Israeli Youth Launch Dreams Into Orbit With Groundbreaking Space Project
Nine satellites no bigger than shoeboxes rocketed skyward from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, carrying with them the dreams of Israeli high school students and the ambitions of a nation.
Classrooms across Israel erupted today in celebration as the Israel Space Agency’s “Tevel 2” project achieved what many thought impossible by bringing the wonders of the cosmos to often overlooked communities.
In Yirka, a Druze village tucked into the northern Galilee hills, grandparents who never finished school now brag about how their grandkids built the first Druze satellite in history. Herzliya’s communication hub buzzes with activity, screens displaying real-time data while students who previously couldn’t be bothered with homework debate orbital mechanics.
Being in the Negev, the small town of Yeruham has struggled for decades with high unemployment and a sense of isolation from Israel’s high-tech center. Now students gather at their satellite ground station daily, taking shifts to track their own handiwork as it passes overhead. Meanwhile, Givat Shmuel has turned their station into a community center of sorts. Younger kids come to watch the older ones work to learn that space isn’t just for billionaires anymore.
But it’s the Shaar Negev satellite that carries the heaviest weight. As it orbits, it transmits the names of those lost in the October 7 Hamas massacre and the subsequent war in Gaza with the names appearing on the Space Agency website during each pass.
All the satellites will likely remain operational for about three years. After that, they’ll become more space junk, eventually burning up in the atmosphere. But their impact on the ground will last in the hearts and minds of Israel’s next generation for years to come.
Source link
