Shavit - Launch History

Launch History

The Shavit has been launched nine times, placing the payload into orbit six times. On the third, fifth and seventh flights, the vehicle failed before reaching space. Most non-Israeli satellites are launched eastward to gain a boost from the Earth's rotational speed. However, the Shavit is launched westward (retrograde orbit) over the Mediterranean to avoid flying and dropping spent rocket stages over populated areas in Israel and neighboring Arab countries. The Shavit is also said to be made available for commercial launches in the near future. Of the seven launches two are the basic Shavit, four are the Shavit-1 and the last one being Shavit-2. The September 2004 failure of the Shavit resulted in the destruction of the $100 million Ofeq 6 spy satellite. Israel has announced that it may use the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, developed by India's ISRO for future Ofeq launches.

Variant Date of Launch Launch Location Payload Mission Status
Shavit 19 September 1988 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 1 Success, experimental payload
Shavit 3 April 1990 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 2 Success, experimental payload
Shavit 15 September 1994 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq ? Failure, unknown payload
Shavit-1 5 April 1995 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 3 Success, first operational satellite in orbit
Shavit-1 22 January 1998 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 4 Failure
Shavit-1 28 May 2002 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 5 Success, second operational satellite in orbit
Shavit-1 6 September 2004 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 6 Failure
Shavit-2 11 June 2007 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 7 Success, third operational satellite in orbit
Shavit-2 22 June 2010 Palmachim Airbase Ofeq 9 Success

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