At the southern end of Palachim Airbase is a launch site, used together by the Israel Space Agency and the Israeli military. Both space launch and ballistic missile testing take place from the spaceport facilities. All launches are to the west over the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, due to the political complexities of region.
Civilian launches, using the Shavit family of launchers, have taken place since the late 1980s, at a low flight rate.
