[Satellite TODAY 11-09-10] A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Delta 2 rocket has deployed Thales Alenia Space’s Cosmo SkyMed-4 spacecraft into orbit, ULA parent company Boeing announced Nov. 8.
    Cosmo SkyMed-4, the final satellite of the end-to-end Earth observation constellation, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base Nov. 5 and deployed in low-Earth orbit about an hour after liftoff.
    Thales Alenia Space developed the civil and military Cosmo-SkyMed program for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense. The system will take images of the Earth using an X-Band synthetic aperture radar instrument capable of operating in all visibility conditions.