ASI

Agenzia Spaziale Italiana

Participation

Established in 1988 the Italian Space Agency (ASI) build its activities on that of its precursor entities and persons. Italy participated in the ELDO (European Launcher Development Organisation) in 1962 and its Europa rocket project, and in 1964 in ESRO, the first true European space organization.

San Marco

In 1964 it established the Luigi Broglio Space Center (BSC) from which it conducted the San Marco program. The San Marco 1 satellite launched from Wallops, but subsequent satellites within the program were launched on Scout rockets from the platform off the coast of Kenya.

ASI

In 1975 the ELDO and ESRO merged into ESA, and by 1984 the National Research Council (CNR) created the Centro Italiano Ricerche Aerospaziali (CIRA) which develops space planes. Italy participated in the development of the Ariane 5 rocket with CNES, and merged its space programs and institutions into the Agenzia Spaziale Italiana (ASI) in 1988.

The agency's first cooperation was with the Netherlands on the BeppoSAX mission, and X-Ray Astronomy satellite, followed by its additions to the Cassini-Huygens probe in the form of a high-gain antenna and radar package, among others. In 2001 it created the European Launch Vehicle (later Spacelab) venture with FiatAvio to develop the Vega rocket.

The following years ASI cooperated on many space missions, developing instruments that would fly on Mars and Venus Express, Rosetta and Philae, MRO, Dawn, Juno and Dart, as well as flying its own AGILE, LARES and LARES 2 missions. The agency also helped fly the country's 7 astronauts on Shuttle, Soyuz and Dragon and in 2012 the ESA approved the ASI's PRIDE program to develop the Space Rider spaceplane, which launched the Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle (IXV) in 2015.

Scout Rocket Family
Designed in 1957 at NACA's Langley Research Center and contracted to Vought, later LTV, the first Solid Controlled Orbital Utility Test system, or Scout, flew on April 18, 1960.
Ariane Rocket Family
After the failure of ELDO's Europa rocket and the formation of ESA, France, Germany and the UK started development on the Lanceur de 3e Génération de Substitution (L3S) program, later renamed Ariane, in 1973.
SXB3
On march 19, 1992 at the Salto di Quirra weapons testing range on Sardinia, a test-vehicle named SXB3 was launched consisting of a modified PAP P9.5 solid-fulled strap-on booster with two dummy side boosters.
Vega Rocket Family
Development on the Vettore Europeo di Generazione Avanzata (European Vector of Advanced Generation) or Vega rocket began in 1988 by ESA and the ASI, with first fight occuring on February 13, 2012.
IXV
Formally initiated by the ASI and CIRA in 2005, a Vega rocket was launched in February 2015 by ESA and ASI carrying the Thales Alenia Space built Intermediate eXperimental Vehicle on a suborbital trajectory.
Wikipedia (en)
Wikipedia (it)
Italy
ELDO
ESA
CIRA
CNES
Avio
ELV
Scout & San Marco
FFLP & PRIDE