 | |
| Function | Expendablelaunch vehicle |
|---|---|
| Manufacturer | Israel Aerospace Industries |
| Country of origin | Israel |
| Cost per launch | $18M |
| Size | |
| Height | 26.4 m |
| Diameter | 1.35 m |
| Mass | 30,500–70,000 kg |
| Stages | 4 |
| Capacity | |
| Payload toLEO | |
| Mass | 350–800 kg[1] |
| Launch history | |
| Status | Active |
| Launch sites | Palmachim Airbase |
| Total launches | 13 |
| Success(es) | 11 |
| Failure | 2 |
| First flight | 19 September 1988 |
| Last flight | 2 September 2025 |
| First stage (LeoLink LK-1) – LK-1 | |
| Powered by | LK-1 |
| Maximum thrust | 553.8kN (124,499lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 268 seconds |
| Burn time | 55 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB |
| First stage (LeoLink LK-2) – Castor 120 | |
| Maximum thrust | 1650.2kN (370,990 lbf) |
| Specific impulse | 280 seconds |
| Burn time | 82 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB polymer, Class 1.3 C |
| Second stage – LK-1 | |
| Powered by | 1 LK-1 |
| Maximum thrust | 515.8kN |
| Specific impulse | 268 seconds |
| Burn time | 55 seconds |
| Propellant | HTPB |
| Third stage – RSA-3-3 | |
| Powered by | 1 RSA-3-3 |
| Maximum thrust | 58.6 kN |
| Specific impulse | 298 seconds |
| Burn time | 94 seconds |
| Propellant | Solid |
| Fourth stage – LK-4 | |
| Powered by | 1 LK-4 |
| Maximum thrust | 0.402 kN |
| Specific impulse | 200 seconds |
| Burn time | 800 seconds |
| Propellant | Hydrazine[2] |
Shavit 2 (Hebrew: "comet" – שביט) is asmall liftlaunch vehicle produced byIsrael from 1982 onwards, to launchsatellites intolow Earth orbit. It was first launched on 19 September 1988 (carrying anOfek-1 satellite payload), making Israel theeighth nation to have an orbital launch capability[3] after theUSSR, United States, France, Japan,People's Republic of China, United Kingdom, and India.
The Shavit 2 project is believed to have been an offshoot development, resulting from Israel'sJericho nuclear armedintercontinental ballistic missile (ICBM) program.[4][5]
Shavit rockets are launched fromPalmachim Airbase by theIsrael Space Agency into highlyretrograde orbits over theMediterranean Sea to prevent debris coming down in populated areas and also to avoid flying over nations hostile to Israel to the east; this results in a lower payload-to-orbit than east-directed launches would allow.[3][6] The launcher consists of three stages powered bysolid-fuelrocket motors, with an optionalliquid-fuel fourth stage, and is manufactured byIsrael Aircraft Industries (IAI).
TheRepublic of South Africa produced and tested a licensed version in cooperation with Israel called theRSA-3 in an ultimately unsuccessful bid to produce a domestic satellite launch vehicle and ballistic missile; the South African program was closed in 1994.[7]
An earlier unrelated project called Shavit 2 was the first Israelisounding rocket, launched on 5 July 1961 formeteorological research.[8] Shavit Three, with an altitude reported as 100 miles (160 km), was launched on 11 August 1961.
The development of Shavit 2 began in 1982.[9] Shavit was a three-stage, solid-propellant launcher designed to carry payloads up to 250 kg intolow Earth orbit. It was speculated for some time and later confirmed that the first two stages of the Shavit were that of theJericho II missile.[10]
Shavit was first launched in 1988 and because of its geographic location and hostile relations with surrounding countries, Israel had to launch it to the west, over theMediterranean Sea, in order to avoid flying over those hostile territories to its east. The practice has continued ever since.[11] Debris from the rocket such as the fairing have fallen close to Italian territory near the island ofLampedusa,[12][13] as confirmed by the ItalianMinistry of Defense.[14]
The first of the Shavit vehicles were a small, 3-stage, solid-propellant booster based on the 2-stage Jericho-II ballistic missile and developed under the general management ofIsrael Aircraft Industries and in particular its MBT System and Space Technology subsidiary.Israel Military Industries Systems produces the first-stage and second-stage motors, whileRafael is responsible for the third-stage motor.[15]
A planned commercial Shavit upgrade was called Next. This name is no longer used, and this proposed upgrade configuration is now called Shavit-2. Both first and second stages of the Shavit-2 use the stretched motor design of the Shavit-1 first stage.
