Ofek-1

On 19 September 1988 Israel launched Ofek-1 ("Horizon") from the Palmachim air base on the Mediterranean coast, aboard the three-stage Shavit ("Comet") rocket built by Israel Aerospace Industries. Israel became the eighth country to put a satellite into orbit with its own launcher, after the Soviet Union, the United States, France, Japan, China, the United Kingdom and India. To avoid flying over hostile neighbors to the east, the rocket was fired westward over the sea, against the Earth's rotation, a costlier orbit Israel still uses. The experimental satellite of about 156 kg tested power, communications and stabilization systems and reentered the atmosphere in January 1989.

Ofek-1 was the first success of the Israel Space Agency, founded in 1983. Later Ofek satellites became a family of reconnaissance spacecraft that give Israel independent imaging of the region, and the same industry produced the Amos communications and EROS imaging satellites, making Israel a leader in small, lightweight satellites.