Ofeq 6 setback for Israeli surveillance
ALON BEN-DAVID JDW Correspondent Tel Aviv
Date Posted: 09-Sep-2004
The failure of the Ofeq 6 reconnaissance satellite to reach orbit on 6 September due to a malfunction in the satellite's navigation engines marks a setback for Israel's planned long-range intelligence and surveillance capabilities.
Ofeq 6 was launched at 10:53GMT aboard an Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI)/Israel Military Industries (IMI) Shavit three-stage solid-fuel launcher from Palmachim Air Force Base, south of Tel Aviv. "The initial two stages were successful and a malfunction occurred at the third stage of the launch," said Rachel Naidek Ashkenazi, spokesperson for Israel's Ministry of Defence (MoD).
Ofeq 6 had reached an altitude of 260km at the completion of the Shavit's first two stages. "It appears that the failure happened between the second and third stage," former commander of the Israel Air Force (IAF) retired major general Eitan Ben-Eliyahu told JDW. "At this stage, eight small thrust engines are designed to correct the satellite's position, prior to the ignition of the third stage, which accelerates the Ofeq into orbit. A failure occurred in one of these engines preventing the third-stage ignition." Ofeq 6 subsequently crashed into the Mediterranean, some 1,500km west of the Israeli coastline.
Launches from Israel are considered more complex as they are always conducted from the Mediterranean shore westbound - counter to the earth's rotation. This is for safety reasons to assure the initial trajectory is over the sea.
Developed by IAI's MBT Division, Ofeq 6 was a slightly improved version of the Ofeq 5 military photo reconnaissance satellite. Weighing about 300kg, it is equipped with an Elbit Systems optical payload reportedly providing less than 1m resolution. IMI manufactures the engines for the initial two stages of the Shavit launch vehicle and Rafael Armament Development Authority produces the third-stage engine.
Several defence sources estimated the financial loss of Ofeq 6 to be in the region of $100 million, and both the MoD and the Knesset have set up committees to investigate the failure. "We are not happy with the results, which we are still examining, and we will draw the right lessons," Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz told JDW. "It is a loss of a lot of money and efforts and a justifiable cause for grief," added Moshe Bar-Lev, former director in the Ofeq programme.
Arguably more important is the cost to Israel's extended surveillance capability. Ofeq 6 was intended to increase intelligence coverage of Iran's nuclear and ballistic missiles programmes. "The Ofeq 5, launched in 2002, still has a lifespan of two to three more years, which we were hoping to augment by coverage from Ofeq 6," retired major general Isaac Ben-Israel, former head of the MoD's Armament Research and Development Directorate, told JDW. "Our current intelligence gathering, based on the military satellite Ofeq 5 and the civilian Eros A1, provides reasonable coverage. It could have been much better with three satellites in space."
Iran and Israel have been trading barbs in recent weeks following separate tests of their respective Shahab 3 medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM) and Arrow ballistic missile defence systems. Following the failed Ofeq 6 launch, Iranian Defence Minister Rear Adm Ali Shamkhani declared on 7 September that Iran is ready to test the Shahab 3 again to prove its success "in the presence of observers".
The Ofeq programme has suffered substantial failures since it was initiated: three of the six Ofeq satellites launched have been lost. Ofeq 1 was successfully launched on a proof-of-technology mission in 1988 and was followed by the unsuccessful launch of another prototype, Ofeq 2, in 1991. Israel's first reconnaissance satellite, Ofeq 3, was successfully launched in 1995. While its replacement, Ofeq 4, was lost in 1998, Ofeq 3 endured beyond its expected lifetime and continued to provide Israel with high-resolution imagery until 2000. Israel was subsequently forced to rely on coverage from the commercial Eros A1 until Ofeq 5 was launched in 2002; Ofeq 5 is expected to last until 2006.
While there is a consensus in Israel's defence establishment on the necessity of the Ofeq programme and the development of independent launch capabilities, several defence sources have suggested that the programme requires close examination before it continues. "Any such failure results in close examination, but it should be perceived as an inevitable part of any research and development project," Prof Ben-Israel said. "Israel's success rates are not lower than those of any other country that started a space programme."
A senior defence source told JDW that "an effort will be made to launch Ofeq 7, a much more advanced Ofeq version, as early as 2005".
Arrow attempts to intercept MIRV
The Ofeq failure happened just 10 days after the unsuccessful test of IAI's Arrow Weapon System in California on 26 August. However, JDW has learned that, contrary to reports by IAI and the Israeli MoD, the Arrow was not tested against a target simulating a 'Scud' D, but rather against a target simulating a multiple independent re-entry vehicle (MIRV).
Israeli defence sources have confirmed that, unlike the official report, the target did not imitate the 'Scud' D, in which the re-entry vehicle separates from the engine, but rather it separated into more than 10 decoys, one of which was the actual warhead.
The target, a Coleman Aerospace Short-Range Air Launch Target (SRALT) provided by the US Missile Defense Agency (MDA), was released by parachute from a C-17 strategic transport aircraft at an altitude of 15,000ft. According to Israeli defence sources, the Arrow's Green Pine radar successfully detected all the targets and was able to differentiate the warhead from the decoys. The Arrow was accurately launched against the actual target, but failed to intercept it due to a malfunction in its navigation system.