Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) today successfully launched the State of Israel’s Dror 1 national communications satellite. The launch was carried out by SpaceX’s Falcon 9 satellite launcher at Cape Canaveral in Florida.
IAI has been leading Israel’s space program since the 1980s, when it launched the first Ofek 1 surveillance satellite. Since then the company has also developed, manufactured and launched additional communications and surveillance satellites for scientific, commercial and national missions in Israel and worldwide. Currently, the company is developing and building more than 10 satellites, with the successful launch using Falcon 9 making amends for the Amos 6 satellite that was destroyed on the launch pad in September 2016 as a result of a SpaceX malfunction.
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The Dror 1 communications satellite will provide Israel’s communications needs for the coming years. The satellite weighs about 4.5 tons, and has a wingspan of 17.6 meters. Before launch, a series of trials lasting eight months were conducted in Munich, Germany, and from there the satellite was transferred to the US about a month ago. IAI’s satellite includes in-house developed advanced and unique communication capabilities that will allow for flexibility throughout its years of operation. Once it is placed in orbit around the earth, IAI engineers will perform a series of tests on the satellite, designed to ensure its integrity. Dror 1 will operate at an altitude of about 36,000 kilometers.
IAI CEO Boaz Levy described the launch as “a special event for the State of Israel,” after communications has been defined as a national asset. 560 IAI employees worked on the project, and once the satellite enters orbit, it is expected to move for about ten years at a speed of about 7.5 kilometers per second around the earth, orbiting the globe every 90 minutes.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on July 13, 2025.
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