Defense Ministry says Israel launches ‘Ofek 9′ _ its latest in series of spy satellites
By Mark Lavie, APTuesday, June 22, 2010
Israel launches new military spy satellite
JERUSALEM — Israel’s Defense Ministry says it has launched a military satellite called “Ofek 9,” the latest in a series of spy satellites.
The Defense Ministry says the satellite was launched on Tuesday evening. It says the satellite was sent skyward from the Palmachim air force base on Israel’s coast south of Tel Aviv.
The statement said technical crews were examining the data.
Defense officials said Ofek 9 is a spy satellite with a high resolution camera. It’s to join two other active spy satellites.
Israel is known to direct satellites over Iran to keep track of its nuclear program.
The officials said the three satellites would give Israel considerable coverage of sensitive areas. They spoke on condition of anonymity because details were not made public.
