Israel space Triumph: A leading force in the Middle East

                     

 Shavit- 3rd stage : Jericho 2nd ballistic missile served as a basis for 3rd stage of shavit launch vehicle(Wikimedia commons)

The beauty of the cold war wasn't the threat of nuclear annihilation; no , it was the riveting spectate of countries flexing their scientific muscles with rockets and satellites. Truly, At that time who needs diplomacy when you can measure success by who can fling a tin can with people inside the farthest?

Middle east countries space programs are preserving this legacy of the space race by embodying the spirit of competition, technological advancement, and global influence. Much like the USA-Soviet space race era, these programs demonstrate a commitment to pushing the boundaries of scientific achievements fostering Innovation, and showcasing national capabilities on the world stage. The space endeavours in the middle east carry forward the legacy of the space race, emphasizing the enduring importance of space exploration in shaping geopolitical narratives and technological progress with an unprecedented appetite for reconaissance satellites to survey, monitor and map the constant military developments made by adversaries.

The levant region, encompassing Israel and Lebanon, boasts a rich history of space exploration, with both countries maintaing active space programs. Lebanese rocket society under Manoug Manougian gave the country it's first launch vehicle, Cedar rocket and the first arab country to do so, but Lebanon space program was put to halt due to economic turmoil and demographic transition which ultimately dragged the country into a civil war.

Meanwhile Israel's space program was an offshoot of ballistic missile program and was more concentrated at reconaissance and space-based intelligence rather than unfolding the mysteries of the universe. With the launch of the Ofeq 1 satellite into lower Earth orbit by indigenous developed launch vehicle Shavit 2 , has helped the country with its security concerns, making Israel few of the states in globe and first in the middle east followed by Iran which became 2nd country in the middle east to do so by putting low earth satellite Omid through its own launch vehicle named Safir-1 but Iran's space program is marked by various military ambitions for regional dominance has raised concern among western countries because of warhead delivering capabilities of launch vehicles which may found a potential use in future against it's hostile states including Israel.

But for the time being, Israel and Iran are only the two states in the middle east to possess a launch capability. But high budget allocation, international collaborations in space and first mover advantage are the factor's giving Israel an edge over Iran making it a leading force.