COSMO-SkyMed's CSG-3 launching on Vega C. (SES-STA-INTR2025-03041). [Jun 11]QuoteSSC Space US Inc. dba Universal Space Network (USN), seeks FCC approval for a special temporary authorization for 180 days commencing on Sep. 1st 2025 to support LEOP of COSMOSKYMED-3 spacecraft from its station in Alaska. [...]CSG satellite constellation now composed of two satellite will be completed with the third satellite that will be launched Dec. 2025 and fourth satellite that will be launched end 2026.
SSC Space US Inc. dba Universal Space Network (USN), seeks FCC approval for a special temporary authorization for 180 days commencing on Sep. 1st 2025 to support LEOP of COSMOSKYMED-3 spacecraft from its station in Alaska. [...]CSG satellite constellation now composed of two satellite will be completed with the third satellite that will be launched Dec. 2025 and fourth satellite that will be launched end 2026.
Quote from: StraumliBlight on 11/14/2025 08:36 pmQuote from: Salo on 11/04/2025 09:59 pm2026NET H1 - CSG-3 - Vega C - Kourou ELVThales Alenia Space Linkedin [Nov 13]QuoteToday, at our Satellite Integration Center in Rome, we say goodbye to a satellite that illustrates very well what Thales Alenia Space stands for: expertise, innovation, technology, and a strong commitment to meaningful missions to protect and defend.The third satellite of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) constellation is about to begin its journey to the launch site soon.But not to Kourou, but to Vandenberg! Different rocket from a different launch provider!!!https://www.asi.it/2025/11/da-roma-allo-spazio-la-costellazione-cosmo-skymed-si-prepara-a-crescere/translated:Quote...At the headquarters of Thales Alenia Space (joint venture Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%) in Rome today took place the greeting event dedicated to the satellite COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation – Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3), which is preparing to leave Italy to reach the launch base in Vandenberg, California. ...
Quote from: Salo on 11/04/2025 09:59 pm2026NET H1 - CSG-3 - Vega C - Kourou ELVThales Alenia Space Linkedin [Nov 13]QuoteToday, at our Satellite Integration Center in Rome, we say goodbye to a satellite that illustrates very well what Thales Alenia Space stands for: expertise, innovation, technology, and a strong commitment to meaningful missions to protect and defend.The third satellite of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) constellation is about to begin its journey to the launch site soon.
2026NET H1 - CSG-3 - Vega C - Kourou ELV
Today, at our Satellite Integration Center in Rome, we say goodbye to a satellite that illustrates very well what Thales Alenia Space stands for: expertise, innovation, technology, and a strong commitment to meaningful missions to protect and defend.The third satellite of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation (CSG) constellation is about to begin its journey to the launch site soon.
...At the headquarters of Thales Alenia Space (joint venture Thales 67%, Leonardo 33%) in Rome today took place the greeting event dedicated to the satellite COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation – Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3), which is preparing to leave Italy to reach the launch base in Vandenberg, California. ...
Daniel Apai Bluesky (LPL Professor) [Nov 6]QuoteCountdown clock in @stewardobservatory.bsky.social for our NASA Pandora Space Telescope: T-60 days!! Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System!January 5th launch date confirms its not flying with either T-15 or T-16 and there's no other obvious rideshare currently in the Manifest.Daniel Apai Linkedin [Nov 6]QuoteMeeting Pandora for the first time! We recently visited our now-completed spacecraft in the cleanroom of Blue Canyon Technologies in #Boulder, Colorado. Next, Pandora will be integrated into a SpaceX Falcon9 for a January 5, 2026 launch from United States Space Force's Vandenberg base in California. It is so exciting that after six years of hard work, Pandora is completed and we are moving ahead with launch! Pandora will use its 0.45m diameter mirror to collect light from transiting exoplanets while also carefully studying their host stars. The telescope was designed to provide the most detailed-yet investigation of how active regions (starspots, faculae, etc.) on exoplanet host stars impacts the transmission spectra of their host planets. Pandora will be able to provide the important extended monitoring and simultaneous visible-infrared observations that its more sensitive big brother #JWST does not have time to do.It has been a real privilege to be part of the this superb team: Colleagues at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Blue Canyon Technologies and University of Arizona (and in many other institutions) have done an exceptional job in designing and building a unique and complex mission – and have done so on a very compressed timeline and on a very lean budget! It was inspiring how the team and partner institutions all pulled together to solve problems and work through challenges. Pandora is an inspiring effort to expand humanity's understanding of exoplanet atmospheres and to advance the frontiers of space sciences! The cleanroom provides a controlled, clean environment for the spacecraft's final integration steps. You will see thin black cables connecting people close to the spacecraft to it. The spacecraft electronics are sensitive to static discharges – by grounding ourselves to the ground points on the spacecraft bus, we could ensure that no sparks fry the tiny electronic brains of Pandora.It was very exciting to see the spacecraft in person – next time we meet, it will be integrated into a rocket and on its way to leave our planet!
Countdown clock in @stewardobservatory.bsky.social for our NASA Pandora Space Telescope: T-60 days!! Our team is getting ready for the launch of this incredibly exciting mission to explore worlds beyond the Solar System!
