Elbit Systems Ltd’s new Multi Sensor changes how the Intelligence Corps controls satellites in Israel from a manual process to an automated one, and is in its final operational testing phase
The Ofek 9, which was launched into space last month, joined the 6 other satellites operated by the IDF. Over the years, the different IDF units which handle photography and satellite imagery analysis have received more and more satellites and missions. In order to organize the space industry, the Multi Sensor system was called to the forefront. This system is expected to control the various satellites and their missions and demands.
“The basic idea of the system is that the personnel who need photos, will relay a request to the system, which will then program the direction of the satellite at the right time according to its location and the weather at the requested location for optimal coverage of the target,” explains Danny, the manager of Intelligence Infrastructure of Elbit Systems Ltd. “Until now, it took long periods of time for soldiers to operate the 8 satellites controlled by the IDF, and the manual operators in the unit responsible for the satellites found it difficult to deal with the tens of thousands of requests and to manage the requests based on priority level.”
“The Right Satellite, At the Right Time, At the Right Place”
Although transition to the new system has not been seamless, soldiers in the Intelligence Corps unit that first received the Multi Sensor system say they objected to it when it first arrives, because they thought that there was no substitute for manual work in yielding better results, which they realized afterwards was a mistake. After a rigorous training period, the soldiers understood that the system improved their operations and their attitude towards the system changed.
“We sat with the commander of the unit, and he was quite impressed with the system’s operations and said it was ‘amazing.’ The operators were also impressed and admit that today their operations are better,” adds one of the system’s developers, who arrives once a week to the unit to add improvements before its official deployment in the near future.
“The Multi Sensor knows how to determine which satellite is coming from which direction, and it can factor into these determinations different filming conditions such as the weather and visibility. Accordingly, the system knows how to aim the satellite properly at the right place and the right time,” adds the operator.
“There are dozens of parameters which need to be taken into account, and which are difficult for a human operator to contend with. The system does it for him. Within four hours, the system can set an optimal photography schedule for every satellite controlled by the IDF. On the other hand, a manual operator takes seven hours to program a photography schedule for one satellite.”
In the coming months, parallel to the launching of the Multi Sensor, the Ofek 9 satellite will finish its operational testing phase and will also be deployed to full service. Multi Sensor’s developers say this in not daunting. “We developed the system at the highest level possible, and it is built to work with additional satellites in the future. In a matter of months, we can add any new satellites, including the Ofek 9, into the system.”
