Remembering Aby Har-Even, Israel's space pioneer and victim of Acre riots

‘Hero of Israel,” “one-man space agency” and “huge loss for the defense establishment” are just some of the descriptions of Israel Defense Prize laureate and rocket scientist Aby Har-Even, who was injured during riots in Acre last month and who died on June 6 at the age of 84. His contribution to space exploration and Israel’s national security is unknown to most Israelis, and much of his activity will remain a mystery in the future, too. 

“Up until the last minute of his life, Aby retained his childlike curiosity, as well as a desire to remain informed about goings-on in the space and missile industries,” says Tal Inbar, space analyst and board member of D-MARS in Mitzpe Ramon. “He was not young, but he had a fierce passion for life and knowledge. At each stage in his life, he achieved greatness. There was the development of IDF air defenses, then the space agency and the related scientific experiments, and of course his contribution to security-related affairs while he was still wearing his IDF uniform. The public is not aware of most of the projects Aby was involved in.”

Har-Even was born in Romania and made aliyah with his parents in 1950, with the family settling in Jerusalem. He studied mechanical engineering at the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology, and then later, during his military service, did a degree in electrical engineering to aid him in his efforts to found a new department within the IDF. Har-Even was involved in procuring advanced weaponry for the IDF’s arsenal: defensive weapons and anti-aircraft guns. Later on in his career, he commanded the Hawk missile battery, which was deployed to protect the Nuclear Research Campus, served in the R&D department and headed the team that reviewed lessons learned from the Yom Kippur War. In 1977, he was awarded the Defense Ministry Prize for a secret project whose details are still prohibited from being publicized to this day.

Har-Even also served as head of the Special Measures Division in the Defense Ministry, and the last position he held before retiring from the IDF in 1979 with the rank of colonel, was head of the General Staff’s R&D Department. As a civilian, Har-Even filled a number of positions at Israel Aerospace Industries, was the fifth director of Israel’s Space Agency, and led a team that developed Israel’s Shavit satellite rocket launcher. In recent years, Har-Even spent a lot of time working on R&D at Rafael Advanced Defense Systems. Due to the confidential nature of much of his work, however, we are unlikely to ever understand the scope of his contributions to Israel’s security.  

“After completing the development of the Shavit satellite launcher, Aby began offering consulting services to American technology companies,” explains Inbar. “Later on, he began working with Israel’s civilian space agency. Among other projects he was involved in was the mission with Ilan Ramon, Israel’s first astronaut to go to space. Aby was extraordinarily close to Ilan, and the two of them would spend hours and hours together, even at times that were not easy from an administrative, organizational or budgetary point of view. Aby took advantage of his diplomatic skills both at home as well as outside of Israel in an effort to make sure this mission would take place. When the space shuttle exploded upon reentry into earth’s atmosphere, this was a great shock.”

Over the years, Har-Even and Inbar became extremely close friends. Two days before Har-Even was injured in the riots, he met with Inbar to discuss the latter’s documentation project. “Aby was a really nice person – very convivial,” Inbar continues. “People who’ve worked with him over the years – even as far back as the 1960s – always have nice things to say about him. I’ve never heard even one person bring up any criticism. Every time I’d get together with Aby, he’d bring me some materials and pictures from home, which made his wife happy, since he could not bear to throw anything away. He would tell me he had a hard time sleeping at night, that he was always worrying about documenting events for posterity. He wanted to make sure that people would learn about our work after he and I weren’t around anymore. Some things were classified, so of course people may never know about them.”

“Absolutely. When he began, it was just him and his secretary. His people skills and the friendships he formed with counterparts in other countries were essential to the signing of agreements with Russia, Ukraine, the Netherlands, Canada and of course the US, where he was close personal friends with NASA administrator Dan Goldin. Aby was obsessed with the educational aspects of science and space research – he wanted to share all of this knowledge with the community. The people of Israel can sleep soundly at night thanks to Aby. There aren’t many people like him around anymore. The Israeli public has no idea how much they owe this great man.”

On the night of May 11, while staying at the Efendi Hotel in Acre, Har-Even was injured when Arab rioters set fire to the building. He was brought unconscious to Haifa’s Rambam Hospital, suffering from serious burns and smoke inhalation. On June 6, he passed away with his family at his side. 

“His greatest contribution was his work with Israel’s Space Agency, where he focused on Israel’s ability to launch satellites,” notes Dr. Igal Patel, former chairman of the Israeli Astronomical Association and now a member of the International Astronomical Union. “Aby helped Israel join the international space community. His second greatest contribution was to Israel’s security, since he was responsible for the development of the Shavit launcher, as well as all of the reconnaissance satellites. This launcher is capable of placing a heavy satellite in orbit around the Earth.”

In 1994, Har-Even was appointed director of the Israel Space Agency, which began as a small, low-budget organization. He served in this position for almost a decade, and according to colleagues spearheaded a number of breakthroughs during that time. “His most important accomplishment was getting Israel into space,” continues Patel. “The moment a country achieves this capability, its status changes overnight, and the ramifications are tremendous. Aby was singlehandedly responsible for turning Israel into a world power in the space industry. As soon as we achieved that status, we were inundated with requests from other countries for collaborations, which we’ve now carried out with India, the US, Mexico, France and Canada. Aby laid the foundation for all these partnerships.”

“We were a small country, without a lot of resources. Shimon Peres attempted to purchase a satellite from the Americans, but they declined our request. It was an extraordinarily exclusive club. It was like a third grader asking to join the national championship league. The challenge of achieving this status when we were starting from scratch was enormous.”

In recent years, Har-Even and Patel worked together to establish a space center in Israel, which Har-Even had agreed to chair. “Aby was so modest. The public was never made aware of his actions,” explains Patel. “Most 84-year-olds aren’t busy volunteering and engaging in so many activities. This was quite a singular situation. Space capabilities excited him more than anything else. I can’t even tell you the number of times he called me in the middle of the night to tell me about a star he’d seen, and ask me what I know about it. He was passionate about making it easier for children and adults to learn about space travel. I will miss him terribly, and it breaks my heart that he won’t be around for the inauguration of our new space center.”

“Aby spearheaded projects that served traditional industries, such as a civilian telescope that was developed by Israel’s military industries, but it was also important to him to advance Israel’s civilian space industry,” says Avi Blasberger, director-general of the Israel Space Agency. “It was incredibly important to him that all interactions be carried out in pleasant conversation, with full cooperation from all the involved parties. His willingness to share his knowledge, to work with any and everyone, is rarely seen these days. I can think of a number of collaborations Israel was involved in that would never have taken place had Aby not been involved. And without a space agency, Israel would never have been able to carry out international science collaborations at this level.”

Har-Even was someone who understood the importance of forging connections between people, governments and ideas. “One day, he called me up and invited me to a meeting in his office with a colleague from Germany who was interested in collaborating with Israel,” Blasberger recounts. “Following that meeting, I engaged in numerous collaborations with that same person. You have to understand that Aby succeeded in carrying out all these projects despite the fact that he had such a paltry budget. He managed to succeed by pure determination.”

“Every time he’d talk about space, he’d have a twinkle in his eye,” Inbar concludes. “There is no one in the space community who didn’t have the opportunity to consult with Aby. His curiosity knew no bounds.”