The first of four spacecraft for Italy's Cosmo-SkyMed constellation of small satellites for observation of the Mediterranean basin has been launched. Cosmo-SkyMed forms Italy's contribution to the joint European Union/European Space Agency Global Monitoring for Environment and Security (GMES) programme.
The 7 June launch from Vandenberg AFB in California was by Delta II, and was the first commercial flight of the Boeing launch vehicle since February 2002, when five Iridium satellites were placed into orbit from Vandenberg.
Developed jointly by the Italian space agency and Italian ministry of defence, Cosmo-SkyMed is a civilian and military Earth observation system composed of four medium-sized satellites and supporting ground stations. The satellites carry an X-band synthetic-aperture radar instrument capable of operating in all visibility conditions.
The prime contractor for Cosmo-SkyMed is Franco-Italian joint venture Thales Alenia Space, with Telespazio responsible for the civilian and military ground segments.
In a related event Thales Alenia Space is to sign a contract with ESA at the Paris air show on 18 June for Sentinel-1, another GMES spacecraft.
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Source: FlightGlobal.com
