NASA Launches Israeli Students’ Satellite

April 20, 2017 | The nanosatellite Duchifat 2 (Hoopoe 2), built by Israeli high schoolers, was successfully launched into space on Tuesday afternoon by the American launcher, Atlas V, located at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida. After the satellite’s scheduled arrival at the International Space Station in about two days, it will be sent into orbit around Earth for about a month and a half using a special robotic arm operated by astronomers.

Israeli Minister for Science, Technology, and Space Ofir Akunis, said, “Duchifat-2 is not only an educational venture that brings space closer to youth and lays the way for tomorrow’s generation, it is also an international research project. This is Israeli pride for the future generation, and an opportunity to increase public awareness about space.”