{"id":9654,"date":"2026-01-02T23:22:28","date_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:22:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wp-productionenv-bjg9h2g2bgg5b8aa.southeastasia-01.azurewebsites.net\/news\/spacex-opens-2026-with-launch-of-cosmo-skymed-earth-observation-satellite-for-italy\/"},"modified":"2026-01-02T23:22:28","modified_gmt":"2026-01-02T15:22:28","slug":"spacex-opens-2026-with-launch-of-cosmo-skymed-earth-observation-satellite-for-italy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/news\/spacex-opens-2026-with-launch-of-cosmo-skymed-earth-observation-satellite-for-italy\/","title":{"rendered":"SpaceX opens 2026 with launch of Cosmo-SkyMed Earth observation satellite for Italy"},"content":{"rendered":"<figure id=\"attachment_72024\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72024\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img fetchpriority=\"high\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72024\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_Second_Generation_FM3_deployment.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"380\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_Second_Generation_FM3_deployment.jpg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_Second_Generation_FM3_deployment-300x168.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-72024\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 satellite deploys from SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 2, 2026. Image: SpaceX via livestream<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>SpaceX rang in the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket launch Friday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.<\/p>\n<p>Aboard was a 1,700-kg (3,748 lb) Earth observation satellite with dual civilian and military use for the government of Italy. The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3) satellite is the third out of four such satellites set to deploy into low Earth orbit.<\/p>\n<p>The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 6:09 p.m. PST (9:09 p.m. EST \/ 0209 UTC), flying on a southern trajectory upon departing the pad.<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"YouTube video player\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/6_0BDH2QK7M?si=tHiL0-YSLZrnwpek\" width=\"678\" height=\"381\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><span data-mce-type=\"bookmark\" style=\"display: inline-block; width: 0px; overflow: hidden; line-height: 0;\" class=\"mce_SELRES_start\">\ufeff<\/span><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>The launch was originally scheduled on Saturday, Dec. 27, but was scrubbed about 38 minutes prior to liftoff due to a hydraulic issue with the launch pad hold down clamps. A second launch attempt on December 28 was also cancelled as SpaceX said it needed more time to resolve the pad issue.<\/p>\n<p>With these delays and a pause in Starlink deliveries, the Cosmo-SkyMed mission was the first Falcon rocket flight in 16 days, the longest stretch without a SpaceX orbital launch in four years.<\/p>\n<p>SpaceX launched the mission using Falcon 9 booster tail number, 1081. This was its 21st flight after launching missions including Crew-7, PACE and TRACERS, all for NASA.<\/p>\n<p>Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1081 completed a touchdown at Landing Zone 4. This was the 31st landing at that site in total and the 554th Falcon booster landing to date.<\/p>\n<p>The CSG-FM3 satellite was deployed roughly 13 minutes after leaving the launch pad.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_71980\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-71980\" style=\"width: 600px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-71980\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251226_Cosmo_Sky_Med_FM_3.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"600\" height=\"600\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251226_Cosmo_Sky_Med_FM_3.png 600w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251226_Cosmo_Sky_Med_FM_3-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/20251226_Cosmo_Sky_Med_FM_3-150x150.png 150w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 600px) 100vw, 600px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-71980\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">An artist\u2019s rendering of the mission patch for the Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 mission. Graphic: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<p>\u201cThe Cosmo-SkyMed program is one of the most outstanding examples of cooperation between Defense, the Italian Space Agency, and national industry,\u201d said Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto in translation of a post on the social media site X. \u201cIt is a model of public-private synergy that shows how innovation, research, and development can integrate with security and defense needs, generating strategic value for the Country.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the satellite designed for a five-year life span and will operate in a circular Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 620 km (385 mi).<\/p>\n<p>It uses a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), operating in X-band, allowing it to capture images through clouds and in darkness. The satellite constellation receives funding both from the Italian Space Agency as well as the Ministry of Defense.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to the launch of the CSG-FM3 satellite, there were four operational satellites in the constellation: two first-generation and two second-generation spacecraft. These satellites were manufactured by Thales Alenia Space.<\/p>\n<figure id=\"attachment_72013\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-72013\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption alignnone\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"size-full wp-image-72013\" src=\"http:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_FM3_encapsulation.jpeg\" alt=\"\" width=\"678\" height=\"452\" srcset=\"https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_FM3_encapsulation.jpeg 678w, https:\/\/spaceflightnow.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/01\/20260102_COSMO-SkyMed_FM3_encapsulation-300x200.jpeg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 678px) 100vw, 678px\"><figcaption id=\"caption-attachment-72013\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 spacecraft is pictured prior to being encapsulated within a pair of SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 payload fairings. Image: SpaceX<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 satellite deploys from SpaceX\u2019s Falcon 9 rocket on Jan. 2, 2026. Image: SpaceX via livestream SpaceX rang in the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket launch Friday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Aboard was a 1,700-kg (3,748 lb) Earth observation satellite with dual civilian [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"inline_featured_image":false,"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[870,871,479,872,873,316,874],"class_list":["post-9654","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-news","tag-b1081","tag-cosmo-skymed","tag-falcon-9","tag-italian-ministry-of-defense","tag-italian-space-agency","tag-spacex","tag-thales-alenia-space"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9654"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=9654"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/9654\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=9654"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=9654"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/starpath.global\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=9654"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}