The Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science announced today the expected launch in 2026 of the ULTRASAT space telescope by NASA, the US space agency.
The flagship project is expected, according to the bodies, to "revolutionize the exploration of the universe".
The cooperation agreement was signed last week between the Israeli Space Agency and NASA.
Ultrasat telescope is expected to revolutionize our ability to discover and analyze transient events in the universe, which appear in the sky for a relatively short time, such as the merger and explosion of stars.
According to the agreement between the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and NASA, the American Space Agency will join as a partner in the project and provide the launch for all its components. As a partner, NASA will also receive access to the scientific observation data that the satellite telescope will perform.
The Israel Space Agency will believe in transferring Ultrasat to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, from where it will be launched.
After the launch, Ultrasat will circle the earth in a high orbit, like the orbit of communication satellites, and will be able to maintain regular and continuous communication with the ground station in Israel.
The volume of the universe that will be accessible to ultrasat at a given time for the purpose of detecting transient events, will be a hundred times greater than that accessible to existing observatories.
In addition, Ultrasat will measure the light emitted in the ultraviolet range, which cannot be measured from the ground, and will inform the scientific community about the occurrence of events in real time.
The combination of these unique abilities will make it possible to observe the universe in a way that has not been observed until now, will shed light on basic questions about the universe, such as the origin of heavy elements in nature and the effect of giant black holes on their environment, and will affect astronomical research on a wide range of topics, including sources of gravitational waves, supernovae, stars Variables and starbursts, active galaxies and the absorption of stars by massive black holes.
A senior delegation from NASA met with the ULTRASAT team at the Weizmann Institute of Science during Israel Space Week, January 2023, photo: Weizmann Institute of Science
Many Israeli parties are partners in the project.
The satellite that will carry the telescope was built by Mebat Aerospace Industries, which will be responsible for both the integration of the telescope to be built by Elbit Systems-Alup, and for the management of the mission in space.
The DESY Institute is building the camera that will be installed inside the telescope, with dedicated detectors inside it that were developed for the mission by Tower Semiconductor.
Ultrasat is expected to have a wide impact, in addition to and beyond the scientific discoveries themselves.
The success of the mission will prove that it is possible to achieve scientific breakthroughs using small and relatively cheap satellites - about 90 million dollars - and will pave the way for similar Israeli missions in the future.
The high scientific profile of the mission will strengthen the position of the Israeli space industry and Israel's position in the international arena through collaborations with leading industries and agencies in the field.
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