NEW YORK, December 28, 2025, 21:00 ET
- SpaceX delayed the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM3 mission again on Sunday and did not announce a new launch date
- The company cited additional launch-pad checks after an earlier scrub linked to ground equipment issues
- The payload is a dual-use radar Earth observation satellite for Italy’s space agency and defence ministry
SpaceX delayed for a second straight night its planned Falcon 9 launch carrying Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation FM3 satellite from California, saying it needs more time to check launch-pad systems and has not set a new liftoff date. 1
The delay matters because the flight was slated to be SpaceX’s last Falcon 9 mission of 2025, capping a year in which the company has leaned on rapid pad turnarounds to keep its launch tempo high. 1
It also pushes back a mission tied to Italy’s COSMO-SkyMed programme, a civil-and-military Earth observation system that provides radar imagery for uses ranging from emergency response to maritime surveillance. 2
SpaceX said it was standing down “to allow more time to perform ground system checkouts,” adding that a new target date will be announced once confirmed. 1
U.S. Federal Aviation Administration flight restrictions indicated the launch had slipped to at least Tuesday evening, Spaceflight Now reported. 1
The mission had already been scrubbed on Saturday because of a ground issue, after earlier concerns that wind could interfere with liftoff plans, local outlet Noozhawk reported. 3
SpaceX initially retargeted the launch for Sunday evening from Space Launch Complex 4E at Vandenberg Space Force Base, before delaying again on Sunday and leaving the schedule open-ended. 1
The COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation Flight Model 3 spacecraft is an Italian Earth observation satellite designed for both civilian and military customers, according to Spaceflight Now and Italy’s space agency. 1
It carries synthetic aperture radar, a radar imaging system that can capture detailed pictures through clouds and in darkness. 1
Spaceflight Now said the satellite is intended for a sun-synchronous polar orbit — a path that crosses the same parts of Earth at roughly the same local time each day — and that its data is distributed through the European Space Agency’s third-party missions programme. 1
The first COSMO-SkyMed second-generation satellite launched in January 2021 on a Soyuz rocket from French Guiana, and the second launched a year later on a Falcon 9 from Florida, Spaceflight Now reported. 1
SpaceX planned to fly the mission on a previously used Falcon 9 first-stage booster and attempt to land it back at Vandenberg around eight minutes after liftoff, Noozhawk reported. 3
Such landings can produce sonic booms that may be heard across parts of California’s central coast depending on atmospheric conditions, Noozhawk said. 3
SpaceX did not say when the next launch attempt would occur, leaving the company’s year-end manifest dependent on resolving the pad-related issues at Vandenberg. 1
