* Astronomy

Blobrana · L

RE: COSMO-SkyMed 2 Satellite

Blobrana · L

A live simulcast will be available starting at 6:00 p.m. PST.

COSMO-2 Launch Video (windows media player)

Blobrana · L

L minus 60 minutes
Launch time: 02:31:43 GMT Dec. 6 (9:31:43 p.m. EST on Dec. 5)

The Delta II vehicle stands ready to launch the second satellite of the COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) constellation tonight at 6:31 p.m. PST, from Space Launch Complex-2 at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. If the launch scrubs, the next launch attempt is set for Dec. 6, 6:31 p.m. PST. The overall objective of the COSMO-SkyMed program is global Earth observation and the Mediterranean area in particular.

COSMO SkyMed-2 Mission Booklet

Blobrana · L

Vandenberg Air Force Base again will have some Italian flavour this week when a Delta 2 rocket is set to carry aloft that nation's second Earth-imaging satellite of the year.
The 12-story-tall Delta is scheduled for liftoff at 6:31 p.m. Wednesday from Space Launch Complex-2. Unlike most missions, this one has an extremely tight launch window each day - one second only - to get off the ground so that it can get to its proper spot in space.

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Blobrana · L

A United Launch Alliance Delta 2 rocket in a 7420-10 vehicle configuration, will launch the Italian Ministry of Defence COSMO-SkyMed 2, radar Earth-imaging satellite, from the SLC-2W launchpad at the Vandenberg Air Force Base, California, at 02:31 GMT, 6th December 2007.
The spacecraft is equipped with a SAR (Synthetic Aperture Radar) instrument and is capable of operating in all visibility conditions at high resolution and in real time, and will be used for military and civil applications.
The COSMO-SkyMed (Constellation of Small Satellites for Mediterranean basin Observation) will be a 4-spacecraft constellation, conceived by ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), and funded by the Italian Ministry of Research (MUR) and the Italian Ministry of Defence (MOD).

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