Built by Thales Alenia Space, a joint venture between Thales and Leonardo, and operated in orbit by Telespazio, the satellite joins a system designed to support both civilian and defense users with X-band synthetic-aperture radar data. Fifty-nine minutes after separation, controllers at Telespazio's Fucino Space Center in Abruzzo, Italy, acquired the signal and began the launch and early orbit phase, which is expected to last about nine days.
Massimo Claudio Comparini, Managing Director of Leonardo's Space Division, stated: " Each COSMO-SkyMed launch represents a significant achievement for the Italian national space system and its supply chain. The program, developed to meet the requirements of the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense, reflects the technological and industrial excellence led by Leonardo together with the joint ventures Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and e-GEOS. Earth observation and the data it provides are a strategic asset for security and sustainability, enabling increasingly targeted and timely services and interventions. This commitment strengthens Italy's role in space and helps generate value for the country and the international community."
Giampiero Di Paolo, CEO of Thales Alenia Space in Italy and Senior Vice President Earth Observation, Exploration and Navigation, commented: "Being responsible for the overall COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation 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."
COSMO-SkyMed, short for Constellation of Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation, is a dual-use Earth observation system owned by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense, with Leonardo and its joint ventures Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and e-GEOS leading industrial contributions alongside numerous small and medium-sized enterprises. The third Second Generation satellite, like its predecessors, carries a synthetic-aperture radar payload that maintains service continuity while improving image quality, coverage and system flexibility.
With three Second Generation satellites now in orbit, the new series is progressively replacing the first-generation constellation of four satellites, of which two remain operational. In its planned four-satellite configuration, the upgraded system is intended to raise overall performance and broaden the portfolio of radar-based applications, including through enhancements to the ground segment.
The COSMO-SkyMed system, including spacecraft and ground infrastructure, is designed to deliver high-accuracy radar imagery and adaptable user services for a wide range of observation modes. System performance targets include fine spatial resolution, wide-area coverage options and rapid tasking to support time-critical monitoring.
Since the first COSMO-SkyMed satellite was launched in 2007, the constellation has acquired and archived about 4.3 million images, supporting environmental and land monitoring, security operations and emergency response. These data sets have been used in applications such as tracking land deformation, observing coastal and maritime activity, and assessing damage after natural hazards.
As a contributing mission to the European Union's Copernicus program, COSMO-SkyMed provides radar imagery for the European Commission's Emergency Rapid Mapping service operated by e-GEOS. This service generates satellite maps of disaster-affected or crisis zones, often within hours, to support civil protection and humanitarian actors.
Italian industry has a central role in COSMO-SkyMed, with Leonardo, Thales Alenia Space, Telespazio and e-GEOS working with a network of Italian small and medium-sized enterprises. Thales Alenia Space is responsible for the Second Generation end-to-end space segment, including satellite development, manufacturing and overall system design, integration and commissioning.
Telespazio leads the design and development of the CSG ground segment and provides integrated logistics and operations services, with its Fucino Space Center managing launch and early orbit operations, in-orbit testing, commissioning and routine phases for the new satellite. Leonardo contributes attitude control hardware and units for power management and distribution on the satellites.
COSMO-SkyMed data are commercialized globally by e-GEOS, a company owned by the Italian Space Agency (20 percent) and Telespazio (80 percent), which holds exclusive distribution rights. e-GEOS processes the radar data into products and services supporting emergency management, security, infrastructure monitoring, maritime traffic tracking, precision agriculture and the monitoring of natural resources and ecosystems.
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