Cosmo-SkyMed

Falcon 9 launches Italian radar satellite
A SpaceX Falcon 9 placed an Italian radar mapping satellite into orbit Jan. 31 after four days of delays caused by range and weather problems.

Italy orders second pair of Cosmo-SkyMed radar satellites
The Italian government has ordered two additional Cosmo-SkyMed radar imaging satellites from Thales Alenia Space and tapped Telespazio to upgrade the constellation’s ground segment under a contract announced Dec. 15.

SpaceX launches Argentine satellite, posts first ground-landing on West Coast
SpaceX conducted its seventeenth launch of the year Oct. 7, sending an Argentine radar satellite into low-Earth orbit on a Falcon 9 rocket.

Ursa Space Systems and e-Geos forge revenue-sharing partnership
Ursa Space Systems, a geospatial data and analytics company, announced a revenue-sharing agreement with Italy’s e-Geos, the company owned by Telespazio and the Italian space agency ASI that operates four Cosmos-SkyMed Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites.

Q&A | Avio CEO Ranzo on sharing the pie with Germany, and keeping SpaceX from an Italian contract
The recent German-Italian agreement to divide production of casings for the future Ariane 6 rocket’s strap-on boosters, which also serve as the first stage of the Italian-led Vega-C small-satellite launcher, was a victory for political harmony in Europe.

Thales Alenia Gets Going on Second-generation Cosmo-SkyMed Radar Satellites
Satellite builder Thales Alenia Space on Sept. 2 said it had signed a contract with the Italian government to build one of the two planned next-generation radar reconnaissance satellites and to purchase the needed equipment for the second.