Spy In The Sky

In the past, only U.S., Russian, British and French defense forces enjoyed surveillance from the highest vantage point-pace. Today, military satellites are available for most armies, by utilizing the services of commercial high-resolution satellites based on the Eros family of satellites built by IAI/MBT and remote sensing payloads built by El-Op, an Elbit Systems subsidiary.

Based on the Ofeq (Horizon) 3 spy satellite, built by Israel Aircraft Industries, Eros A1 is the first commercial satellite offered by the new satellite operator- Cyprus based ImageSat International-on a time-sharing basis. The company has already gathered several customers for such system, and is gearing up to deploy its second satellite; IAI/MBT is currently building the second satellite for the company, in parallel to the next generation Ofeq 5 military satellite that is designing exclusively for the Israeli MOD. Both platforms are equipped with remote sensing equipment, such as the space camera designed by Elbit Systems.

Most of the Ofeq 5 data is classified, but Eros provides an important insight into the Israeli space imaging capability. According to El-Op, the camera currently deployed on Eros A1 is operating at an altitude of 480 kilometers, and is capable of taking high-resolution pan-chromatic pictures of an area of 12.5 x12.5 kilometers, at a resolution of 1.8 meters.

However, modifications of the primary sensor, by applying "over-sampling" techniques, were carried out by the manufacturer during the first year of the mission, and have already doubled the system's performance, providing imaging of a 6.25x6.25 kilometer area at resolution of 1 meter with the existing satellite. The system also provides a vertical separation of 5 meters, enabling accurate mapping and 3D modeling capability of the terrain. Further modifications are expected to yield images with the resolution of 0.6 meters to 0.7 meters within two years.

The next satellite in the Eros series, B2, is scheduled for initial operability by 2004. It will be equipped with a pan-chromatic sensor capable of an initial resolution of 0.87 meters from an altitude of 600 kilometers, and multi-spectral (4 color bands) resolution of 3.28 meters.

Menashe Broder, CEO of ImageSat told Show News that the company is considering launching the satellite to an altitude of 480 kilometers at the initial phase of its lifespan to yield higher resolution imagery if market demands dictate such performance. ImageSat is offering clients around the world the opportunity to share the satellite resources and control the payload of the satellite when it flies over their area of interest by becoming Satellite Operating Partners (SOP).

This scheme provides customers with near-real-time imagery, which is processed and distributed from a local ground station during the satellite's overflight of the area.

"It is like owning a satellite without the risk" says Noam Zafrir, vice president of marketing at ImageSat.

Clients can also order imagery of specific locations, which is provided by the company upon request.

By Tamir Eshel

The image taken over the Kamchatka peninsula on December 25, 2001 shows winter operations at Rybachy base at the Avacha Bay near Petropavlovsk, the secret SLBM missile submarine base, and home for the Russian nuclear Pacific fleet. The image taken by the Eros 1A satellite shows 1.8-meter resolution imagery of the base, with five Delta class SLBM submarines moored at the docks. Also present at the base are 15 Victor class submarines (most of them are grouped at the center left area). An icebreaker tug is marked "TB", and a supply ship is marked "S" at the left side of the complex. Base installations are seen at the bottom of the picture. Note that the port is open, despite the wintry conditions at the area. Ice-clear passages are seen providing open departure of a submarine from dock number 6, 8 and 9. Submarine departures are also visible at the left side of the picture, where a cleared passage is leading to a "dead end" at the ice edge, where submarines apparently submerged under the ice.

Photo: ImageSat International