No NOTAMs for the launch? Have the Israelis released them in the past?
I assume that this is a new optical reconnaissance satellite rather than a radar TecSAR payload. The first use of the new OpSAR-3000 platform for the optical series?And yesterday I finalised the proofs for my latest paper detailing the Israeli reconnaissance satellite programme for the Space Chronicle series of the Journal of the British Interplanetary Society! To late to update now.Don't expect TLEs from Space-Track - Ofeq TLEs have been classified since 2011.
Launch was apparently at 14:38 UTC.
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 09/13/2016 04:37 pmLaunch was apparently at 14:38 UTC.Source?
Tal Inbar, head of the Space and UAV Research Center at the Fisher Institute for Air & Space Strategic Studies, told Haaretz last night that there were signs that the new satellite was beginning to function, but that it was too early to say whether it could be used as planned
Quote from: jcm on 09/14/2016 11:24 pmQuote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 09/13/2016 04:37 pmLaunch was apparently at 14:38 UTC.Source?I was reading the Russians: http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum12/topic15545/ at that time. Maybe that turned out to be imprecise?
Odd that only Russian-language Israeli media seem to have given the time.
Quote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 09/14/2016 11:26 pmQuote from: jcm on 09/14/2016 11:24 pmQuote from: Galactic Penguin SST on 09/13/2016 04:37 pmLaunch was apparently at 14:38 UTC.Source?I was reading the Russians: http://novosti-kosmonavtiki.ru/forum/forum12/topic15545/ at that time. Maybe that turned out to be imprecise?OK, so that leads back to news.ru.co.il which appears to be a real source. Odd that only Russian-language Israeli media seem to have given the time.
Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) engineers were able to fix some of Ofek-11’s operation system problems, which allowed the country’s newest reconnaissance satellite to transmit its first pictures to the control station
The Israeli Defense Ministry gave its official confirmation that the Ofek-11 reconnaissance satellite that was launched last week has in fact been stabilized and transmitted first images from space...Yesterday, the claims that Ofek-11 transmitted first pictures from space were initially denied but now they have been officially confirmed, as has the fact that continuous contact with the satellite has been achieved