COSMO-SkyMed
Dual system for Earth observation
With COSMO-SkyMed, Italy is building a unique system for disaster prevention and safety. COSMO-SkyMed was developed jointly by the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian Defence Ministry, and it is the first dual (civilian/military) satellite observation system. Its four satellites will be able to observe the Earth by night and sunlight and with any weather condition, helping to forecast landslides and floods, to coordinate aid during fires or earthquakes, to control and manage crisis areas.
Among its strength points are its flexibility (it can operate in three different modalities, routine, crisis or emergency) and its short revisit time.
The system comprises a space section and a ground section.
The space section is made up of four satellites, equipped with radar sensors of the SAR type, operating in the X band. The ground segment comprises all the necessary infrastructures for managing and controlling the constellation and for receiving, computing, storing and managing data.
The first satellite was launched on June 7, 2007, from the US base of Vandenberg, California. The second took off from the same location on December 9, and the third on October 24, 2008. The constellation has been completed on October 2010 with the launch of the fourth satellite.
