Israel Launches Satellite; Spy Role Rumored : Middle East: The government says Ofek 2 is a research craft. The space shot comes amid a regional missile race.

Israel on Tuesday launched a satellite widely believed to be capable of spying on its neighbors in the Middle East, a region springing headlong into the missile age.

Government officials denied persistent reports that the satellite, called Ofek 2, carries sophisticated optics. The 352-pound probe is equipped only with communications and testing equipment, they said.

The launch, which had been anticipated for weeks, took place a day after Iraqi President Saddam Hussein threatened to retaliate with chemical weapons if Israel attacked any of Baghdad’s military or weapons-making installations.

“I think the proof for the high level of technology in Israel was given today,” Foreign Minister Moshe Arens said after the launch Tuesday. “The defense technology of the state of Israel is of a high level; I would say far higher than that of Iraq.”

Shimon Peres, the Labor Party leader who is trying to form a new government, said the launching should help deter Hussein. “If he wants to deal with Israel, he should look for other means than the military one,” Peres said.

Caretaker Prime Minister Yitzhak Shamir declared: “Our strength and ability are conditioned by enterprise, scientific capabilities and performances, as executed in the launching of the second satellite.”

As the rocket arced westward through the cloudless Mediterranean sky, school buses along coastal roads reportedly stopped to let their passengers view its fiery ascent. Israel Radio interrupted its programming at 3 p.m. to broadcast the sound of the rocket roaring into space.

The satellite was launched atop a rocket called the Shavit, or Comet. The Shavit is a version of Israel’s Jericho 2 missile.

Israel first launched a satellite in September, 1988, when it put an Ofek 1 experimental probe into orbit. The first Ofek--the name means Horizon--was also reported to be carrying surveillance equipment. Ofek 1 burned up in the atmosphere four months later. It had been scheduled to last a month in orbit.

Ofek 2 is scheduled to survive for four months.

The new satellite completes one revolution every 90 minutes in an elliptical orbit, swinging to within 130 miles of Earth at its lowest point and 923 miles at its highest, according to Israel Aircraft Industries, builder of the satellite.

Yuvaal Neeman, director of Israel’s space agency, described the launch as experimental, like the Ofek 1. “The only difference is that we can call the satellite and send it messages and receive answers back,” Neeman said. “This satellite has no cameras. It is not carrying any cargo that carries out a job.”

He added that the satellite is equipped with an improved gyroscope, better protection against cosmic rays and a larger computer memory than Ofek 1.

Spy satellites would provide Israel with especially valuable military data. First, they can detect troop movements, giving Israel valuable time to mobilize its own reserve forces.

If a satellite is placed in a stationary orbit, Israel would also be able to watch out for hostile missile launches and gain an edge in civil defense, interception and retaliation.

The Middle East is in a galloping missile race. Syria has acquired missiles that can reach Israeli cities. Egypt is working on a missile in partnership with Argentina. Iraq is also developing a missile, and apparently has made rapid progress. Last December, the Iraqi government announced that it had sent a rocket into space and was planning to follow the launch with a spy satellite program of its own.

All of this missile activity has eroded one of the pillars of Israeli security: air superiority. Missiles from hostile neighbors can now reach Israeli cities; enemy jets run the risk of meeting Israel’s highly effective air force.

Israel’s own Jericho 2 missile has a range of about 900 miles. The latest launch means Israel is capable of sending heavy surface-to-surface payloads up to 3,000 miles, noted Zeev Eytan, an expert at the Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies in Tel Aviv.

“But the question is, do we need such a missile. I wouldn’t think Israel has that in mind,” Eytan said.