SpaceX's Falcon 9 launches new satellite to monitor Earth

SpaceX's Falcon 9 successfully launched a COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite on Friday.

The Italian Space Agency and the Italian Ministry of Defence launched their low-Earth orbit satellite payload from a launch pad in California.

This launch was the 21st flight for the first-stage booster supporting this mission.

Following stage separation, the Falcon 9 booster rocket executed re-entry on the landing pad at Vandenberg Space Force Base.

According to the European Space Agency, the COSMO-SkyMed Second Generation satellite carries synthetic aperture radar instruments to "monitor the Earth for the sake of emergency prevention, strategy, scientific and commercial purposes, providing data on a global scale."