Meeting Pandora for the first time! We recently visited our now-completed spacecraft in the cleanroom of Blue Canyon Technologies in #Boulder, Colorado. Next, Pandora will be integrated into a SpaceX Falcon9 for a January 5, 2026 launch from United States Space Force's Vandenberg base in California. It is so exciting that after six years of hard work, Pandora is completed and we are moving ahead with launch! Pandora will use its 0.45m diameter mirror to collect light from transiting exoplanets while also carefully studying their host stars. The telescope was designed to provide the most detailed-yet investigation of how active regions (starspots, faculae, etc.) on exoplanet host stars impacts the transmission spectra of their host planets. Pandora will be able to provide the important extended monitoring and simultaneous visible-infrared observations that its more sensitive big brother #JWST does not have time to do.It has been a real privilege to be part of the this superb team: Colleagues at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center, Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, Blue Canyon Technologies and University of Arizona (and in many other institutions) have done an exceptional job in designing and building a unique and complex mission – and have done so on a very compressed timeline and on a very lean budget! It was inspiring how the team and partner institutions all pulled together to solve problems and work through challenges. Pandora is an inspiring effort to expand humanity's understanding of exoplanet atmospheres and to advance the frontiers of space sciences! The cleanroom provides a controlled, clean environment for the spacecraft's final integration steps. You will see thin black cables connecting people close to the spacecraft to it. The spacecraft electronics are sensitive to static discharges – by grounding ourselves to the ground points on the spacecraft bus, we could ensure that no sparks fry the tiny electronic brains of Pandora.It was very exciting to see the spacecraft in person – next time we meet, it will be integrated into a rocket and on its way to leave our planet!
OrbitSSOPeriod97.1 minutesInclination 97.8 °Altitude620 km
🚀 Fair winds to the third COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite! The satellite has officially departed from Thales Alenia Space’s facilities in Rome and is now on its way to the Vandenberg launch site, in California. This journey represents the beginning of its final step toward orbit.
The COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation – Flight Model 3 (CSG-FM3) satellite took off from the Thales Alenia Space headquarters in Rome, bound for the Vandenberg launch site in California.
I don't think CSG-3 will launch on the Twilight mission. In Mid-November, CSG-3 was confirmed for launch before the end of the year. The Twilight mission (which includes Pandora) was already scheduled to launch on January 5th at that time. So these Spire satellites should be launching with Pandora.CSG-3 flying before end of year (dated November 18th)
CSG-3 weighs 2.2 tons, so its almost certainly ridesharing with other satellites.
SpaceX is targeting Saturday, December 27 for Falcon 9’s launch of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation mission for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence to low-Earth orbit from Space Launch Complex 4E (SLC-4E) at Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. Liftoff is targeted for 6:09 p.m. PT. If needed, there is a backup opportunity on Sunday, December 28 at the same time.A live webcast of this mission will begin about 15 minutes prior to liftoff, which you can watch here and on X @SpaceX. You can also watch the webcast on the X TV app.This will be the 21st flight for the first stage booster supporting this mission which previously launched Crew-7, CRS-29, PACE, Transporter-10, EarthCARE, NROL-186, Transporter-13, TRACERS, NROL-48, and 11 Starlink missions. Following stage separation, the first stage will land on Landing Zone 4 (LZ-4) at Vandenberg Space Force Base.There is the possibility that residents of Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo, and Ventura counties may hear one or more sonic booms during the launch, but what residents experience will depend on weather and other conditions.
And it looks like the Starlink satellite failure investigations will continue through the New Year as this launch is pushed into 2026, NET January 3:
🚀 Countdown has begun for the third satellite part of the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation constellation! The satellite is ready for launch, with final preparations underway at Vandenberg Space Force Base.Liftoff is now less than a week away. This major milestone is the result of the dedication, expertise, and teamwork demonstrated by everyone involved in the mission.
Countdown is on. CSG-FM3, the new second-generation satellite of the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, promoted by the Italian Space Agency and the Ministry of Defense, is scheduled for launch on December 28, 2025, at 03:09 Italian time, from Vandenberg Space Force Base, California.
Currently planned for 6:08 PT (14:08 Universal Time (UTC).
Space Intelligence@SpaceIntel101Orbital launch no. 310 of 2025 🇺🇸🚀🇮🇹🛰️CSG-3 | SpaceX | December 28 | 0208 UTC@SpaceX to launch Italian COSMO-Skymed CSG-3 earth observation SAR🛰️ on its Falcon 9🚀 to LEO (Low Earth Orbit) from @SLDelta30 SLC-4E, Vandenberg, California.
SpaceX@SpaceXFalcon 9 is vertical at pad 4E in California ahead of today’s launch of the @ASI_Spazio COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation mission. Teams are keeping an eye on winds ahead of liftoff at 6:09 p.m. PT →
Frank@Diver2441·Falcon 9 booster 1081 is vertical on SLC-4 ahead of tonight's launch of CSG-3, if winds cooperate this should be a stunning nighttime RTLS!
