SpaceX is ringing in the new year with a Falcon 9 rocket launch slated for Friday evening from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
Aboard is a 1,700-kg (3,748 lb) Earth observation satellite with dual civilian and military use for the government of Italy. The Cosmo-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3) satellite is the third out of four such satellites set to deploy into low Earth orbit.
SpaceX is targeting liftoff from Space Launch Complex 4 East at 6:09 p.m. PST (9:09 p.m. EST / 0209 UTC). The rocket will fly on a southerly trajectory upon leaving the pad.
Spaceflight Now will have live coverage beginning about 30 minutes prior to liftoff.
The launch was originally scheduled on Saturday, Dec. 27, but was scrubbed about 38 minutes prior to liftoff due to a hydraulic issue with the launch pad hold down clamps. A second launch attempt on December 28 was also cancelled as SpaceX said it needed more time to resolve the pad issue.
SpaceX will launch the mission using Falcon 9 booster tail number, 1081. This will be its 21st flight after launching missions including Crew-7, PACE and TRACERS, all for NASA.
Nearly 8.5 minutes after liftoff, B1081 will target a touchdown at Landing Zone 4. If successful, this will be the 31st landing at that site in total and the 554th Falcon booster landing to date.
The CSG-FM3 satellite will be deployed roughly 17 minutes after leaving the launch pad.
“The Cosmo-SkyMed program is one of the most outstanding examples of cooperation between Defense, the Italian Space Agency, and national industry,” said Italian Defense Minister Guido Crosetto in translation of a post on the social media site X. “It is a model of public-private synergy that shows how innovation, research, and development can integrate with security and defense needs, generating strategic value for the Country.”
According to the European Space Agency (ESA), the satellite designed for a five-year life span and will be deployed into a circular Sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 620 km (385 mi).
It uses a synthetic aperture radar (SAR), operating in X-band, allowing it to capture images through clouds and in darkness. The satellite constellation receives funding both from the Italian Space Agency as well as the Ministry of Defense.
Prior to the launch of the CSG-FM3 satellite, there were four operational satellites in the constellation: two first-generation and two second-generation spacecraft. These satellites were manufactured by Thales Alenia Space.
