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2007 |
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09/12/2007
COSMO-SkyMed launches second satellite from Vandenberg US air force base
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This morning, at 3.30 Italian time, a Boeing Delta II rocket launched the second satellite of the Earth observation constellation, COSMO-SkyMed, from Vandenberg US air force base.
Approximately 68 minutes after the launch, the satellite has been acquired and, through a series of operations, guided towards its final orbit by the Telespazio Space Center in Fucino (Italy).
The Italian COSMO-SkyMed system, the first dual-use global Earth
observation constellation, will entail the launch of
four radar satellites that can "see" in all weather and light conditions.
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The system comprises four radar satellites for dual use (civil/government,
military and commercial) and is designed to monitor and survey the
entire globe for civil protection (environmental risk management),
strategic (defence and national security), and scientific and
commercial purposes.
It will be particularly useful for
applications in environmental risk management, emergencies,
defence and national security and will thus be able to provide
assessments of situations on a global scale.
COSMO-SkyMed will be integrated with two French optic satellites (Helios II) and, thanks to an agreement between the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and its Argentine counterpart (CONAE), will then work in conjunction with the two Argentine Saocom satellites to create the Siasge programme. The COSMO-SkyMed system is one of the “building blocks” for the European GMES (Global Monitoring for Environmental Security) programme.
The third satellite will also be launched from the Vandenberg air force base, California, in summer 2008.
Since its launch into orbit in June 2007, the COSMO-SkyMed 1 satellite has successfully completed all the test phases, and to date, has already captured 4,000 images, corresponding, in its various operational configurations, to an overall area of approximately 6,900,000 sq km. In this four-month period, COSMO-SkyMed 1 has confirmed the high quality of its operational performance and capacity, providing detailed images of, for example, the sites of natural and environmental disasters, such as the Bolzano landslide, the wreck of the Russian oil tanker Volganeft-139 in the Black Sea and the recent cyclone in Bangladesh.
With the launch of the second satellite of the system today, COSMO-SkyMed’s capacity to capture and produce images of the Earth will be doubled to 900 a day.
The satellites will be able to provide daily mapping data on around 1.5 million sq km. Even more important is the improvement that will be obtained in the frequency with which it will be possible to observe the same site. With two satellites in operation, the time taken to revisit the same point on the globe will be reduced to less than 45 hours. When the entire constellation is in orbit and fully operational, this frequency will fall to 6/8 hours, opening the way to new applications and services relating to environmental monitoring, security and risk management.
COSMO-SkyMed is a programme created through
an agreement between the Italian
Space Agency ( ASI) and the Italian
Defence Ministry, developed by
Thales Alenia Space, prime
contractor and manager of the entire system.
Telespazio is responsible
for building the entire ground segment and
the integrated logistic and operations segment.
Comunicato stampa ASI/Telespazio/Thales
Alenia Space (ita)
Nota stampa Telespazio (ita)
Profilo di Missione (ita)
Brochure COSMO-SkyMed (ENG)
Brochure COSMO-SkyMed (ITA)
Gallery
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