46
Q&A
T
THE CANADIAN JEWISH NEWS
MAY 12, 2016
Tal Inbar: Israeli space program spreads its wings
PAUL LUNGEN
[email protected]
I
srael in Space sounds like the name of
a science fiction show from the 1960s,
but in 2016 it’s entirely real. Today Israel is
one of only a few countries that can both
design and build its own satellites and
launch them into orbit. Tal Inbar heads the
Space Research Center of the Fisher Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies in Israel. He was in Toronto on April 12 and in
Montreal April 14 as keynote speaker for
the Canadian Institute for Jewish Research
(CIJR) galas, titled Israel in Space, which
honoured the late astronaut, Ilan Ramon.
He spoke to The CJN prior to the event.
Only a handful of countries have a
space program. Why did Israel chose
to develop one?
The origin of Israel’s space program is
connected to the negotiations with Egypt
and the withdrawal by Israel from the
Sinai Desert. We wanted to ensure that
the Egyptian army kept all the military
agreements that are annexed to the peace
accord was signed in 1979.
The only way you can verify what your
neighbour is doing is from space. That
was the trigger to develop our own space
program.
How did it develop from there?
At the time, no one would sell to Israel
anything related to space – not the launch
vehicle, not the components for the satellite, and of course, not a complete satellite.
The mission was conducted by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI), [which
launched] the first satellite in September
1988. It was a technology demonstrator.
Another one came two years later, and the
first operational satellite was launched in
April 1995. So we have had the capability
to watch our neighbours since 1995 with
ever-growing quality and resolution.
After the satellite was operating in space
very successfully, the decision was made
to embark on a new program, to develop
our own communications satellite. It took
a lot of years before we came up with several ideas for civilian application.
Is there now a private sector component
to the space sector in Israel?
Today there are several companies. One
is named SpacePharma, which is devoted to conducting experimentation in
micro-gravity. You could just send your
experiment to this company, and they will
send it to space and give you all the results.
There is another company called Effective Space Solutions. They are developing an
in-orbit services satellite. It’s like if you were
stuck with your car, you can call someone to
tow you. This is the same, but in space.
Tal Inbar, head of Israel’s Space Research Center
They are developing a new micro-satellite in the range of about 200 kilograms
that could be attached to another country’s communications satellite. After all
the fuel in a satellite is spent, the small
satellite could move you out of the orbit
that you are in.
Another company just developed a gel
propulsion system for satellites. This company is called New Rocket.
Another company is developing very
small satellites with a large inflatable
antenna that will give the operators of a
fleet of such satellites the opportunity to
provide high speed Internet globally and
other means of communications, like
HDTV, by using very small and relatively
cheap satellites.
Another Israeli company, named after
Ilan Ramon, is called Ramon Chips. It produces computer chips for space routes.
What about SpaceIL?
SpaceIL is an initiative of several people
who wanted to compete in the Google
Lunar XPRIZE to land a small vehicle on the
moon. The initiative was first envisioned
by three young engineers, none of whom
remains in the endeavour today. Today it’s
an initiative that is conducted and operated by the traditional space industry
The idea is to land a vehicle on the
moon. They have a tentative launch date
somewhere in the second half of 2017, but
it might be postponed to 2018.
Is the rocketry used to put these
satellites into space also Israelimade?
Yes, it is Israeli-made, but it’s not commercialized. The only user of the launch
capabilities is Israel.
Where do these satellites launch
from?
It’s from Palmachim Air Force Base, about
15 kilometres south of Tel Aviv, by the sea-
shore. For safety reasons, we are forced to
launch to the west. We are the only country
in the world that launches to the west, and
we lose about one-third of the energetic
potential of the launch vehicle. We don’t
have any choice, because we don’t have
very large territories we can launch from.
Does that mean your satellites have
to be one-third smaller than other
satellites?
It means we design our satellites to be
very small, compact and light weight, with
no compromise on the outcomes from the
satellites.
We were the first country in the world
who built mini-satellites in the range of 250
to 350 kilograms, with the performance of
satellites with launch weights of about oneand-a-half to two-and-a-half tonnes. That
was a revolution at the time, but during the
last two decades, the entire world satellite
industry closed the gap with us.
What are the challenges facing the
Israeli space program?
The main challenge is budget, like everywhere else.
But the other main challenge is selling
satellites to countries that don’t necessarily want to tell the world that the satellite
or its components are from Israel.
There are some limitations on the export
of space technology. For example, if there
is even $1 worth of U.S. hardware inside
an Israeli satellite, you have to get permission from the State Department, and they
want to give some protection to American
industry.
Another challenge is that most countries
today don’t just want to buy a satellite.
They want some technology transfer. And
there are limitations that the Israeli regulator, which is the Ministry of Defence,
imposes on various companies. So not
any product that we can produce we are
allowed to export.
Iran recently launched a missile that
could carry nuclear payloads. How
concerned are you?
Iran launched a nuclear-capable missile
and they showed some very interesting
underground facilities, silos and huge
depots with dozens of ballistic missiles in
each.
Also, new information came from North
Korea. They just tested a new type of reentry vehicle, which is a warhead for an almost-ICBM that has the capability of getting close to the continental United States.
The rule of thumb is that what you see
today in North Korea you will see tomorrow in Iran, and we don’t want to see it the
next day in Israel. Iranian missile technology and space launchers originate in
North Korea, and there is collaboration
between the two programs. We know there
are Iranians in North Korea when they
conduct tests and vice versa.
Does Israel have the capabilities to
deal with these threats?
We have a multi-layer defensive system,
from Iron Dome to David’s Sling and then
Arrow 2 and Arrow 3. Arrow 3 is under an
advanced state of development. We have
to cope with the known ballistic threats
from Hezbollah, from Syria, from Iran
and from the south – the rockets which
are getting very heavy with warheads
from Islamic Jihad and Hamas. But we
have to look at what the next generation
of threats could be from Iran. And you
have to keep an eye on North Korea. You
have to be very alert and know what is
going on in the whole spectrum of ballistic threats to Israel, and to cope with
it, we have our own very sophisticated
capabilities.
What is the extent of the co-operation
in space between Canada and Israel?
There is co-operation with Canadian
companies on next generation Israeli
communications satellite, Amos 6, which
is due to launch later this year.
The Canadian company is MDA Corporation, which was a major sub-contractor
for the satellite. There is a memorandum
of understanding between the Israel
Space Agency and the Canadian Space
Agency. The whole legal framework for
co-operation in civilian space is ready, so
Canadian companies could be part of the
Israeli space industry.
If there are some investors in Canada,
there are new and innovative ideas in the
space field in Israel. The status of relations
between Canada and Israel allows us to
bypass some of the limitations with other
countries. n
This interview has been edited and
condensed for style and clarity.