TEL AVIV, Israel — Two Israeli-built imaging satellites — one a spy satellite for the Italian Defence Ministry and the other a scientific satellite for the French and Israeli space agencies — are now orbiting Earth in space after their successful twin launch from an Arianespace Vega rocket.

The 368-kilogram OPSAT-3000 for the Italian military was the first to be deployed, some 37 minutes after launch from Europe’s Spaceport in French Guiana. About an hour later in flight, the 264-kilogram Venus vegetation- and environmental-monitoring satellite reached orbit.

Both satellites were built by Israel’s state-owned Israel Aerospace Industries and both carry high-resolution payloads produced by Israel’s Elbit Systems. They were launched shortly after 11 p.m. French Guiana time on Aug. 1 during a flight sequence that lasted 1 hour and 37 minutes, Arianespace reported in an early morning notification on Aug. 2.

“For the second time this year — and the 10th overall since entering service in 2012 — Vega has successfully launched a payload from the Spaceport, with this lightweight vehicle’s latest mission delivering the OPSAT3000 and Venus Earth Observation satellites to sun-synchronous orbits,” Arianespace noted.

According to the firm, deployment of the “multi-passenger” payload in space marks a perfect track record for the launcher that debuted in early 2012. “In five years of activity, our lightweight vehicle already has orbited a total of 25 satellites for 19 customers worldwide, both institutional and commercial, serving a wide range of space applications.”

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In a statement released Wednesday, Israel Aerospace Industries CEO Joseph Weiss said the successful deployment of two Israeli-built satellites marked a significant milestone for IAI and the entire Israeli space industry. “We’re talking about an event that is very exciting for the Israeli industry in particular and the state of Israel in general. Together with our Italian, French and Israeli partners, we are proud to see these two flagship projects on their way to years of fruitful operations,” Weiss said.

The IAI-built OPSAT-3000 — known by many in Italy as Leonardo — is expected to support the Italian Defence Ministry for a minimum of six years. It carries Elbit’s Jupiter space camera, which is designed to capture images of less than half a meter across from an altitude of 600 kilometers. “Jupiter is designed for a range of military and civilian applications, including advanced military surveillance and reconnaissance; detailed high-value target investigation; definition of small and discrete objects and situational awareness,” according to Elbit.

The Venus satellite, built by IAI under a cooperative program of the CNES French and Israeli space agencies, is expected to perform scientific tasks for a minimum of three and a half years. From an altitude of 720 kilometers, its Elbit-produced camera is designed to capture images in 12 different shades, or spectral bands, of objects or areas measuring some 5.3 meters across.

Twitter: @opallrome

Opall-Rome is Israel bureau chief for Defense News. She has been covering U.S.-Israel strategic cooperation, Mideast security and missile defense since May 1988. She lives north of Tel Aviv. Visit her website at www.opall-rome.com.

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