SpaceX Falcon 9 launches second-generation Italian COSMO-SkyMed CSG-FM3 satellite

Key facts

• A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and deployed COSMO-SkyMed CSG-FM3 into a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 618 kilometers.
• COSMO-SkyMed is a dual-use synthetic aperture radar (SAR) system operating in low Earth orbit, supporting civilian and military applications including natural-disaster monitoring under all weather conditions, day and night.
• CSG-FM3, with a launch mass of about 2,207 kilograms and a deployed span of 16.66 meters, features a new antenna that ‘is more flexible and efficient, allowing a single pass to observe multiple areas and respond to multiple user requests at the same time.’
• The satellite carries a new laser reflector array that ‘enables millimeter-level accuracy in georeferencing SAR imagery.’
• Thales Alenia Space builds the satellites and handles the overall mission, Telespazio develops the ground segment and manages civilian operations, e-GEOS distributes commercial data, and Leonardo supplies additional onboard technologies; the Italian Ministry of Defense manages security and defense signal processing.