Israel Launches Advanced Spy Satellite
JERUSALEM (AP) — Israel launched an advanced spy satellite Monday that will be able to track events in Iran, the country it considers its top foe, even at night and in cloudy weather, defense officials said.
The TECSAR satellite is of particular importance for Israel because it can be used to keep tabs on Iran's nuclear program, which the U.S. and Israel fear is a cover for pursuing nuclear weapons, they said.
The satellite, developed by Israel Aerospace Industries, operates with a special radar system, allowing it to view much more than existing Ofek satellites that use cameras, the officials said on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to talk to the press.
Israel has backed U.S. efforts to get the international community to intensify sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program. Iran insists its program is for power generation.
The company confirmed the satellite launching in a statement.
"The TECSAR is the first satellite of its kind developed in Israel, and ranks among the world's most advanced space systems," the statement said.
The satellite includes an advanced imaging system based on synthetic aperture radar, or SAR, technology, the statement said.
The development and launching cost tens of millions of dollars, the officials said. Within two weeks it will be possible to view pictures from the device, the officials said.
Israeli and Indian experts cooperated to launch the satellite with an Indian rocket from southeastern India, IAI said.
The satellite weighs some 660 pounds, the Israeli Haaretz newspaper reported, citing unnamed company officials.
Israel currently operates a number of reconnaissance satellites, including Ofek 5 and Ofek 7, as well as several commercial satellites such as the Amos and EROS series, Haaretz said.
Israel has today launched an advanced spy satellite, named TecSAR, into orbit on board India's Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle. The PSLV successfully launched from Satish Dhawan Space Centre at 3:45 a.m. GMT today, with a successful cast off from the launch rocket at around 4:05 a.m. GMT. Israel Aerospace Industries report that the first signals were received 80 minutes after the launch, present at which were both Israeli and Indian space engineers.

The launch was delayed several times for unclear reasons. At one point, it was rumoured that the launch had been cancelled completely due to pressure from the US Government. Indian and Israeli authorities denied this, however, citing technical problems instead.

The satellite, also referred to as Polaris, is equipped with the latest in spy technology, including Synthetic aperture radar, which can be used to provide details information on ground cover. The ''BBC'' also reports "enhanced footage technology" - which allows Israel to receive video and images at any time of day or night, and under any weather conditions. Israeli defence officials have said that the satellites main purpose is to track events in Iran, the countries' number one foe. The events that they wish to track include the Iranian nuclear programme, as well as military happenings in Iran and Syria.

The satellite is capable of a maximum resolution of 10 centimetres, of which the first images wil be available in "a few weeks." Development of the satellite has been quoted as "tens of millions of dollars" - and India is benefiting from a major boost in the commercialisation of the countries' 45-year-old space program - which hopes to compete with the US, Russia, China, the Ukraine and the European Space Agency in the satellite launch service field.