COSMO-SkyMed

COSMO-SkyMed
COSMO-SkyMed flare
A COSMO-SkyMed flare above the UK
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Country of originItaly
OperatorASI
ApplicationsEarth observation radar
Websitehttp://www.cosmo-skymed.it/it/index.htm
Specifications
BusPRIMA
Launch mass1,700 kg (3,700 lb)[1]
Power4 kW
RegimeSun-synchronous orbit
Design life5 years (planned)
Production
StatusOperational
On order4
Built4
Launched4
Operational4
Maiden launchCOSMO-1
23 June 2007, 02:34:00 UTC
Last launchCOSMO-4
5 November 2010, 02:20:03 UTC
COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation
ManufacturerThales Alenia Space
Country of originItaly
OperatorASI
ApplicationsEarth observation radar
Websitehttp://www.cosmo-skymed.it/it/index.htm
Specifications
BusPRIMA
Launch mass2,205 kg (4,861 lb)[2]
Power5 kW
RegimeSun-synchronous orbit
Design life7 years (planned)
Production
StatusOperational
On order4
Built2
Launched2
Operational1
Maiden launchCSG-1
18 December 2019, 08:54 UTC

COSMO-SkyMed (COnstellation of small Satellites for the Mediterranean basin Observation) is an Earth-observation satellite space-based radar system funded by the Italian Ministry of Research and Ministry of Defence and conducted by the Italian Space Agency (ASI), intended for both military and civilian use.[3] The prime contractor for the spacecraft was Thales Alenia Space. COSMO SkyMed is a constellation of four dual use Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance (ISR) Earth observation satellites with a synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) as main payload, the result of the intuition of Giorgio Perrotta in the early nineties. The synthetic-aperture radar was developed starting in the late nineties with the SAR 2000 program funded by ASI.

The space segment of the system includes four identical medium-sized 1,700 kg (3,700 lb) satellites called COSMO-SkyMed (or COSMO) 1, 2, 3, 4, equipped with synthetic-aperture radar (SAR) sensors with global coverage of the planet.[4] Observations of an area of interest can be repeated several times a day in all-weather conditions. The imagery is applied to defense and security assurance in Italy and other countries, seismic hazard analysis, environmental disaster monitoring, and agricultural mapping.[5]

  1. ^ "COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of 4 SAR Satellites)". eoportal.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  2. ^ "COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) Constellation". eoportal.org. Retrieved 26 November 2020.
  3. ^ "COSMO-SkyMed: Mission definition and main applications and products" (PDF). ESA.
  4. ^ "COSMO-SkyMed". Telespazio. Archived from the original on 8 July 2007.
  5. ^ "SPACEHAB Subsidiary Signs New Contracts Totaling US$4.7 million". SPACEHAB.