From launching its own reconnaissance satellites to developing lunar spacecraft, advanced AI processors and next-generation weather satellites, Israeli companies are making their mark across virtually every major field of the global space industry.
By Hezy Laing
Israel may be a small country, but its ambitions in space have always been enormous. Israeli companies are involved in building satellites, developing rocket engines, designing advanced cameras, creating global communications networks and even conducting pharmaceutical experiments in orbit.
What makes Israel particularly remarkable is the range of its capabilities. From military reconnaissance to commercial broadband and lunar exploration, Israeli technology is contributing to almost every major layer of the modern space industry.
From national security to the space industry
Israel’s space program began primarily out of necessity. The country needed independent access to satellite intelligence and could not afford to rely entirely on foreign governments for information about potential threats.
On September 19, 1988, Israel launched Ofek 1 aboard its domestically developed Shavit rocket. The achievement made Israel the eighth country capable of independently launching a satellite into orbit.
Israel faces a geographical challenge that most space powers do not. Its rockets launch westward over the Mediterranean, against the Earth’s rotation, rather than eastward over neighboring countries, reducing the risk of debris falling into populated or hostile territory.
This unusual launch direction comes at a price: it reduces the amount of weight the rocket can carry into orbit. Nevertheless, Israel developed the capability and continued improving it over the decades.
The program created a foundation of engineering expertise that eventually expanded into commercial satellites, advanced imaging, communications equipment and other technologies. The latest major milestone in the Ofek series was Ofek 13, a radar observation satellite successfully launched in March 2023.
10 companies shaping Israel’s space future
1. Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI)
IAI is the backbone of Israel’s space industry. It builds complete satellites, including the Ofek reconnaissance series and AMOS communications satellites, and developed the Shavit rocket that gives Israel independent access to space.
2. Rafael Advanced Defense Systems
Rafael contributes critical rocket propulsion technology to Israel’s space program. Alongside Tomer, it manufactured engines for the Shavit launcher used to send Ofek 13 into orbit, helping provide Israel with independent launch capabilities.
3. Elbit Systems
Elbit develops sophisticated cameras that allow satellites to photograph the Earth in extraordinary detail. Its JUPITER space camera was successfully launched aboard Luxembourg’s NAOS satellite in August 2025, demonstrating the international reach of Israeli imaging technology.
4. Gilat Satellite Networks
Gilat develops the equipment that makes satellite communications possible, including modems, antennas and ground systems. Its technology connects remote communities, aircraft, military forces and businesses to communication networks, even where conventional infrastructure cannot reach.
5. SpaceIL
SpaceIL is a nonprofit organization that captured international attention with Beresheet, Israel’s privately funded lunar spacecraft. In April 2019, it became the first privately funded mission to reach lunar orbit, although its attempted landing ended in a crash.
6. Ramon.Space
Ramon.Space builds powerful computers and data-processing systems designed to operate aboard satellites and spacecraft. Its technology gives satellites the ability to analyze images and other information while still in orbit, rather than transmitting every piece of raw data back to Earth.
7. BeetleSat
BeetleSat is developing communications satellites for a planned low-Earth-orbit broadband network. Its expandable antenna technology was successfully demonstrated in orbit aboard its NSLSat-2 satellite in 2023, an important step toward providing high-speed connectivity from space.
8. Tomorrow.io
Founded by Israeli entrepreneurs Shimon Elkabetz, Rei Goffer and Itai Zlotnik, Tomorrow.io is a US-based weather technology company with Israeli roots. Its dedicated satellite network uses radar and atmospheric sensors to measure precipitation, temperature and moisture, helping improve forecasts and prepare governments and businesses for dangerous weather.
In January 2026, the company announced that its first constellation had achieved a global weather-observation revisit time of approximately 60 minutes, a significant improvement in how frequently it can collect atmospheric information.
9. ASTERRA
ASTERRA uses satellite radar and specialized computer analysis to detect underground water leaks. Its technology has an unusual origin: the underlying approach was first developed to search for underground water on Mars and other planets before being adapted to identify leaking drinking-water pipes on Earth.
10. SpacePharma
SpacePharma develops miniature laboratories that conduct pharmaceutical and biological experiments in microgravity, the near-weightless environment of space. Its research includes experiments involving cancer cells, aging, protein crystallization and potential medical treatments, including work aboard the International Space Station.
How Israel compares with the world’s space powers
The United States and China dominate the space industry in terms of investment, launch activity and the number of satellites they operate. Europe also maintains a powerful space industry, while India has established itself as a major player through affordable launches and ambitious scientific missions.
Israel cannot match these countries in industrial scale or spending. Its strength lies in developing sophisticated technologies across specialized fields, particularly satellite intelligence, propulsion, imaging, communications and onboard computing.
Its combination of defense engineering, electronics, software and entrepreneurial innovation has created an unusually diverse space ecosystem for a country of its size.
A growing global market
The opportunity is enormous. The OECD estimates that global space-related revenues reached approximately $550–600 billion in 2025, depending on how the market is measured.
Israel’s own space industry contributed an estimated NIS 6 billion to the domestic economy in 2023 and directly employed approximately 7,200 people. A study presented to the Knesset also found that private-sector investment in the industry had increased by an average of 21% annually over the preceding decade.
The same study projected that the industry’s contribution could reach $30 billion by 2050.
Israel’s space industry has come a long way since the launch of Ofek 1. What began as a national security necessity has developed into a diverse technology ecosystem, with Israeli companies building everything from the engines that help launch satellites to the computers, cameras and communications systems that make them useful once they reach orbit.
