In conjunction with the 50th year of powering the Delta-family of rockets, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne celebrated the 350th launch of a Delta rocket by successfully helping to boost the fourth COSMO-SkyMed Radar Earth-Imaging satellite for the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence.
The mission launched aboard a United Launch Alliance Delta II rocket, procured by Boeing Launch Services using a Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne RS-27A engine from Space Launch Complex-2, Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif. Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne is a United Technologies company.
"The RS-27A engine once again proved its reliability in a fitting tribute to the 350th launch of a Delta vehicle," said Elizabeth Jones, RS-27A program manager, Pratt and Whitney Rocketdyne.
"We congratulate United Launch Alliance, The Boeing Company, Thales Alenia Space and the Italian Space Agency on yet another successful launch. We look forward to another 50 years of powering the Delta family of rockets."
COSMO-SkyMed is an Earth observation satellite created and funded by the Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence and contracted to Thales Alenia Space.
The satellite, an X-Band Synthetic Aperture Radar, is the fourth in a constellation of satellites equipped with sensors for global earth observation of the planet.
In addition to seismic-hazard analysis, the COSMO-SkyMed will provide environmental-disaster monitoring, agricultural mapping, defense and security assurance in Italy and other countries.
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