SpaceX launched the primary mission of 2026 tonight (Jan. 2).
A Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from Vandenberg House Power Base in California tonight at 9:09 p.m. EST (6:09 p.m. native California time; 0209 GMT on Jan. 3), carrying an Italian Earth-observing satellite tv for pc to orbit.
About 4.5 minutes later, the Falcon 9’s second stage deployed the payload — a COSMO-SkyMed Second Technology satellite tv for pc — into low Earth orbit for the Italian House Company and the Italian Ministry of Defence.
The spacecraft will study Earth using synthetic aperture radar, gathering data at all times of day and in all weather conditions from an altitude of 385 miles (620 kilometers).
COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation is a small network designed to “monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale to support a variety of applications,” according to a European Space Agency explainer.
Amongst these purposes are “threat administration, cartography, forest & setting safety, pure sources exploration, land administration, protection and safety, maritime surveillance, meals & agriculture administration,” the explainer provides.
Three COSMO-SkyMed Second Technology satellites have now launched thus far. The primary one flew in December 2019 atop a Soyuz rocket, and the second lifted off in January 2022 on a Falcon 9.
Tonight’s liftoff was the primary of 2026 not only for SpaceX however for the worldwide launch group.
It is no shock that SpaceX is breaking within the yr. Elon Musk’s firm launched a whopping 165 orbital missions in 2025 — way over some other entity, both business or governmental. That was additionally a document for SpaceX, which the corporate could purpose to interrupt once more this yr.
Editor’s notice: This story was up to date at 9:25 p.m. ET on Jan. 2 with information of profitable launch, rocket touchdown and satellite tv for pc deployment.
