SpaceX is preparing the Vandenberg Space Base in California to fly the Falcon in the final days of this year 9 with an Earth observation satellite for Italy. Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model spacecraft 3 (CSG-FM3), located in the fairing of the rocket payload, is an Earth observation satellite, which performs dual functions for the civil and military sectors of the Italian government.
The start is planned 28 December from the space launch complex 4 East (SLC-4E) about 18:09 Pacific Standard Time (21:09 in the Eastern time / 02:09 Coordinated Universal Time).
SpaceX will launch the mission on a Falcon launch vehicle 9 with flight number B1081. This will be her 21st flight since the launch of the missions, including Crew-7, PACE та TRACERS, all for NASA. Almost through 8,5 minutes after the start, B1081 will land in the zone 4. If successful, it would be the 31st landing at the site overall and the 554th landing of a Falcon launch vehicle to date.
The CSG-FM3 satellite will be deployed in approx 17 minutes after departure from the launch pad. CSG-FM3 is the third in this series of Earth observation satellites, operated as the Italian Space Agency, as well as the Ministry of Defense.
The first of these satellites was launched in January 2021 of the year by a launch vehicle “Union” from French Guiana, and the second - a year later by the Falcon launch vehicle 9 from the Space Force station at Cape Canaveral.
In total, it is planned to launch four satellites manufactured by Thales Alenia Space. The spacecraft are equipped with a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), operating in the X-band, which allows it to penetrate clouds and acquire images in the dark. They work in a sun-synchronous polar orbit, tilted at an angle 97,87 degrees to the equator. Satellite data is available to the public through the European Space Agency's Third Party Missions Programme (ЕКА).
"The purpose of the second generation Cosmo-SkyMed is to monitor the Earth in order to prevent emergency situations, strategies, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale to support a variety of applications, including risk management, cartography, protection of forests and the environment, exploration of natural resources, management of land resources, defense and security, maritime surveillance, food and agriculture management", - says the ESA statement.
Source: https://spaceflightnow.com