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JERUSALEM, Sept. 13 (Xinhua) -- Israel's defense ministry announced Tuesday that Israel successfully launched a military surveillance satellite.
The satellite Ofeq-11, lifted off in the afternoon from the Palmachim airbase south of Tel Aviv, was launched by the defense ministry and Military Industry, Israel's state-owned weapons company.
The satellite was expected to begin transferring information some two hours after the launch, the defense ministry said in a statement.
Ofeq-11 would patrol the skies above the Middle East to collect intelligence on countries such as Iran, reported the Hebrew Ynet news site.
Israel objects the newly signed nuclear agreement between Iran and the world powers, said the website.
The launch came almost two weeks after Amos-6, Israel's largest ever communication satellite, exploded during launching at Cape Canaveral in Florida over technical failure.
