National Committee for Space Research
| Committee overview | |
|---|---|
| Formed | 1960 |
| Superseding agency |
|
| Headquarters | Jerusalem, Israel |
| Minister responsible |
|
The National Committee for Space Research (NCSR) was a committee established in 1960 by the Israeli Government in affiliation with the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities to explorer the feasibility of space launches and satellites development, and to formulate the Israel Space Agency. The committee was made of a group of dedicated to the research and development of space-related sciences, and to demonstrate Israeli capabilities to its antagonistic neighbors at the time, especially Egypt.
The Israeli Space Agency originated as university-based research project from Tel-Aviv University in the early 1960s. In 1960, the National Committee for Space Research (NCSR) was formed by the Israel Academy of Sciences and Humanities. The committee was formed to increase research activities across the academic communities in Israel. While at the time, establishing a space program was not particularly one of its goals, during the '60s through the late '70s, the committee developed the infrastructure needed for research and development in space exploration and sciences. One of the NCSR's earliest achievements took place in 1961 with the launch of its first two-stage rocket.
At the same time, Israel's missile program was also established. As with other countries, the ballistic and other missile development took precedence over space. The Israeli Space Launch Vehicle (SLVs) was developed as an off-shot of its Ballistic Missile (BM) program. This interdependency resulted in a blurry line between civilian and military developments in Israel. Contractors, such as IAI, that were responsible for building defense missiles were also the main contractors for the Shavit space rocket.
Due to the stressed relationship between Israel and its neighbors, Israel has always attempted to acquire intelligence from various sources. During the late 60s it was thought that the IDF received satellite imagery from the US; however the resolution was degraded, the coverage was limited, and it was not in real-time. Following the Yom Kippur War, Israel started changing their focus to developing an independent source of space-based intelligence. This opinion was strengthen after it became known that the US withheld critical intelligence information during the war, obtained by reconnaissance satellites, on Arab offensive formation. Despite the close defense corporation with the US, Israel did not have routine access to real-time satellite intelligence data. The Defense Ministry was quoted saying "For years we have been begging the Americans for more detailed pictures from their satellites and often got refusals - even when Iraqi Scud missiles were falling on Tel Aviv..."
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