch on demand multiple satellites ranging in weight from tens of kilograms to no more than 100 kilograms.
According to this vision, MoD would hold in inventory a number of common satellite buses -- each costing $10 to $12 million -- whose modular payloads could be deployed for specific missions, depending on need. Ultimately, military users would have the capability to reprogram satellites for different missions through so-called smart software uplinked directly to satellites already in orbit.
"We’re looking at multi-mission systems that essentially are plug and play, and we are really serious about this. We believe that in five or 10 years, we will be able to give a full, rapid and flexible response to the multiple needs of our users," Eshed told Space News.
Israel’s emerging concept of operations for the constellation of modular, low Earth-orbiting satellites calls for dividing particular mission roles among two or three satellites, so that the sum of the cluster far exceeds the contribution of each individual spacecraft, according to specialists associated with Israel’s Technion University in Haifa.
Dividing large payloads into separate pieces -- each of which flies together in clusters and maintains continuous communication and operational links with one another -- is known by professionals in the international aerospace community as formation flying. So far, this concept of operations remains largely theoretical, and has not been deployed for military purposes.
Nevertheless, Eshed said he believes Israel can deploy an effective operational cluster of satellites with shared communications, signals and other payloads within a decade.
In addition to modular, multimission satellites, MoD’s ambitions for space include an anti-satellite capability to defend against potential jammers or space-based threats.
"Today, it is inconceivable to go to war without satellites. Therefore, there also is the need to address the future importance of a satellite protection system to defend against the possibility of attack or attempts to harm our own [space] capabilities," Eshed told a gathering of security and aerospace industry officials earlier this year, according to a transcript of Eshed’s remarks provided by MoD.
To expedite implementation of MoD’s roadmap for space, officials have identified several technologies earmarked for priority attention.
Technologies described by Eshed as "next generation building blocks of micro- and nanosatellites [aimed at] achieving a performance that today only bigger satellites possess" focus on miniaturization, data storage, wireless communications and new means of controlling the satellite in space.
Comments: Barbara Opall Rome
