SpaceX officially kicked off the global launch calendar when a Falcon 9 rocket lifted off from California’s Vandenberg Space Force Base at 9:09 p.m., carrying an Italian Earth observation satellite into orbit.
The rocket’s primary stage landed back at Vandenberg as planned about 8.5 minutes after launch.
According to SpaceX, it was the 21st flight for this particular booster.
Successful satellite deployment for SpaceX’s first mission in 2026
The Falcon 9 successfully deployed its payload, a second-generation COSMO-SkyMed satellite, to low Earth orbit for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defense.
The spacecraft will study the Earth using remote sensing and simultaneously collect all data at any time of the day and in any weather conditions from an altitude of 620 kilometers.
According to the explainer of the European Space Agency, COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation is a satellite constellation designed to “monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy and commercial purposes.
Its applications include risk management, environmental protection, natural resource exploration, defense and security and food and agricultural management.
It’s not at all surprising that SpaceX is already breaking records this year. Elon Musk’s company launched 165 orbital missions in 2025, surpassing all other entities – commercial or governmental – in the world.
The recent mission marks an important milestone for both SpaceX and the international space community.
