San Marco programme
Encyclopedia
The San Marco programme was an Italian
-US satellite launch programme conducted between the early 1960s and the late 1980s. The project resulted in the launch of the first Italian-built satellite, San Marco 1
, on December 15, 1964. With this launch Italy became the third country in the world to operate its own satellite, after the Soviet Union
and the United States
. San Marco was a collaboration between the Italian Space Research Commission (CRS) (a branch of the National Research Council
), led by Luigi Broglio
and Edoardo Amaldi
, and NASA. In total 5 satellites were launched during the programme, all using American Scout
rockets. The first flew from Wallops Flight Facility
with the rest conducted from the San Marco Equatorial Range. The last satellite, San Marco-D/L, launched on March 25, 1988.
, who had gained aeronautical experience during World War II
, became a major in the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) in 1950. In 1956 he was assigned leadership of the force’s Ammunition Research Unit, responsible for the military’s rocket programme, by General Secretary of Aeronautics Mario Pezzi
. The unit ran the Salto di Quirra
rocket test range on Sardinia
and Broglio would have his first experience of working with American rocketeers when the AMI was involved in weather experiments using Nike-Cajun
rockets to release sodium clouds for study.
While Soviet and American teams had been working on plans for orbiting research satellites for a number of years, the launch on 4 October 1957 of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1
, began the Space Race
in earnest and America soon launched its own Explorer 1 system in response. After Sputnik there was a desire from other countries to enter this new field of research and technological capability.
In February 1961 Broglio introduced the idea to Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani
that Italy should pursue a satellite research programme of its own, launched from its own facility. Although conceived as a national programme, sourcing of foreign launchers was accepted to accomplish the goal. In that same year, at a meeting of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in Florence, Broglio had discussions with some NASA officials present and proposed the idea of the US supplying launchers and training Italian ground crews to fire them for this effort.
The San Marco programme was approved by the Italian government in October 1961 with a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the CRS (represented by Broglio) and NASA (represented by Hugh Dryden
) being signed on May 31, 1962. The plan was for the US to provide the Scout
rockets and train the Italian ground crew while Italy would develop the satellites and provide the launch pad. The Italian oil company Eni
provided the San Marco platform, a mobile Jackup barge that could be towed to an equatorial location, which when combined with an easterly firing provides the most energetically favourable launch. Test flights using Shotput rockets as well as the first San Marco satellite would be launched from the America's Wallops Flight Facility
as training for the Italian ground crew in preparation for future launches.
While all launches were successful, Italy would go on to primarily pursue cooperation through European Launcher Development Organisation
and the European Space Research Organisation
and ultimately their successor the European Space Agency
.
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
-US satellite launch programme conducted between the early 1960s and the late 1980s. The project resulted in the launch of the first Italian-built satellite, San Marco 1
San Marco 1
San Marco 1, also known as San Marco A, was the first Italian satellite, and one of the earliest non-Soviet/US spacecraft. Built in-house by the Italian Space Research Commission on behalf of the National Research Council, it was the first of five as part of the Italian-US San Marco programme.The...
, on December 15, 1964. With this launch Italy became the third country in the world to operate its own satellite, after the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
and the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. San Marco was a collaboration between the Italian Space Research Commission (CRS) (a branch of the National Research Council
Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche
The Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche or National Research Council, is an Italian public organization set up to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.-History:The institution was founded in 1923...
), led by Luigi Broglio
Luigi Broglio
Luigi Broglio , was an Italian aerospace engineer, airforce lieutenant colonel and dean of the school of aeronautical engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza...
and Edoardo Amaldi
Edoardo Amaldi
Edoardo Amaldi was an Italian physicist.He was born in Carpaneto Piacentino, son of Ugo Amaldi, professor of mathematics at the University of Padua, and Luisa Basini....
, and NASA. In total 5 satellites were launched during the programme, all using American Scout
Scout (rocket)
The Scout family of rockets were launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages....
rockets. The first flew from Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...
with the rest conducted from the San Marco Equatorial Range. The last satellite, San Marco-D/L, launched on March 25, 1988.
History
Luigi BroglioLuigi Broglio
Luigi Broglio , was an Italian aerospace engineer, airforce lieutenant colonel and dean of the school of aeronautical engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza...
