Aby Har-Even, a "one man space agency" for the state of Israel

Paper number

IAC-15,E4,3,8,x29376

Author

Mr. Tal Inbar, The Fisher Institute for Air and Space Strategic Studies, Israel

Year

2015

Abstract

Born in Romania on 1937, Colonel (ret.) Aby Har-Even became the longest serving director general of the Israeli space agency. He was the head ofthe agency for almost a decade, and during his term the first (and to date, the only) Israeli astronaut was trained by NASA and launched aboard the ill-fated space shuttle Columbia on mission STS-107.
Har-Even was responsible, long before the creation of the Israeli space agency, on th edevelopment of Israel's indigenous satellite launch vehicle, Shavit, while working for IAI.

During his long term as the head of Israel's space agency, Har-Even worked almost alone, as the budget and personel of the space agency was a fraction of what is it today. Nevertheless, he ledd an impressive effort for international cooperation in space, with various space faring nations such as India, Canada and France.

The article will shed light not only on the history of Har-Even as director general of the Israeli space agency, but also on his ongoing mission - as an academic researcher and as a key figure in shaping the space relations between Israel and the European community. The author is a longtime collegue of Har-Even and was granted free access to his archives.

Abstract document

IAC-15,E4,3,8,x29376.brief.pdf

Manuscript document

IAC-15,E4,3,8,x29376.pdf (🔒 authorized access only).

To get the manuscript, please contact IAF Secretariat.