“Israel” launches “most advanced” satellite from Florida by SpaceX

Defence affairs

“Israel” has successfully launched its new national communications satellite, Dror-1, from Elon Musk's SpaceX launch facility at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

The advanced satellite, developed by “Israel” Aerospace Industries (IAI), lifted off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket early Sunday morning, ensuring its communication needs are met for the next 15 years.

The Falcon 9 rocket launched from Space Launch Complex 40.

SpaceX, which designated the mission "Commercial GTO 1" – a naming convention not previously used by the company – successfully landed the Falcon 9's first-stage booster on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.

Dror-1, weighing 4.5 tons and spanning 17.8 meters, is designed as the technological successor to “Israel's” Amos satellite series.

It incorporates the largest transmission and reception antennas ever built in “Israel” and is touted by IAI as one of the most advanced communication satellites globally, built almost entirely with "blue-and-white" (“Israeli”-made) technology.

In the coming days, Dror-1 will unfurl its solar panels and antennas before beginning a two-week process of maneuvering into its final geostationary orbit, approximately 36,000 kilometers above the equator.