IAI Ofeq-3

Ofeq-3 was an Israeli optical reconnaissance satellite built by Israel Aircraft Industries, now Israel Aerospace Industries, for the Israeli armed forces and launched on 5 April 1995 on a Shavit rocket from Palmachim. It used the OPSAT-1000 bus, weighed about 189 kg and flew in a retrograde orbit of roughly 729 by 367 km at 143.3 degrees. Encyclopedia Astronautica calls it Israel's second-generation imaging surveillance satellite, while Gunter's Space Page counts it as the first generation of Israeli spy satellites, so the numbering differs between catalogues. It was believed to return visible and ultraviolet imagery at about one metre resolution, had three-axis control and a 36 kg payload, and carried a hydrazine thruster module supplied by Rafael. It decayed from orbit on 24 October 2000.