5 Apr 2017

International collaboration on Human Space Exploration, Launchers, Sub-Orbital Spaceflights and Earth Observation among the main objectives of the Italian Space Agency 2016 – 2025 Strategic Vision

At the 33rd Space Symposium in Colorado Springs the Italian Space Agency (ASI) outlines how international space programs and partnerships are the basis of future Italian space programs. The strategy is delineated in the new Document of Strategic Vision 2016 – 2025 (DVS) that complements the National Research Program and shapes ASI vision for the future providing the medium to long term space agenda.
In this framework ASI maintains its role as third contributor to the European Space Agency (ESA) while strengthening its strategic international partnerships, in particular with the United States, Russia, China, Israel and Argentina. Human Space Exploration, Launchers, Sub-Orbital Spaceflights and Earth Observation are areas of interest and cooperation both at institutional and commercial level, with the purpose of promoting the national space economy infrastructure, products and services in addition to providing opportunity for advanced research on space science and technology.

Debating the perspective of human exploration during the Panel of Space Agency leaders the President of ASI Roberto Battiston said that “Moon is the past of exploration and it just can be an intermediate stepping stone for further exploration”. “Mars is the future – concluded Battiston - The exploration of red planet has the same meaning for humankind that we've seen for Apollo program”. After the meeting, President Battiston summarized the main ongoing Italian Space Agency activities:

Human Space Exploration
ASI just signed an agreement with the China Manned Space Agency (CMSA) during the recent State visit of the Italian President to China, to establish the framework and the conditions for a mutually beneficial long-term cooperation for peaceful purposes. It provides the basis for the mutual use of technical facilities, implementation of joint scientific experiments and studies by utilizing in-orbit infrastructures, exchange of personnel and participation in technical reviews.

Launchers
Italy maintains its key role in shaping and supporting the EU launcher program defined at the two last Ministerial Council Meeting (Luxemburg 2014 and Lucerne 2016), pursuing a European policy on autonomous access to space.
ASI recently awarded launch service contracts to Arianespace for two Cosmo Sky Med (CSK) Second Generation (CSG) SAR satellites. They will be launched by the end of 2018 and in 2020 on a Soyuz and a Vega-C launches from Kourou, respectively. These satellites will replace/backup elements of the CSK four satellites SAR constellation currently in operation as dual use infrastructure shared between ASI and Italian MoD. The first CSG launch will also host CHEOPS, an ESA payload with Italian participation, designed to search for exoplanets.

A Vega based launch service has been awarded to Arianespace to launch PRISMA in 2018 from Kourou (Hyperspectral Precursor of the Application Mission) a national Earth Observation system with innovative, electro-optical instrumentation that combine a hyperspectral sensor with a medium-resolution panchromatic camera. PRISMA will provide data for applications in the field of environmental monitoring, resource management, crop classification, pollution control, etc.
ASI signed a letter of intent with SpaceX sharing a long-term vision focused on peaceful exploration of space and as common ground upon which to build future collaborations. The agreement would provide Italy both with an alternative programmatic solution for the launch of CSG or other Italian payloads as well as with opportunity for payload transportation to Mars.

Sub-Orbital Spaceflights
ALTEC (joint venture between Italian Space Agency and Thales Alenia Space) and Virgin Galatic signed a Memorandum of Understanding aimed to study experimental sub-orbital spaceflight at a spaceport to be located in Italy. The proposed cooperation would be based on the use of the Virgin Galactic spaceflight system, in particular the reusable SpaceShipTwo and the carrier vehicle WhiteKnightTwo.

Earth Observation
• ASI has a long tradition in the field of Earth Observation and has built a very complex system thanks its participation in the European program like Copernicus, its national X band constellation Cosmo-Skymed and bilateral programs like SIASGE in partnership with Argentina.
• ASI is collaborating with CONAE (Argentina) to the completion of the two Saocom Radar Satellites, in the context of the SIASGE L/X band constellation, the first to be launched by 2017.

• ASI and Roscosmos (Russia) have signed a the 2016 Economic Forum in St. Petersburg an agreement to develop a geostationary SAR satellite system (GEOSAR) to provide by 2022 large area continuous SAR data on geological as well as climate change variables.
• ASI and ISA (Israel) have signed an agreement for the development of Shalom, a post PRISMA state of the art hyperspectral satellite which will provide a commercial service for hyperspectral data by 2022.
• ASI and CNSA (China) have developed payloads for the CSES (China Seismo Electromagnetic Satellite) satellites to be launched in 2017. This satellite will study innovative ways to monitor earthquakes from space.