TecSAR-1, also known as TechSAR, Polaris and Ofeq-8, is an Israeli

reconnaissance satellite A reconnaissance satellite or intelligence satellite (commonly, although unofficially, referred to as a spy satellite) is an Earth observation satellite or communications satellite deployed for military or intelligence applications. The ...

, equipped with a

synthetic-aperture radar Synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) is a form of radar that is used to create two-dimensional images or three-dimensional reconstructions of objects, such as landscapes. SAR uses the motion of the radar antenna over a target region to provide fine ...

(SAR) developed by Elta Systems. It was successfully launched at 03:45

UTC Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communica ...

on 21 January 2008, by PSLV C-10

launch vehicle A launch vehicle is typically a rocket-powered vehicle designed to carry a payload (a crewed spacecraft or satellites) from Earth's surface or lower atmosphere to outer space. The most common form is the ballistic missile-shaped multistage ...

, from the

Satish Dhawan Space Centre Satish Dhawan Space Centre – SDSC (formerly Sriharikota Range – SHAR) is the primary spaceport of the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO), located in Sriharikota, Tirupati district, Andhra Pradesh. The spaceport is located on an isl ...

in India. The TecSAR satellite is fitted with a large dish-like antenna to transmit and receive radar signals that can penetrate darkness and thickness of clouds. Built by

Israel Aerospace Industries Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI; ), is Israel's major aerospace and aviation manufacturer, producing aerial and astronautic systems for both military and civilian usage. It has 14,000 employees as of 2021. IAI is state-owned by the government ...

, TecSAR ranks among the world's most advanced space systems. Elta Systems Ltd cooperates with

Azerbaijan Azerbaijan, officially the Republic of Azerbaijan, is a Boundaries between the continents, transcontinental and landlocked country at the boundary of West Asia and Eastern Europe. It is a part of the South Caucasus region and is bounded by ...

to produce a TecSAR reconnaissance satellite system for the country. According to Azerbaijani military experts, this is an indispensable system for military operations in the mountainous terrains of

Launch

The satellite was successfully delivered into its target orbit about twenty minutes after launch. The four-stage

PSLV The Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle (PSLV) is an expendable medium-lift launch vehicle designed and operated by the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO). It was developed to allow India to launch its Indian Remote Sensing (IRS) satellite ...

rocket flew in the CA, or "Core Alone" configuration, with no strap-on

solid rocket booster A solid rocket booster (SRB) is a solid propellant motor used to provide thrust in spacecraft launches from initial launch through the first ascent. Many launch vehicles, including the Atlas V, SLS and Space Shuttle, have used SRBs to give laun ...

s. PSLV-C10, as the launch vehicle used to launch TecSAR-1 was designated, was the second flight of a PSLV-CA, and the twelfth overall for the PSLV series. Launch was contracted by the

Antrix Corporation Antrix Corporation Limited (ISO 15919: ) is an Indian state-owned aerospace company, headquartered in Bangalore, India, under the administrative control of the Department of Space. It was incorporated in September 1992, as a commercial and ma ...

, the commercial department of the

Indian Space Research Organisation The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO ) is India's national List of government space agencies, space agency, headquartered in Bengaluru, Karnataka. It serves as the principal research and development arm of the Department of Space (DoS), ...

(ISRO). The TecSAR-1 represents the first Israeli use of the Indian PSLV launcher. This made possible an orbit that could not be reached from Israel, with an altitude of 450-580 kilometers and inclination of 41.00°. As a result, TecSAR-1 cruises from west to east, unlike all the other surveillance satellites launched from Israel itself. The PSLV was selected as TecSAR's launch vehicle since the Shavit launch vehicle that was used to launch the

Ofeq Ofeq, also spelled Offek or Ofek (, ''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 launch vehicles from Palmachim Airbase i ...

series of satellites put constraints on possible satellite orbits. Any launch from Israeli territory must be directed westwards, towards the sea, in order to prevent the launcher's first stages (or the satellite itself, in case of a malfunction) from falling on populated areas or on foreign territory. A westward launch, that is, against the direction of the Earth's rotation, seriously restricts the weight of the satellite that the launch vehicle can carry. In the past, Israel also experienced several failures - the most recent example being the attempted Ofeq-6 launch in March 2004. In such cases, security links and the operational experience of another partner can allow alternative launches when needed. 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

U.S. Government The Federal Government of the United States of America (U.S. federal government or U.S. government) is the national government of the United States. The U.S. federal government is composed of three distinct branches: legislative, executi ...

