Compare with:
Shavit 2
26m
Human (1.8m)
1.8m
Shavit 2 / Credits: Wikipedia (Wikimedia Commons)
IsraelRetired1988–2016
Shavit 2
IAI / IMOD
Israel's orbital launch vehicle — uniquely launched westward over the Mediterranean due to political constraints.
Shavit (Hebrew: comet) is an Israeli orbital launch vehicle developed by Israel Aerospace Industries. Due to Israel's geopolitical situation, launches must fly westward over the Mediterranean Sea — against Earth's rotation — significantly reducing payload capacity. Despite this handicap, Shavit has successfully deployed several Ofek reconnaissance satellites.
Fun facts
Shavit launches westward — against Earth's rotation — making it the only rocket that routinely fights Earth's spin.
Launching retrograde costs the equivalent of about 1.5 km/s of velocity — a massive penalty.
Israel is one of only 11 countries to have independently developed an orbital launch capability.
Height
26 m
Diameter
1.35 m
Mass
30 t
Stages
3
Thrust
778 kN
Payload LEO
350 kg
Payload GTO
—
Total flights
15
Success rate73.3%
11 success4 failure
Launch pads
- Palmachim Air Base, Israel
No upcoming launches scheduled.
