The decision was made by PM Menachem Begin, Defense minister Ariel Sharon, and former director Aharon Beit Halahmi.

In July 1983, the ISA was officially founded in Tel Aviv to coordinate the nation's space program in affiliation to the Ministry of Science, Culture & Sport, and Dror Sadeh was nominated to be its Director-General.

The following year, the new head of military intelligence, Ehud Barak, suspended all work, and advocated the winding down of all projects, and planned to transfer the released financial resources to fulfill more priority tasks, he said.

The agency vision as defined by the guiding committee on July 27, 2005, states: "Space research and exploration is an essential instrument for the defense of life on Earth; the lever for technological progress; the key to existing in a modern society; essential for developing an economy based on knowledge; and the central attraction for scientific and qualified human resources."

The vision is "to preserve and broaden the comparative advantage of Israel and to place it among the group of leading countries in the space research and exploration area."

The main goals for vision realization are: ISA has signed cooperation agreements with the space agencies of: United States (NASA), France (CNES), Canada (CSA), India (ISRO), Italy (ASI), Germany (DLR), Ukraine (NSAU), Russia (RKA), Netherlands (NIVR) and Brazil (AEB).

The satellite is designed penetrate thick clouds by being fitted with a large dish-like antenna to transmit and receive radar signals.

The Israel Space Agency and the Israeli Air Force (IAF) jointly operate the spaceport located south of Palmachim Airbase.

The ISA and the Ministry of Science and Technology formed and operated the National Knowledge Center on Near Earth Objects at Tel Aviv University in order to study minor bodies in the Solar System.

For the purpose of NEO studies, a special wide-field 0.46-m telescope was acquired by Tel Aviv University and is operating at the Wise Observatory located near Mitzpe Ramon.

The center is located on Mount Hermon and headed by Gideon Bela and Lev Dorman from the Tel Aviv University.

The ISA-MEIDA was established in order to create and maintain an Earth observing data center available through the Internet to the research community and to the general public free of charge.

[21] This research, headed by Pinhas Alpert, is funded by the ISA as a part of the Space Scientific and Technological Infrastructure Development program.

At World Space Week in Dubai, in October 2021, Israel and the UAE ministers of science and technology announced plans for cooperation on the mission.

They plan to examine phenomena related to Earth resources, precision agriculture, desertification, and monitoring of bodies of water, and climate change– issues common both to Israel and the Emirates.

A joint American-Israeli proposal for this project was submitted to NASA by a team from Caltech/JPL (Jet Propulsion Laboratory), the Weizmann Institute of Science and Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI).

SAMSON consists of three nano-satellites in formation flying to demonstrate high precision geo-location of civilian signals from the ground for rescue purposes.

The Matroshka AstroRad Radiation Experiment (MARE) is a collaboration between the ISA, NASA, and the German Aerospace Center (DLR), in cooperation with Lockheed Martin and StemRad.

[35] MARE offers a unique opportunity to measure tissue dose deposition and test the effectiveness of the AstroRad vest when exposed to the harsh radiation beyond low Earth orbit.

The phantoms, designed by DLR, precisely measure radiation exposure not only at the surface of the body but also at the locations corresponding to sensitive internal organs and tissues in humans.

The outcome of the experiment was expected to help the understanding of early embryo cell development which would provide an insight into the possibilities of human reproduction in space.

Additionally the process of calcium loss in the mouse bone was later compared to what happened in Glenn's body and effectiveness of a calcium-vitamin D supplement against osteoporosis.

The objective was to study the temporal and spatial distribution and physical properties of atmospheric desert dust over North Africa, the Mediterranean and the Atlantic Saharan regions.

The aim was achieved by a remote sensing experiment operated by the astronaut Ilan Ramon aboard the Space Shuttle Columbia.

The Israel Network for Lunar Science and Exploration (INLSE) program was established by the Israeli Space Agency part of an international effort to study the Moon and the Solar System.

The INLSE hopes to bring its technical and engineering expertise for the sake of advancing the broad goals of lunar science at the institute.

At World Space Week in Dubai, in October 2021, Israel and the UAE ministers of science and technology announced plans for cooperation on the mission.

In addition to university research, a number of large industrial groups are heavily involved with the Israel Space Agency.

IAI entered the space race in the 1990s and has since been responsible for the development of most Israel's civilian and military satellites, particularly the AMOS and Ofeq.

El-Op, which merged with Elbit Systems in 2000, is the country's largest research and development company for space-qualified cameras and advanced telescopes that deal with various panchromatic, dual band, multi and super spectral wavelength applications.