Palmachim Credit - © Mark Wade

Israeli coasta missile test site from which Shavit satellite launch vehicle is also launched. A due-west launch over the Mediterranean is required to avoid overflying Arab countries, resulting in unique orbital inclination and direction.

• Name: Sea Launch Area. Latitude: 31.9000 N. Longitude: 34.6000 E. Launch Pads: 1. Arrow 1.

Palmachim Credit - © Mark Wade

• 1987 May? - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Jericho 2. Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).

• 1988 September 19 09:32 - Ofeq-1 Launch Vehicle: Shavit. Shaviyt 1 Apogee: 1,149 km (713 mi). First Israeli launch; possibly experimental surveillance mission. Experimental satellite 'Offeq-1'. Launch time 0934 GMT. Location: site on the coast south of Tel-Aviv. Launching organization: Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd (IAI) and Israeli Space Agency (ISA). Function: 1) Experimentation in generation of solar power; 2) Experimentation in transmission reception from space; 3) Verification of system's ability to withstand vacuum and weightless conditions; 4) Data collection on space environment conditions and Earth's magnetic field.

• 1989 September 14 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Jericho 2. Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).

• 1990 April 3 12:02 - Ofeq-2 Launch Vehicle: Shavit. Shaviyt 2 Apogee: 251 km (155 mi). Communication experiments.

• 1990 August 9 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. Failure. LC: Israeli ship. Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1991 March 25 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. Failure. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1991 October 30 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. Failure. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1992 September 23 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1993 February 28 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1993 February 28 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1993 July 14 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1993 October 14 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1993 October 14 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1994 Mar - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1994 June 12 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 20 km (12 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1994 September 15 - Ofeq failure? Satellite mission? Launch Vehicle: Jericho 2. Failure. Jericho II 3? Apogee: 300 km (180 mi).

• 1995 April 5 11:16 - Ofeq-3 Launch Vehicle: Shavit 1. Shaviyt 1 3 Apogee: 694 km (431 mi).

• 1995 July 30 - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F1 Apogee: 20 km (12 mi).

• 1996 Feb 20? - Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F2 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1996 August 20 - Target mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 80 km (49 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1996 August 20 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F3 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1997 March 11 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F4 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1997 August 19 08:29 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F5 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1997 Aug 19 0820? 08:20 - Target mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 80 km (49 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 1998 January 22 12:56 - Ofeq-4 Launch Vehicle: Shavit 1. Launch vehicle failed during second stage burn.. Shaviyt 1 4 Fell in Mediterranean Sea.

• 1998 September 14 12:41 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F6 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1999 November 1 09:42 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F7 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 1999 November 1 09:42 - Target mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 1. Arrow 1 TM-91 LC: Israeli ship. Apogee: 80 km (49 mi). Launched from Israeli vessel.

• 2000 September 14 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F8 Apogee: 80 km (49 mi).

• 2001 June 27 - Operational Test mission Launch Vehicle: Jericho 2. Apogee: 100 km (60 mi).

• 2001 August 27 10:50 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Apogee: 100 km (60 mi).

• 2002 May 28 15:25 - Ofeq-5 Launch Vehicle: Shavit 1. Shaviyt 1 5 Apogee: 757 km (470 mi). Military Observation satellite. Return to flight of the Shavit booster following a lauanch failure. Launch delayed from third quarter 2001. The three-stage Shavit rocket took off from Palmachim Air Force Base on the Israeli coast and flew westward to put the satellite in a retrograde orbit. The AUS-51 third stage solid motor entered a 262 x 774 km x 143.5 deg orbit and separated from the Ofeq satellite. Both coasted up to apogee at around 1620 UTC when Ofeq made a burn to increase its velocity by 33 m/s, raising the orbit to 369 x 771 km x 143.5 deg.

• 2003 January 5 14:37 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F10? Apogee: 30 km (18 mi).

• 2003 December 16 - ATBM Test mission Launch Vehicle: Arrow 2. Arrow 2 F11 Apogee: 30 km (18 mi).

• 2004 September 6 - Ofeq-6 Launch Vehicle: Shavit 1. Third stage orientation failure at 270 seconds into the flight. Military observation satellite failed to reach orbit. Finanical loss estimated by Israeli press as $ 100 million.

• 2007 June 10 23:40 - Ofeq-7 Launch Vehicle: Shavit 1. Shavit 2 Apogee: 576 km (357 mi). Israeli optical reconnaisance satellite, evidently using an improved version of the Shavit booster and probably heavier and more capable than its predecessors.

• McDowell, Jonathan, Jonathan's Space Home Page, Harvard University, 1997-present. Jonathan McDowell's complete on-line listing of all objects orbited and over 20,000 rocket launches Accessed at: http://www.planet4589.org/jsr.html.