ISA (Israel Space Agency)

The Israel Space Agency (ISA; Hebrew: סוכנות החלל הישראלית) is Israel's national space agency, established in 1983 under the Ministry of Science and Technology (now Ministry of Innovation, Science and Technology). ISA promotes and coordinates Israel's civil space activities, funds space research grants, supports satellite development projects, and represents Israel in international space forums including ESA cooperation agreements. Israel has a globally significant space program disproportionate to its size: the Shavit launch vehicle (operational since 1988) is one of only a handful of space launch vehicles in the world and launches westward over the Mediterranean due to geographic constraints. Israel has built and operated the OFEQ reconnaissance satellite series and the AMOS commercial communications satellites (operated by Spacecom). The Beresheet lunar lander, developed by SpaceIL with government support, attempted a Moon landing in April 2019, making Israel the fourth country to orbit the Moon.