They were exactly the 19: 35 of 7 June 2007 when the first satellite of the Italian constellation COSMO-SkyMed was successfully launched from California. It was the first step towards the realization, completed in 2010, of one of the most advanced Earth Observation systems, the result of the expertise of the Italian space industry, with Leonardo and its joint ventures Thales Alenia Space (Thales 67%, Leonardo 33% ) and Telespazio (Leonardo 67%, Thales 33%). Thales Alenia Space is the company Headmaster, responsible for the entire system, while Telespazio has created the ground segment and is home to the Fucino command center and control of the constellation.
Funded by the Italian Space Agency, the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Education, University and Research, COSMO-SkyMed is the first satellite observation system designed for dual purposes, civil and military. The satellites, equipped with high-resolution X-band radar sensors, are able to scan the Earth in all weather and visibility conditions and with very high revisiting frequency, contributing significantly to the monitoring of the territory, safety and management of natural events and emergencies.
The data of the satellites are in fact acquired by the Matera Space Center, where the specialized technicians of e-GEOS, a company formed by Telespazio and ASI, analyze them to generate value-added services. In the first ten years of activity, COSMO-SkyMed has captured over 1 million radar scenes all over the world, monitoring, for example, UNESCO sites and generating fundamental data for the observation of the phenomena that touch our planet: from the evaluation of damage due to natural disasters such as earthquakes, landslides or floods, to monitoring critical infrastructures; from the movement of the glaciers to the Poli, to the control of illegal activities such as oil spills or illicit trafficking of things or people.
The Italian industry is currently working on the development of the second generation of COSMO-SkyMed (CSG), which will guarantee an incredible leap in terms of technology, performance and operating life, thus strengthening Italy's worldwide leadership in the sector.
"We are proud to celebrate today an important milestone for the history of our company, namely the birth of the COSMO-SkyMed system, the flagship of radar technology worldwide - said Donato Amoroso, Thales Alenia Space Italia CEO - After the success of the first generation and the need to complete the second one, we must look confident in the development of the Third Generation, to ensure that the national industry maintains the role of absolute protagonist in the field of Earth Observation ". "COSMO-SkyMed's ten years of activity are for Italy a source of pride and an example of virtuous collaboration between institutions and industry - said Luigi Pasquali, Director of the Space Sector of Leonardo and CEO of Telespazio -. Recognized worldwide as a technological excellence thanks to the space observation capabilities never achieved in the past, the program created by the Space Alliance between Leonardo and Thales has provided, and will continue to ensure, with the new generation satellites, fundamental information for the understanding of the phenomena affecting our planet and managing our security ".
