The Ofek-5 reconnaissance satellite was successfully launched into orbit Tuesday evening, and will soon begin providing Israel's intelligence agencies with high-resolution images of the Middle East. Defense Minister Binyamin Ben-Eliezer said that the satellite and its launcher rocket, developed entirely in Israel, were "a tremendous achievement for the Israeli defense establishment."

The Ofek-5 satellite, developed by Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI), rocketed into space onboard a Shavit launcher at 6:25 p.m., from the Palmahim air force base. The Shavit's engines shot out a huge white vapor trail as the rocket sped westward over the Mediterranean. Minutes later the rocket and satellite disappeared over the horizon. Ofek is the Hebrew word for horizon.

Shortly after 8 p.m., Israeli Air Force ground control established contact with the satellite as it passed overheard on the first of its 90-minute orbits. "This is a great moment," said IAI's president and chairman, Moshe Keret. "We have in space one of the most advanced systems in the world."

"But the ultimate goal of the mission is for pictures the satellite needs to transmit to us, and this test will only happen on Friday afternoon," added Doron Suslik, deputy vice president of corporate communications at IAI.

Advanced optic technologies on Ofek-5, including a telescopic camera developed by El-Op and Elbit Systems, will provide Israel's intelligence agencies high-resolution photographic images. According to media reports, the images will depict objects on earth as small as one-meter wide.

"It will be hard to hide anything from the eyes of this satellite," a senior military source told Yediot Aharonot. "If Saddam Hussein decides to have breakfast in the yard of his palace, the satellite will detect the table on which his meal is served."

According to an official statement, "Ofek-5 is a three-axes stabilized, lightweight satellite platform, adapted for high-resolution observation, scientific, or, technological payloads." The launch weight was about 300 kg (660lbs). The satellite will orbit the earth in an ellipse spanning from 370 km to 600 km (229 to 372 miles) high.

The satellite's projected lifetime is four years, and it replaced Ofek-3, which burned up in the atmosphere after if finished five years of service a year and a half ago. The launch of Ofek-4 failed in January 1998, when a fault occurred with the rocket's second stage and the satellite fell into the sea.

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