ISA — Israel Space Agency

Overview

The Israel Space Agency (ISA), founded in 1983 and based in Tel Aviv, coordinates a space programme defined by its constraints. When a Shavit rocket orbited Ofek-1 in 1988, Israel became the eighth nation with independent launch capability — and it remains the smallest country ever to achieve it.

Geography forces a unique signature: launching eastward would overfly neighbouring countries, so every Shavit flight from Palmachim Airbase heads west over the Mediterranean, into retrograde orbit against Earth's rotation — the only country that routinely launches this way. The programme centres on the Ofek reconnaissance series alongside civil science, while private ventures have carried the flag furthest: SpaceIL's Beresheet was the first privately funded spacecraft to attempt a Moon landing in 2019, and Eytan Stibbe's Rakia mission visited the ISS in 2022.

Quick Facts

Key Programmes

Shavit launcher

Israel's indigenous three-stage solid-fuel orbital rocket, flying since 1988 from Palmachim — every mission westward, into retrograde orbit.

Ofek reconnaissance satellites

The backbone of the programme: electro-optical and radar reconnaissance satellites, with recent members including the advanced Ofek-13 radar satellite (2023).

Beresheet lunar missions

SpaceIL's Beresheet reached the Moon in April 2019 but crashed on descent — the first privately funded lunar landing attempt. Beresheet 2, a double-lander mission, has been in development.

Science & civil space

Contributions include the ULTRASAT wide-field UV space telescope in development with partners including NASA and DESY, and the VENµS vegetation-monitoring satellite flown with France's CNES.

Launch Infrastructure

Launch Vehicles

Timeline