Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: WEDNESDAY, April 4, 1990 TAG: 9004040232
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A6 EDITION: STATE
SOURCE: The New York Times
DATELINE: JERUSALEM LENGTH: Medium
Some military experts suggested that the satellite was a military reconnaissance probe.
However, Israeli officials said the rocket, called Ofek II, boosted a dummy satellite into a low orbit that would last only about two months before it fell to Earth.
Yuval Neeman, head of the Israeli space agency, said in an interview that the next launching, a few months from now, will probably carry a permanent, active satellite.
Neeman, who also is a member of Parliament belonging to the far-right Tehiya Party, said the satellite launched on Tuesday and others planned in the future "are not designed for military purposes."
But Israeli officials said they hoped Iraq would not miss the message also inherent in Tuesday's launching, that the Israeli-made rocket used to boost the satellite into orbit Tuesday could also carry a warhead to Iraq.
Tuesday's launching is the latest in a series of developments that have focused attention on the accelerating Middle East arms race.
Last week, U.S. officials said Iraq had constructed a missile launching site within range of Tel Aviv.
Later, three people were arrested in Britain and charged with trying to smuggle to Iraq 40 U.S.-made triggering devices with a nuclear-weapons application.
Also last week, U.S. officials reported that Libya had tested an in-flight refueling system that would increase its fighter-bombers' threat to Israel.
Military experts say these threats have only accelerated Israel's interest in acquiring an early warning satellite surveillance capability.
Publicly, officials say Israel has no plans or capability to orbit a reconnaissance satellite.
Israel has depended on the United States for reconnaissance information, but there have been complaints that U.S. officials have on occasion withheld information that Israel wanted.
Reacting to Hussein's threat, Israel's Labor Party leader, Shimon Peres, said Tuesday's launching "reminds him that if he wants to deal with Israel he should look for other means than military."
Former Defense Minister Yitzhak Rabin said:
"It would be best for Saddam Hussein not to provoke Israel. Iraq is not out of our range to harm it severely."
Although Israel has repeatedly said it would not be the first nation in the Middle East to introduce nuclear weapons into its arsenal, U.S. officials have reported that Israel already has a significant nuclear stockpile.
Ofek I, Israel's first experimental satellite, was launched into a low orbit in September 1988 and fell back to Earth four months later.
Although the new satellite launched Tuesday has a low orbit, Neeman said Israel would have "no problem" boosting a future satellite into a higher, permanent orbit.
But he denied that the satellites were for anything but scientific purposes. "Science is the future of Israel," he said.
Neeman said Ofek III and IV are likely to be used to launch experimental telescopes into orbit for scientific observation of the skies.
Whatever the purpose of the satellite launched, Israeli officials discussed other steps to counter Hussein's threat, including distributing gas masks to the general population.
Masks were distributed on a pilot basis recently to residents of Shlomi in the north and Ramat Hasharon, near Tel Aviv.
Michael Dekel, an aide in Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir's office, said Tuesday that Israel should carry through with its existing proposal to distribute the masks to all citizens.
by CNB