Two observation satellites manufactured and developed by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) – the OPTSAT3000 and Venµs – will be launched together to space on August 2, 2017 (Israel time) by Arianespace’s Vega launcher at the Kourou Space Center in French Guiana. The OPTSAT3000 is an advanced observation satellite developed for the Italian Ministry of defence and supplied by the prime contractor, Telespazio, a Leonardo and Thales joint venture. The Venµs is a scientific observation satellite to be used for environmental research purposes built for the Israeli Space Agency (ISA) in the Ministry of Science and its partner, the French National Center of Space Studies (CNES).
OPTSAT3000 is a 370-kg, high resolution observation satellite, which is a member of a family of electro optical observation satellites manufactured by IAI and operated successfully in space. The OPTSAT3000 is very agile, offering strong maneuverability and operational flexibility, due to its low-weight compared to similar satellites around the world. This low weight was achieved by means of innovative miniaturization technology developed by IAI. The satellite’s high resolution allows it to discern even small details on the ground, a feature that positions it in the global forefront of advances in observation satellites. The satellite was purchased by the Italian government in 2012 as part of an inter-governmental agreement between Israel and Italy.
Venµs, short for Vegetation and Environment Monitoring on a New Micro Satellite, is the first Israeli satellite developed for scientific environmental purposes. It was built as part of a joint flagship project between Israel’s space agency in the Ministry of Science and CNES, the French Space Agency. Venµs will track fields and plots from space in order to monitor the condition of the soil, vegetation, forests, agriculture, water sources and more. Venµs is equipped with a special camera that captures details from earth in 12 wave-lengths, including details which are not visible to the naked eye. The satellite will photograph dozens of images daily, each one providing information on some 700 square kilometers. Venµs was built in IAI’s space division in collaboration with Elbit, which developed the telescope, and RAFAEL, which developed the propulsion system. The satellite will weigh 265 kg at the time of the launch and will enter a sun-synchronous orbit at the height of 720 km.
