"Smartphone In Space": All About Dror-1, Israel's 'Next Gen' Satellite

Israel has launched its first fully government-funded and domestically built communications satellite, Dror-1, from Cape Canaveral, Florida. The launch, carried out on Sunday aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, is a turning point for Israel's space program. Dror-1 is the most advanced satellite ever developed by Israel.

What Is Dror-1?

Dror-1 is a geostationary satellite, meaning it orbits at a fixed position approximately 36,000 km above the Earth's equator, maintaining constant coverage over a specific geographic area, as per YNet News.

Weighing around 4.5 tonnes (4,500 kg) and measuring 17.8 metres across, Dror-1 is expected to serve Israel's communication needs for the next 15 years, extending its utility into the late 2030s. The project has cost Israel an estimated Rs 1,670 crore since work began in 2018.

Features Of Dror-1

• Advanced Digital Payload: Includes cutting-edge signal processing technologies.
• "Space Smartphone" Technology: Enables flexible, software-defined communication capabilities, allowing the satellite to adapt to changing demands during its operational life.
• Built 100 per cent In Israel: Developed with entirely local technologies to reduce reliance on foreign components or vendors.

How Israel's Dror-1 Satellite Works

Israel's Dror-1 is a next-generation communications satellite designed for long-term national use, and it operates using a combination of advanced digital systems, geostationary positioning, and flexible reprogrammable payloads.

Launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, Dror-1 was inserted into a geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). Within hours of launch, it sent back its first signals.

Over the next few weeks, it will use onboard propulsion systems to manoeuvre into its final geostationary orbit, around 36,000 km above Earth, where it will remain fixed over a specific region. This orbit allows Dror-1 to maintain constant communication coverage over Israel and surrounding areas.

What makes Dror-1 special is its "smartphone in space" design, meaning it can be reprogrammed from the ground during its 15-year life. It can change communication settings, coverage areas, and signal use based on need.

Dror-1 is Israel's first state-owned communications satellite.

Until now, Israel's communication satellites, like the Amos series, were built by IAI but owned and operated by the private company Spacecom. That model suffered a major setback in 2016, when Amos-6 was destroyed on the launchpad in a SpaceX explosion.

In 2018, the government adopted a long-term national strategy for communications satellites, focusing on domestic production, sovereign control, and strategic independence.