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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