IAI OPTSAT-3000

OPTSAT-3000, short for OPTical SATellite-3000, is an Italian Earth observation and reconnaissance satellite developed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries and operated by the Italian Ministry of Defence. It was ordered from IAI under an agreement between the Italian and Israeli governments, with Telespazio as the system prime contractor. The spacecraft is based on the bus of the Israeli reconnaissance satellite TecSAR-1 but modified for optical instruments, and has a launch mass of 368 kg and dimensions of 4.58 by 3.35 by 1.20 metres with its two solar arrays deployed. Its Jupiter imaging system, built by Elbit Systems, delivers panchromatic images at 0.5 metre resolution while the multispectral channel operates, through a 70 cm telescope from an altitude of almost 600 km. It was launched on 2 August 2017 on a Vega rocket from the Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana and has an expected service life of at least seven years.