Shavit 2

Shavit 2 (Hebrew: "comet" - 2 שביט) was the first sounding rocket which Israel launched on 5 July 1961 for meteorological research. [1] [2]

Full details of the rocket are still classified.^{[citation needed]} It was a two stages Solid-fuel rocket, built by RAFAEL Armament Development Authority. The weight of Shavit 2 was 250 kilogram and its height was 3.76 meters. The rocket achieved top height of 80 kilometers.

The first two stages of the Shavit rocket are similar to those of the Jericho-II Nuclear missile.^{[citation needed]} The third stage is custom designed for orbital insertion.^{[citation needed]}

References

• רפא"ל - בניבי המחקר והפיתוח לביטחון ישראל, מאת מוניה מרדור, משרד הביטחון, ההוצאה לאור, ת"א, 1980, ע"ע 319-348
• מעל האופק - 50 שנות פעילות ישראלית בחלל, מאת דני שלום, באויר פרסומי תעופה, ת"א, 2003, ע"ע 12-15

The above in English:

• RAFAEL Armament Development Authority... by Munia Merdor, Ministry of Defense publishing, 1980, pages 319-348.
• Above the Horizon, 50 years of Israel's Space Activity, by Dani Shalom, BaAvir flight publishing, 2003, pages 12–15.