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Ofek 6 Launch Failure Not a Major Blow
(Jerusalem Post) Gerald M. Steinberg - The failure of the third stage of the Ofek 6 satellite was costly but it was not a major blow to Israel's strategic position in the region. Israel remains the only state in the Middle East capable of building and launching such a sophisticated strategic intelligence system. Meanwhile, Ofek 5 will continue to track Iran's nuclear weapons efforts and other threats to Israeli national security, and there is a good chance that Ofek 7 can be completed and launched before Ofek 5's orbit decays. In addition, the EROS commercial imaging satellite, whose sensing technology is very similar to Ofek's, is also in good working order. These highly sophisticated Israeli imaging satellites are capable of sending back clear images of objects that are less than one square meter in size. By observing changes in ground surface patterns, or heat emissions from areas that are supposed to be empty, secret facilities can be discovered.