The American Space Agency NASA will launch the Israeli ULTRASAT space telescope into high-earth orbit in 2026, in a flagship project of the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and the Weizmann Institute of Science. The cooperation agreement concluded between the Israel Space Agency and NASA last week will deepen the partnership between the parties in the project.
The ULTRASAT telescope is destined to revolutionize our ability to detect and analyze transient events in the universe, which appear briefly in the sky, such as merging or exploding stars.
Under the agreement between the Israel Space Agency in the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology and NASA, the American Space Agency will join the project as a partner and provide the launch for the satellite, and all that this entails. As a partner, NASA will also have access to the data from the scientific observations made by the satellite telescope. The Israel Space Agency will responsible for transferring ULTRASAT to the Kennedy Space Center in Florida, where the launch will take place. The ULTRASAT will be launched into a high orbit (geostationary orbit, the same orbit as communication satellites), enabling it to maintain fixed and constant communication with the ground station in Israel.
The volume of the universe accessible to ULTRASAT at any given moment to detect transient events will be 100 times greater than the volume accessible to existing observatories on earth. ULTRASAT will also measure ultraviolet light, not feasible from the ground, and alert the scientific community to transient events in real time.
This combination of exclusive capabilities will enable observations of the universe as never before, and will shed light on basic questions about the universe, such as the origin of heavy elements in nature and the effect of massive black holes on their surroundings. It will also impact astronomical research on a broad range of topics, including the sources of gravitational waves, supernovae, variable and flare stars, active galaxies, and accretion of stars by massive back holes.
“Groundbreaking science calls for cutting-edge technology”, said Uri Oron, Director-General of the Israel Space Agency at the Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology. The requirements demanded of ULTRASAT, such as a wide field of view, advanced ultraviolet sensitivity and real-time data control and transfer are at the forefront of global technology. Israel’s space and detector industry can deliver these capabilities. The Israel Space Agency is proud of its cooperation with NASA, which constitutes yet another example of the sound partnership between the agencies, and proud of the involvement of Israel’s high-tech industries in ULTRASAT’s development”.
Dr. Mark Clampin, Astrophysics Division Director at NASA Headquarters, said: “We are proud to join this partnership. This is an international effort to help us better understand hot transient events in space. ULTRASAT will offer the global scientific community the crucial ability to conduct new observations in the developing field of real-time multi-messenger astronomy”.
“This is a breakthrough project that places Israel at the forefront of global research,” says Prof. Eli Waxman, an astrophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and ULTRASAT’s head researcher. Recognizing the mission’s major contribution to science, leading international organizations, such as NASA and the DESY research institute, have joined the Israeli-led project as partners. They are investing considerable resources in the launch and in the construction of the camera in exchange for active participation and access to the scientific outputs. It is a science-driven partnership”.
The Israel Aerospace Industries’ MBT Space Division is building the satellite and will manage the mission in space, as well as the integration of the telescope being built by Elbit Systems Electro-optics – Elop. The DESY institute is building the telescope’s camera, which incorporates special-purpose detectors developed by Tower Semiconductor for the mission.
ULTRASAT is likely to have a far-reaching impact, in addition to and beyond the actual scientific discoveries themselves. The mission’s success will demonstrate the feasibility of using small and relatively inexpensive satellites ($90 million) to achieve scientific breakthroughs, and pave the way for similar Israeli missions in the future. The mission’s high scientific profile will strengthen Israel’s space industry and Israel’s standing on the international stage by virtue of its partnerships with leading industries and agencies in the field.
