COSMO SkyMedDual-Use SAR Satellite Constellation |
|
According to bilateral agreements, COSMO resources will
also be available for use by the French government and by
under an inter-governmental agreement (ORFEO), as well as
with Argentina, with whom the Italian Space Agency (ASI) is
cooperating in the civilian sector to develop the SIASGE program
- Sistema Italo-Argentino de Satélites para la Gestión
de Emergencias. SIASGE was initiated in 2005 under an agreement
between ASI and its Argentine counterpart CONAE in the scope
of natural disasters management. The data that will be collected
by the COSMO-SkyMed constellation will also be augmented by
Argentine SAOCOM constellation, comprising 2 L-band SAR satellites
offering uniquely large datasets for environmental monitoring,
surveillance and risk management, environmental resources
management, maritime management and science applications. |
On
June 7th, the Boeing successfully launched the first element
of four SkyMed radar satellites comprising the Constellation
of Mediterranean basin Observation (COSMO). The entire constellation
will be deployed in space by 2009. The SkyMed satellite was
launched to a low-Earth orbit by a on a Boeing Delta II rocket.
These dual-use (civil and military) satellites were developed
by Thales Alenia Space Italia under a joint Italian Space Agency
and the Italian Ministry of Defence program. The system will
take imagery of the Earth using an X-Band Synthetic Aperture
Radar instrument capable of operating in all visibility conditions
at the request of institutional and commercial users, including
members of the defense, civil and scientific communities.
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