Israel announced on Monday that it had successfully launched a reconnaissance satellite into space in its first experiment in this field. The announcement came from the spokesperson of the Israeli army, Avichay Adraee, who tweeted:
“The Ministry of Defense confirmed that the space administration at the Research and Development Directorate and the Space Industries Authority succeeded by launching the Horizon 16 reconnaissance satellite into space, at four in the morning Jerusalem time.”
Adraee continued: “I am talking about an electric optical survey satellite that is equipped with advanced technical capabilities, and it will be subjected in the near future to a series of tests to determine its suitability and performance level.”
This move by Israel comes just a few months after Iran successfully launched its first satellite into orbit.
In a signal to Israel's regional enemies, the Israeli Army spokesman issued messages hailing the launch in Arabic and other regional languages:
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu appeared to hint at this while hailing the successful launch. He said the launch “very much increases our ability to act against Israel’s enemies, near and far alike. It greatly expands our ability to act on land, at sea, in the air and also in space.”
And an Israeli Air Force space program official said of the launch:
“Our network of satellites lets us watch the entire Middle East — and even a bit more than that.”
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