SpaceX launches the CosmoSkyMed satellite on January 2. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX launched the third satellite in Italy’s Cosmo-SkyMed second generation constellation on Friday, January 2. SpaceX launched the satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission took off at 6:09 p.m. PT on Friday. 

Telespazio confirmed successful signal acquisition after launch. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is owned by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense. It was built by Thales Alenia Space and is operated by Telespazio. 

Cosmo-SkyMed, which stands for Constellation of Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation, is a dual-use Earth Observation constellation. The initial constellation of four satellites was launched between 2007 and 2010; three of the satellites are still operational. The second-generation constellation is progressively replacing the first-generation system with upgraded capabilities. This is the third of four second-generation satellites. 

According to Thales Alenia Space, since the launch of the first Cosmo-SkyMed satellite in 2007, about 4.3 million images have been acquired by the satellites and archived. The satellites contribute to the European Copernicus program. 

“Thales Alenia Space is extremely proud of this successful launch, which further demonstrates the company’s excellence in radar technology and highlights the dedication of our teams. Once fully deployed with its four satellites, it will provide substantial technological and performance progress, strengthening Thales Alenia Space’s global leadership in space-based Earth observation infrastructure,” commented Giampiero Di Paolo, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in Italy and senior vice president of Earth Observation, Exploration and Navigation.