. Indian and Israeli authorities denied this, however, citing technical problems instead. In Israel, it was rumoured that the launch had been delayed due to Iranian pressure on the Indian government. However, this was eventually proven to be baseless speculation.

Orbit

TecSAR-1 was placed into a

low Earth orbit A low Earth orbit (LEO) is an geocentric orbit, orbit around Earth with a orbital period, period of 128 minutes or less (making at least 11.25 orbits per day) and an orbital eccentricity, eccentricity less than 0.25. Most of the artificial object ...

with an

apogee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

of , a

perigee An apsis (; ) is the farthest or nearest point in the orbit of a planetary body about its primary body. The line of apsides (also called apse line, or major axis of the orbit) is the line connecting the two extreme values. Apsides perta ...

of , and an equatorial

inclination Orbital inclination measures the tilt of an object's orbit around a celestial body. It is expressed as the angle between a reference plane and the orbital plane or axis of direction of the orbiting object. For a satellite orbiting the Eart ...

of 41°.

Mission

It is capable of imaging with a resolution of up to 10 centimeters through IAI's Elta System's ELM-2070 an

X-band The X band is the designation for a band of frequency, frequencies in the microwave radio region of the electromagnetic spectrum. In some cases, such as in communication engineering, the frequency range of the X band is set at approximately 7.0� ...

SAR radar system. The satellite's maximum resolution is believed to be around 1 metre. TecSAR-1 is the first Israeli satellite to feature Synthetic Aperture Radar, or SAR, which will provide images day or night and under all weather conditions. The satellite is being operated by

. TecSAR-1 started transmitting high quality images from 1 February 2008. The first image transmitted was that of the

Latrun Latrun (, ''Latrun''; , ''al-Latrun'') is a strategic hilltop in the Latrun salient in the Ayalon Valley. It overlooks the road between Tel Aviv and Jerusalem, 25 kilometers west of Jerusalem and 14 kilometers southeast of Ramla. It was the si ...

memorial monument. Since the first launch, IAI and Elta Systems have continued developing the satellite and radar. IAI also introduced the TecSAR XP, a SAR microsatellite that leverages the OPSAT-500 bus. TecSAR XP is designed to work in constellations or standalone configurations.

Strategic significance

TecSAR-1 considerably enhances Israel's intelligence-gathering capability. The satellite could potentially be the start of new strategic relations between Israel and India, and could affect the ongoing conflicts in the

Middle East The Middle East (term originally coined in English language) is a geopolitical region encompassing the Arabian Peninsula, the Levant, Turkey, Egypt, Iran, and Iraq. The term came into widespread usage by the United Kingdom and western Eur ...

. Israeli media discussed the strategic significance of the satellite, particularly with regard to

Iran Iran, officially the Islamic Republic of Iran (IRI) and also known as Persia, is a country in West Asia. It borders Iraq to the west, Turkey, Azerbaijan, and Armenia to the northwest, the Caspian Sea to the north, Turkmenistan to the nort ...

. It was reported that TecSAR-1's ability to produce images in adverse weather and at night would allow Israel to obtain more information about the suspected Iranian nuclear weapons program. It was also reported that it would be capable of producing images of Iranian activities which previous satellites were unable to view. Another report claimed that should Israel enter a conflict with Iran in the future, information provided by TecSAR-1 could prove critical.

Iranian reaction

A fortnight after the launch, Iranian Ambassador Seyed Mehdi Nabitzadeh announced in a press conference in

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

that he had conveyed Iran's point of view to the

Indian government The Government of India (ISO: Bhārata Sarakāra, legally the Union Government or Union of India or the Central Government) is the national authority of the Republic of India, located in South Asia, consisting of 36 states and union territor ...

regarding the launch. He emphasized his hope that "wise and independent countries like India do not give their advanced space technologies to launch spying operations against Iran". The Indians however stress that the launch was purely a commercial one.

References

External links

India and Israel Eye Iran
''Foreign Policy in Focus'' {{Orbital launches in 2008 Reconnaissance satellites of Israel Synthetic aperture radar satellites Elta products Israel Aerospace Industries satellites India–Israel relations Spacecraft launched by PSLV rockets Spacecraft launched in 2008 2008 in Israel Military equipment introduced in the 2000s