SpaceX Launches Third Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Satellite for Italy 

SpaceX launches the CosmoSkyMed satellite on January 2. Photo: SpaceX

SpaceX launched the third satellite in Italy’s Cosmo-SkyMed second generation constellation on Friday, January 2. SpaceX launched the satellite on a Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. The mission took off at 6:09 p.m. PT on Friday. 

Telespazio confirmed successful signal acquisition after launch. The synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellite is owned by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense.