India Launches Israeli Spy Satellite
Times, they are a-changing. It was not too long ago that Indian diplomats used to make speeches at the UN General Assembly condemning Israel. A new, more pragmatic, generation is in charge of India now. Fewer speeches at the UN. More interested in development and return on investment. Even from the space program. Due to various sanctions, India had to develop the capability to launch into space on its own: a slow and painstaking process. Now that it is able to launch reasonable size payloads, it would like to enter the commercial launch business. As of now, India offers the cheapest launch options- $14M for a 650 kg payload in low Earth orbit. There is some question about reliability though; this can nullify the cost advantage because of the insurance needed.
It is important therefore to show that you can deliver reliably. The latest launch of a `Remote Sensing Satellite’ with `Synthetic Aperture Radar’ in polar orbit (i.e., spy satellite) for Israel went off exactly as planned, although months past the original date. This ought to attract more business. Also, make a few people mad; but probably not make many new enemies.
So why did Israel choose the Indian Space Research Organization for this launch? It is doubtful it is for technical reasons. Israel most likely has the capability to launch such a payload on its own.Even otherwise, Israel has many other options. It could be for strategic reasons. India is already Israel’s largest customer for arms exports. Some trade in the other direction could be a good way to cement a deeper strategic relationship. It could be a good way of keeping tabs on what India is up to.
Or may be it was just a good arrangement for both sides. Sometimes a rocket is just a rocket.
