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Israel Launches New Satellite to Spy on Iran
Israel’s military have launched a spy satellite to keep track of developments in Iran, the Associated Press reported early Monday, quoting Israel Radio.
The Ofek 7 satellite was “launched and successfully injected into orbit,” the Israeli Defense Ministry said in a statement on Monday.
The aircraft blasted off at 2.40 am local time, Israel Radio reported. Ofek 7 will replace Ofek 5 which has been orbiting for almost five years. Ofek 5’s life had to be extended when the launch of its planned replacement, Ofek 6, failed two years ago.
Haim Eshed, chief of the Defense Ministry’s space program, said that the satellite could be used to counter Iran’s efforts to develop a nuclear weapon.
Meanwhile, Iran reported last February it had launched its first rocket into space. Teheran did not specify the kind of rocket, but unofficial sources said it was connected with Iran’s civilian satellite program.
The Iranian space industry, however, may aim to create spy probes. Iran’s space program chief earlier said that the Sinah-1 satellite, which was fired from a Russian space center, could also carry out spy tasks.
www.kommersant.com
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