Thales Alenia Space and Arianespace have signed a launch contract for two Cosmo-SkyMed Second-Generation (CSG) satellites manufactured for the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Italian Ministry of Defense.
The CSG satellites are Earth Observation (EO) spacecraft that will be launched in 2018 by Soyuz and Vega C launchers from the Guiana Space Center in French Guiana. According to ASI, this second-generation system, including its ground segment, will set a new performance standard for space-based radar observation systems in terms of precision, image quality and the flexibility of user services. It is a dual (civil/military) system, designed to address the requirements of both
More: http://www.satellitetoday.com/launch/2017/09/28/arianespace-launch-italian-cosmo-skymed-satellites/
Rendition of Vega C launcher. Photo: Arianespace.