Israel's Defence Ministry says it has launched a military satellite called "Ofek 9", the latest in a series of spy satellites. The Defence Ministry says the satellite was launched on Tuesday evening. It says the satellite was sent skyward from the Palmachim air force base on Israel's coast south of Tel Aviv. The statement said technical crews were examining the data. Defence officials said Ofek 9 is a spy satellite with a high resolution camera. It's to join two other active spy satellites.
Israel is known to direct satellites over Iran to keep track of its nuclear program. The officials said the three satellites would give Israel considerable coverage of sensitive areas. They spoke on condition of anonymity because details were not made public. *AP
