Israel Space Agency Facts for Kids

Quick facts for kids
Israel Space Agency
*סוכנות החלל הישראלית*

Acronym	ISA
Owner	Israel
Established	1983 (Successor agency to National Committee for Space Research 1960-1983)
Headquarters	Tel Aviv, Israel
Primary spaceport	Palmachim Airbase
Administrator	Professor Yitzhak Ben Yisrael (Chairman), Avi Blasberger (Director General)
Budget	₪ 180 million / US$48 million
Website	space.gov.il

The Israel Space Agency is a governmental body, a part of Israel's Ministry of Science and Technology, that coordinates all Israeli space research programs with scientific and commercial goals.

The agency was founded by the theoretical physicist Professor Yuval Ne'eman in 1983 to replace the National Committee for Space Research which was established in 1960 to set up the infrastructure required for space missions. The agency is currently headed by Professor Isaac Ben Israel as Chairman and Avi Blasberger as Director General.

The ISA is responsible for funding a large set of university research projects and governmental projects. The goal is to boost space related research and development in the academic arena. The Israel Space Agency strives to promote space research and space technology development as a part of the effort to promote the Israeli scientific research.

Today, Israel is the smallest country with indigenous launch capabilities.

History
Vision
Satellite programs
Images for kids
See also

History

Israeli space agency night view

The Israel Space Agency has history dating back to the late 1950s. The Space Agency originated as a university-based research project from Tel-Aviv University in the early 1960s. In 1960, the National Committee for Space Research (NCSR) was formed by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The committee was formed to increase research activities across the academic communities in Israel. While at the time establishing a space program was not particularly one of its goals, during the '60s through the late '70s, the committee developed the infrastructure needed for research and development in space exploration and sciences. One of the NCSR's earliest achievements took place in 1961 with the launch of its first two-stage rocket.

Vision

The agency vision as defined by the guiding committee on July 27, 2005 states:

"Space research and exploration is an essential instrument for the defense of life on Earth; the lever for technological progress; the key to existing in a modern society; essential for developing an economy based on knowledge; and the central attraction for scientific and qualified human resources."

The vision is "to preserve and broaden the comparative advantage of Israel and to place it among the group of leading countries in the space research and exploration area."

The main goals for vision realization are:

To build and to support satellite systems for space research and for Earth research from space.
To develop technologies, knowledge and scientific infrastructure (including laboratories and human resources) required for space research.
To promote international cooperation in space research and exploration, and for strengthening the national interests of Israel.
To promote ties between Israeli society, space research, and exploration.

Satellite programs

The Israel Space Agency has had a long history of satellite programs both for reconnaissance and commercial purposes. Its first satellite, the Ofeq-1 was launched on September 19, 1988, from Palmachim Airbase in Israel. Since the launching of that first satellite, Israel has developed into a significant player in the commercial space arena. Today, the ISA satellite launches include:

Ofeq – Series of reconnaissance satellites. The first of these was launched from the Palmachim site on September 19, 1988.
Amos – Series of communications satellites
Eros – Series of observation satellites
Techsat – Researching satellite launched by the Technion
TechSAR – a SAR-based observation satellite.

The Israel Space Agency is currently involved with multiple satellites, space telescopes, and microsatellites.