Developed by Thales Alenia Space Italia for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense, a COSMO-SkyMed spacecraft was awaiting a June 7 launch aboard a Delta 2 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, Boeing Co. announced.

In December 2006, Boeing was awarded a contract to launch two commercial, Earth-observation, dual-use satellites for the Italian Space Agency, Boeing announced Dec. 11. The second is slated for a launch later this year or early in 2008.

The launch window was scheduled for between 10:21 and 10:34 p.m. EDT.