Ofek-7, also known as Ofeq 7, is part of the Ofeq

Ofeq

Ofeq, also spelled Offek or Ofek is the designation of a series of Israeli reconnaissance satellites first launched in 1988. All Ofeq satellites have been carried on top of Shavit rockets from Palmachim Airbase in Israel, on the Mediterranean coast. The Low Earth Orbit satellites complete one...

 family of
earth observation satellite

Earth observation satellite

Earth observation satellites are satellites specifically designed to observe Earth from orbit, similar to reconnaissance satellites but intended for non-military uses such as environmental monitoring, meteorology, map making etc....

s designed and built by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) for the Israel Ministry of Defense

Ministry of Defense (Israel)

The Ministry of Defence of the government of Israel, is the governmental department responsible for defending the State of Israel from internal and external military threats...

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The Ofek 7 was launched by a Shavit

Shavit

Shavit is a space launch vehicle produced by Israel to launch small satellites into low earth orbit. It was first launched on September 19, 1988 , making Israel the eighth country to have a space launch capability after the USSR, United States, France, Japan, People's Republic of China, United...

 space launch vehicle on June 11, 2007. Equipped with advanced technology and a series of new enhancements to provide improved imagery, it is placed into an elliptical orbit of 300x600 kilometers. Three days after its launch, IAI/MBT Space Division received the first images taken by the satellite. The Ofek 7 is a follow-on spacecraft to Ofek 5 that was placed into orbit in 2002.