Ofeq-10, also known as Ofek-10 (Horizon in Hebrew), is part of the

Ofeq Ofeq, also spelled Offek or Ofek ( he, אופק, ''lit.'' Horizon) is the designation of a series of Israeli reconnaissance satellites first launched in 1988. Most Ofeq satellites have been carried on top of Shavit 2 launch vehicles from Palma ...

family of reconnaissance satellites designed and built by

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (Hebrew: התעשייה האווירית לישראל ''ha-ta'asiya ha-avirit le-yisra'el'') or IAI (תע"א) is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both mi ...

(IAI) for the Israeli Ministry of Defense.

Satellite description

Ofek-10 is an upgraded variant of Ofeq-8, which employs a high-resolution synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) that is capable of observation at night and through clouds. The satellite's price was US$300 million. The satellite weighs 400 kg.

Launch

Ofeq-10 was launched on 9 April 2014, at 19:06:02 UTC from the

Palmachim Airbase The Palmachim Airbase ( he, בָּסִיס חֵיל-הַאֲוִויר פַּלְמַחִים) is an Israeli military facility and spaceport located near the cities of Rishon LeZion and Yavne on the Mediterranean coast. It is named after nearb ...

Israel Israel (; he, יִשְׂרָאֵל, ; ar, إِسْرَائِيل, ), officially the State of Israel ( he, מְדִינַת יִשְׂרָאֵל, label=none, translit=Medīnat Yīsrāʾēl; ), is a country in Western Asia. It is situated ...

, four years after

Ofeq-9 Ofeq-9, also known as Ofek 9 ("Horizon in Hebrew), is part of the Ofeq family of reconnaissance satellites designed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Israeli Ministry of Defense. Launch It was launched on 22 June 2010, ...

's launch. It was delivered using a

Shavit Shavit ( he, שביט, link=no, meaning ''comet'') may refer to: People Surname * Ari Shavit (born 1957), Israeli reporter and writer * Bradley Shavit Artson (born 1959), American rabbi * Dorit Shavit (born 1949), Israeli ambassador * Edna Sh ...

launcher. Ofeq-10 was launched westward in a

retrograde orbit Retrograde motion in astronomy is, in general, orbital or rotational motion of an object in the direction opposite the rotation of its primary, that is, the central object (right figure). It may also describe other motions such as precession or ...

References

Reconnaissance satellites of Israel Space synthetic aperture radar 2014 in Israel Spacecraft launched by Shavit rockets Spacecraft launched in 2014 {{Spacecraft-stub