by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
As part of our series on 2020 orbital launches, we look at two Middle East rivals — Israel and Iran — that launched satellites into space last year.
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“Palmachim Airbase”
SpaceX dominated, China surged and Russia had another clean sheet as American astronauts flew from U.S. soil again in a year of firsts.
First in a series
by Douglas Messier
Managing Editor
Despite the COVID-19 pandemic, 2020 was a very busy launch year with a number of firsts in both human and robotic exploration. A total of 114 orbital launches were attempted, with 104 successes and 10 failures. It was the same number of launches that were conducted in 2018, with that year seeing 111 successes, two failures and one partial failure.
(more…)Israel launched a reconnaissance satellite into orbit aboard a Shavit booster on Monday morning, the Israel Ministry of Defense announced. “Ofek 16 is an electro-optical reconnaissance satellite with advanced capabilities. During the initial period of operation, the satellite will undergo a series of tests to determine its propriety and performance level,” the ministry tweeted. The launch took place from the Palmachim Airbase in Israel at 4 a.m. local time.