The Israel Space Agency and the Israel Innovation Authority announced last week the establishment of a national research and development laboratory intended to reduce the cost and complexity of accessing space for Israeli technology companies.
The initiative, called Access to Space, will be operated by Creation Space and funded with NIS 60 million, including NIS 40 million in pooled government grants. The program will provide subsidized services for testing, launch, and in‑orbit operation of space technologies.
According to the statement, the laboratory will offer at least 35% discounts on market rates for launch and testing services and is expected to support the launch of a minimum of 15 experimental payloads within three years. The goal is to help companies move from laboratory development to operational deployment in space.
Innovation, Science and Technology Minister Gila Gamliel said the laboratory represents “a strategic milestone” for Israel’s space sector and will lower economic and logistical barriers for companies seeking to operate in orbit.
“Today, we are moving from planning to execution, granting Israel’s space industry an accessible, subsidized ‘entry ticket’ beyond the atmosphere. The laboratory will serve as a critical bridge enabling entrepreneurs and researchers to transform breakthrough ideas into proven space technologies, while removing complex economic and logistical barriers,” she said, adding that “this is a direct investment in Israel’s economic and security future, ensuring that Israeli ingenuity continues to lead the global innovation frontier, also in outer space.”
Israel Innovation Authority Chairman Alon Stopel called the investment one of strategic importance for the country’s space technology sector.
“Investing in infrastructure that enables the testing, demonstration, and launch of advanced technologies will strengthen Israel’s competitive advantage, attract global activity, and allow even early-stage companies to compete on the international stage. The creation of the R&D laboratory represents a significant step in positioning Israel as a global hub for space innovation. The goal is to enable small Israeli teams to operate with certainty and stability and to focus on developing technologies and applications rather than building infrastructure.”
“Israeli tech is the main engine of Israel’s economy. High‑tech accounts for 57% of our exports and 20% of our GDP. Around 60% of the tech sector is concentrated in areas like cyber and fintech and others,” Stopel told Defense & Tech by The Jerusalem Post.
Space to drive economic growth
THE MAIN goal of the initiative is to build more pillars that will elevate the Israeli tech sector even further.
“In order to continue driving economic growth in Israel, we need to develop additional pillars, and one of the most promising is space,” he said. “We already see several startups entering the space domain, but they face significant barriers. One of the biggest challenges is the high cost of building a full value chain that can reach the moon or operate in space. These companies and startups need substantial resources and support to advance their ideas and technologies; without that support, many opportunities remain out of reach.”
Israel Space Agency Chair Dr. Shimrit Maman said the program was designed to address bottlenecks that prevent companies from advancing to in-space testing, adding that the initiative will remove infrastructure and logistical burdens from entrepreneurs.
The initiative will allow “them to focus on what truly matters, developing breakthrough technologies and achieving real proof of feasibility in space,” she said.
Accelerate Israeli space tech
Officials said the new laboratory is expected to accelerate the commercialization of Israeli space technologies and strengthen collaboration between industry and research institutions.
The project follows a June 2025 decision by the TELEM Forum to allocate a dedicated budget for national space infrastructure. Funding partners include the Ministry of Innovation, Science, and Technology, the Israel Innovation Authority, the Planning and Budgeting Committee, the Directorate of Defense Research & Development, and the Ministry of Finance.
Access to Space will provide services across the full development cycle, including engineering support, regulatory guidance, launch execution, satellite operations, and space systems management. Creation Space, which operates a space accelerator and investment fund focused on Israeli space companies, will serve as the program’s execution arm.
Israel is part of a small group of countries capable of successfully launching satellites into space. But, Stopel acknowledged, over the last decade the global space industry has accelerated rapidly, and Israel has to close the gap with other countries.
Noting that it was largely a question of resources, he told D&T that the new “initiative is one of the tools that will help us close that gap. Israel has the knowledge, the technology, and strong academic support in this field. Our strength will be in developing innovative solutions for challenges such as atmospheric monitoring, landscape analysis, launcher and satellite tools, and advanced integration systems.
We are stepping in because we clearly recognize the gap, and we are committed to closing it.”