Israel Ministry of Defense on Monday said it launched the “Ofek 16” reconnaissance satellite into space on July 6.
“The Space Administration in the Directorate of Defense Research and Development (DDR&D) of the Israel Ministry of Defense and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), have successfully launched the ‘Ofek 16’ reconnaissance satellite into space, today at 4:00 AM,” the ministry tweeted on Monday morning.
Ofek 16 electro-optical reconnaissance satellite was launched on a Comet vehicle.
During the initial period of operation, the satellite will undergo a series of tests designed to verify its integrity and performance.
In September 2016, Israel launched Ofek 11 satellite from the Palmachim Airbase. It was delivered using IAI's Shavit launcher. The satellite features an improved version of El-Op's "Jupiter High-Resolution Imaging System,” with resolution increased to 0.5 meter, and uses a new satellite platform - OPSAT-3000 - which is a derivative of the satellite bus used in TecSAR.
South Korea is reportedly considering utilizing the Ofek 11 satellite to obtain observe North Korean activities.