The Shavit has been launched 13 times, placing the payload into orbit 11 times.[16] On the 4th and 6th flights, the vehicle failed before reaching space. Most non-Israeli satellites are launched eastward to gain a boost from the Earth's rotational speed. However, the Shavit is launched westward (retrograde orbit) over the Mediterranean Sea to avoid flying and dropping spent rocket stages over populated areas in Israel and neighboring Arab countries. The Shavit is also said to be made available for commercial launches in the near future.
| Variant | Date of launch (UTC) | Launch location | Payload | Mission status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shavit | 19 September 1988 09:31 | Palmachim Airbase |  Ofek-1 | Success |
| Shavit | 3 April 1990 12:02 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-2 | Success |
| Shavit-1 | 5 April 1995 11:16 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-3 | Success |
| Shavit-1 | 22 January 1998 12:56 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-4 | Failure |
| Shavit-1 | 28 May 2002 15:25 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-5 | Success |
| Shavit-1 | 6 September 2004 10:53 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-6 | Failure |
| Shavit-2 | 10 June 2007 23:40 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-7 | Success |
| Shavit-2 | 22 June 2010 19:00 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-9 | Success[17] |
| Shavit-2 | 9 April 2014 19:06 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-10 (TECSAR-2) | Success[3] |
| Shavit-2 | 13 September 2016 14:38 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-11 | Success[18] |
| Shavit-2 | 6 July 2020 01:00 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-16 | Success[19] |
| Shavit-2 | 28 March 2023 23:10 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-13 (TECSAR-3) | Success[20] |
| Shavit-2 | 2 September 2025 19:30 | Palmachim Airbase | Ofek-19 (TECSAR-4) | Success[21] |
The September 2004 failure of the Shavit resulted in the destruction of the US$100 millionOfek 6 spy satellite. Israel used IndianPolar Satellite Launch Vehicle in the subsequent launch for theTecSAR SAR satellite,[22] while upgrading the Shavit launcher.[citation needed] On the upgraded Shavit 2, the follow-up Ofek 7 was successfully launched on a Shavit rocket in 2007.
The Jericho II missile-Shavit SLV was also license produced in the Republic of South Africa as the RSA series of space launch vehicles and ballistic missiles. TheRSA-3 was produced by the Houwteq (a discontinued division ofDenel) company atGrabouw, 30 km east ofCape Town. Test launches were made fromOverbergTest Range nearBredasdorp, 200 km east of Cape Town.Rooiels was where the engine-test facilities were located. Development continued even after South African renunciation[23] of itsnuclear weapons for use as a commercial satellite launcher. Development actually reached its height in 1992, a year after nuclear renunciation, with 50–70 companies involved, employing 1300–1500 people from the public and private sector.[24][25] A much heavier ICBM or space launch vehicle, theRSA-4, with a first stage in thePeacekeeper ICBM class but with Jericho-2/RSA-3 upper-stage components was in development.[7][26][27]
| Variant | Date of launch | Launch location | Payload | Mission status |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| RSA-3 | 1 June 1989 | Denel Overberg Test Range |  RSA-3-d 1 | Apogee: 100 km (60 mi) |
| RSA-3 | 6 July 1989 | Denel Overberg Test Range | RSA-3 2 | Apogee: 300 km (180 mi) |
| RSA-3 | 19 November 1990 | Denel Overberg Test Range | RSA-3 3 | Apogee: 300 km (180 mi) |
In June 1994 the RSA-3 / RSA-4 South African satellite launcher program was cancelled.[28]
In 1998,Israel Space Agency partnered with U.S. Coleman Research Corporation (now a division ofL-3 Communications) to develop the LK family of small launch vehicles.[29] In 2001, a new French joint-venture, LeoLink, betweenAstrium andIsrael Aircraft Industries, was created to market the LK variant.[30] It is believed that in 2002 development of the LK variant was discontinued.[31]
The LK-1 was closely based on the Shavit-2, but with motors and other components built in the United States to satisfy U.S. government requirements.[29] The LK-2 was a larger vehicle using a Thiokol Castor 120 motor as its first stage. The third stage was either a standard AUS-51 motor built under license by Atlantic Research Corp., or aThiokolStar 48 motor. All launch vehicles would have had a smallmonopropellanthydrazine fourth stage.[32]
A Shavit LK air-launched satellite launcher was proposed by ISA andIsrael Aircraft Industries (IAI). The booster would have been a standard Shavit-1 or Shavit-2 without a first stage that would be dropped from aHercules C-130. An alternative proposal consisted of a full launch stack carried atopBoeing 747 aircraft, similar to how theSpace Shuttle was carried, through theStraits of Tiran and past theArabian Peninsula into open sea; this called for a zoom-climb launch over theIndian Ocean, permitting the eastward boost from the rotation of the Earth rather than launching into a westward retrograde orbit over the Mediterranean, nearly doubling the maximum payload weight.[32][33]
This article incorporates text from this source, which is in thepublic domain.