Israel's Dror-1 communications satellite has successfully entered its orbit some 36,000 km. above the Earth and has begun its operational mission, Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) confirmed on Monday morning.
Upon entering its orbit, the satellite sent images to the IAI engineering team showing its several systems and tools being deployed. These included two solar panels and four communication antennas, as well as its main engine.
The telemetry received from the satellite marks "another major milestone in Israel’s journey to space independence," IAI CEO Boaz Levy was quoted by Israeli media as saying, adding that the images indicated the satellite's "full functionality and successful entry into orbit."
Dror-1 was jointly launched by the IAI and Space X at Cape Canaveral in Florida in July, aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 launch vehicle.
The Jerusalem Post attended the launch remotely from the IAI headquarters, where scientists were in direct communication with a team of 15 engineers located at Cape Canaveral.
Satellite's first orbit of Earth will only take 30 hours
The satellite’s first orbiting of Earth will take only 30 hours. After that, it will slow down and orbit Earth five times over a period of two weeks. The satellite travels at a speed of 3 km. per second.
Its size is 17.8 meters by 2.8 meters, and it weighs 4.5 tons. It also contains 70 video cameras and is made up of 28,000 nails.
IAI has led Israel’s space program since the 1980s, beginning with the launch of its first observation satellite, Ofek 1. Since then, the company has developed and launched additional communications and observation satellites.
According to the IAI, the Dror 1 satellite will serve Israel’s communication needs for the coming years. Now that it is in orbit, engineers will begin conducting tests to ensure its functionality.
Yonah Jeremy Bob contributed to this report.