COSMO-SkyMed

COSMO-SkyMed

A COSMO-SkyMed flare above the UK
Manufacturer	Thales Alenia Space
Country of origin	Italy
Operator	ASI
Applications	Earth observation radar
Website	http://www.cosmo-skymed.it/it/index.htm
Specifications
Bus	PRIMA
Launch mass	1,700 kg (3,700 lb)[1]
Power	4 kW
Regime	Sun-synchronous orbit
Design life	5 years (planned)
Production
Status	Operational
On order	4
Built	4
Launched	4
Operational	4
Maiden launch	COSMO-1 23 June 2007, 02:34:00 UTC
Last launch	COSMO-4 5 November 2010, 02:20:03 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]