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Dec. 30 (UPI) -- An Israeli reconnaissance satellite was carried into orbit during the final SpaceX launch of the year. The EROS-3 Earth-imaging satellite was launched aboard a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California at 11:38 p.m. Thursday. The first stage detached successfully and landed on a SpaceX pad eight minutes after launch.
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The rocket was launched in retrograde, against the direction of the Earth's rotation, and carried the EROS-3 into low Earth orbit.
The EROS-3 satellite has a resolution of one foot for panchromatic imagery, and two feet for multispectral imagery, according to Everyday Astronaut.
ImageSat was founded in 1997 by Israeli Aircraft Industries, El-Op and Core Software Technology. The first EROS satellite, EROS A, was launched into orbit from Siberia by a Russian Start 1 rocket in Dec., 2000. The EROS B was launched from Siberia in April, 2006.
A Human Rights Watch report in 2009 accused Israeli forces of killing civilians in Gaza with drones manufactured by Israeli Aircraft Industries.
