NASA is planning to launch Israel's first space telescope.

The UV Transient Astronomy Satellite, Israel's first space telescope mission, will be launched by NASA (ULTRASAT). ULTRASAT, a large field-of-view ultraviolet observatory, will examine the mysteries of short-duration phenomena in the universe, such as supernova explosions and neutron star mergers.

This time-lapse video from NASA's Hubble Space Telescope depicts the fading light of supernova SN 2018gv. ULTRASAT will observe not only the late fading of such cosmic events but also their early brightness.
Credits: NASA, ESA, and A. Riess (STScI/JHU) and the SH0ES team; acknowledgment: M. Zamani (ESA/Hubble)

ULTRASAT, led by the Israel Space Agency and the Weizmann Institute of Science, is set to fly into geostationary orbit around Earth in early 2026. NASA will participate in the mission's science program in addition to providing launch services.

"We are honored to be a part of this multinational collaboration that will help us better comprehend the secrets of the hot, transitory cosmos," said Mark Clampin, director of NASA Headquarters in Washington. "ULTRASAT will provide the worldwide science community with an additional essential tool for making new observations in the emerging field of time domain and multimessenger astrophysics projects."

The large field of vision of ULTRASAT will allow it to quickly detect and capture ultraviolet light from sources in the universe that shift on short timescales. The observations of these short-term events by ULTRASAT will be combined with data from other missions, including those studying gravitational waves and particles - a subject is known as time domain and multimessenger astronomy. The findings will shed light on everything from black holes and gravitational wave sources to supernovae and active galaxies.

"Amazing research necessitates cutting-edge technology," said Uri Oron, director of the Israel Space Agency within the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology. "Our expectations from ULTRASAT, such as a large field of vision, increased ultraviolet sensitivity, and real-time data control and transfer are at the forefront of technological breakthroughs. The Israeli space industry can provide these capabilities. The Israel Space Agency is proud of its collaboration with NASA as a direct illustration of the agencies' strong partnership, as well as the Israeli space industry's technological work engaged in the telescope's development."

An illustration of the ULTRASAT satellite
Credits: Weizmann Institute

"This is a game-changing project that propels Israel to the forefront of global research," said Eli Waxman, an astrophysicist at the Weizmann Institute of Science and the project's lead researcher. "Major international agencies such as NASA and the DESY research center have joined this Israeli-led project as partners, having recognized its scientific value. They are investing significant resources in the satellite's construction and launch in order to become active participants in this mission and gain access to its scientific products. It's a scientific collaboration."

NASA and the Israel Space Agency have agreed that NASA will supply the launch opportunity, Flight Payload Adapter, and other launch-related obligations for ULTRASAT. The completed observatory will be delivered to NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Florida for launch.