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Israel’s Earth-imaging EROS C-3 satellite was launched into orbit this week.
By United with Israel Staff
Early Friday morning, SpaceX successfully sent an Israeli satellite into space.
The EROS C-3 satellite is designed to transmit images of the Earth from space back to Israel.
The satellite was placed into orbit by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base, i24 reported.
The observation satellite was developed by an Israel-based company called ImageSat International (ISI) and “will be used for military intelligence and security purposes,” added the i24 report. “[EROS C-3] is considered another major step forward for Israel’s place in the global space industry.”
Deployment of @ImageSatIntl EROS C-3 confirmed pic.twitter.com/J7KORv5lha
— SpaceX (@SpaceX) December 30, 2022
ISI remains the most active space-related company in Israel, operating a fleet of satellites that transmit detailed images of the Earth worldwide.
SpaceX’s successful launch of the EROS C-3 arrived at the end of the same year in which Israeli astronaut Eytan Stibbe observed the Passover holiday aboard the International Space Station (ISS).
The former fighter pilot, who spent eight days on the space station performing experiments with Israeli researchers and students, managed to perform key aspects of the Passover seder in space, a first for humanity.
“There are five important things Jews needs to do for their seder,” said Rabbi Ari Enkin, United with Israel’s rabbinic director, at the time. “Eat matzah, tell the story of leaving Egypt, drink four cups of wine or grape juice, eat the bitter herbs, and say the Hallel praises at the end. In extreme circumstances, everything else is negotiable.”
According to Rabbi Enkin, the trickiest issue was that Stibbe wasn’t in any specific time zone.
“There’s a dispute whether Stibbe should follow Israel time, since that’s where he lives, or Florida time, since that’s where he left the planet,” Rabbi Enkin said.
Rabbi Enkin stressed, “What Stibbe is doing is very commendable. He’s showing that a Jew never leaves his Judaism behind. Wherever you go in the world — or out of this world — a Jew takes his Judaism with him.”
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