Moscow – Russia on Tuesday launched a satellite for Israel that Israelis say will be used to spy on Iran’s nuclear program.
The Eros B satellite was launched from a mobile pad at the Svobodny cosmodrome in the Far East, said Alexei Kuznetsov, a spokesman for the Russian military space forces.
About 20 minutes later, the satellite successfully reached orbit, Russian news agencies reported, citing the space forces’ press service.
“The Israeli satellite reached its target orbit and has been transferred to the client’s control,” Kuznetsov was quoted as saying by the ITAR-Tass news agency.
Israel’s Channel 10 TV reported that the launch was successful but that the satellite would not deploy its power panels for another day and a half.
The satellite is designed to spot images on the ground as small as 27½ inches, an Israeli defense official said. That level of resolution would allow Israel to gather information on Iran’s nuclear program and its long-range missiles, which are capable of striking Israel, he said.
The satellite, which can remain in orbit for six years, can photograph the same spot on Earth once every four days, according to ITAR-Tass.