, who had gained aeronautical experience during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
, became a major in the Aeronautica Militare Italiana (AMI) in 1950. In 1956 he was assigned leadership of the force’s Ammunition Research Unit, responsible for the military’s rocket programme, by General Secretary of Aeronautics Mario Pezzi
Mario Pezzi
Mario Pezzi was an Italian aviator known worldwide for his flight in which he achieved greater height than any other pilot in a propeller-powered airplane.- Biography :...
. The unit ran the Salto di Quirra
Salto di Quirra
Salto di Quirra is a rocket launching site near Perdasdefogu on Sardinia ....
rocket test range on Sardinia
Sardinia
Sardinia is the second-largest island in the Mediterranean Sea . It is an autonomous region of Italy, and the nearest land masses are the French island of Corsica, the Italian Peninsula, Sicily, Tunisia and the Spanish Balearic Islands.The name Sardinia is from the pre-Roman noun *sard[],...
and Broglio would have his first experience of working with American rocketeers when the AMI was involved in weather experiments using Nike-Cajun
Nike-Cajun
The Nike-Cajun was a two-stage sounding rocket built by combining a Nike base stage with a Cajun upper stage. It was launched 714 times between 1956 and 1976 and was the most frequently used sounding rocket of the western world...
rockets to release sodium clouds for study.
While Soviet and American teams had been working on plans for orbiting research satellites for a number of years, the launch on 4 October 1957 of the world’s first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1
Sputnik 1 ) was the first artificial satellite to be put into Earth's orbit. It was launched into an elliptical low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957. The unanticipated announcement of Sputnik 1s success precipitated the Sputnik crisis in the United States and ignited the Space...
, began the Space Race
Space Race
The Space Race was a mid-to-late 20th century competition between the Soviet Union and the United States for supremacy in space exploration. Between 1957 and 1975, Cold War rivalry between the two nations focused on attaining firsts in space exploration, which were seen as necessary for national...
in earnest and America soon launched its own Explorer 1 system in response. After Sputnik there was a desire from other countries to enter this new field of research and technological capability.
In February 1961 Broglio introduced the idea to Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani
Amintore Fanfani
Amintore Fanfani was an Italian career politician and the 33rd man to serve the office of Prime Minister of the State. He was one of the well-known Italian politicians after the Second World War, and a historical figure of the Christian Democracy .Fanfani and Giovanni Giolitti are still actually...
that Italy should pursue a satellite research programme of its own, launched from its own facility. Although conceived as a national programme, sourcing of foreign launchers was accepted to accomplish the goal. In that same year, at a meeting of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in Florence, Broglio had discussions with some NASA officials present and proposed the idea of the US supplying launchers and training Italian ground crews to fire them for this effort.
The San Marco programme was approved by the Italian government in October 1961 with a formal Memorandum of Understanding between the CRS (represented by Broglio) and NASA (represented by Hugh Dryden
Hugh Latimer Dryden
Hugh Latimer Dryden was an aeronautical scientist and civil servant. He served as NASA Deputy Administrator from August 19, 1958 until his death.-Biography:...
) being signed on May 31, 1962. The plan was for the US to provide the Scout
Scout (rocket)
The Scout family of rockets were launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages....
rockets and train the Italian ground crew while Italy would develop the satellites and provide the launch pad. The Italian oil company Eni
Eni
Eni S.p.A. is an Italian multinational oil and gas company, present in 70 countries, and currently Italy's largest industrial company with a market capitalization of 87.7 billion euros , as of July 24, 2008...
provided the San Marco platform, a mobile Jackup barge that could be towed to an equatorial location, which when combined with an easterly firing provides the most energetically favourable launch. Test flights using Shotput rockets as well as the first San Marco satellite would be launched from the America's Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility
Wallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...
as training for the Italian ground crew in preparation for future launches.
While all launches were successful, Italy would go on to primarily pursue cooperation through European Launcher Development Organisation
European Launcher Development Organisation
The European Launcher Development Organisation was a multinational consortium formed in the 1960s to build an indigenous European space launch vehicle, Europa....
and the European Space Research Organisation
ESRO
The European Space Research Organization was an international organisation founded by 10 European nations with the intention of jointly pursuing scientific research in space. It was founded in 1964...
and ultimately their successor the European Space Agency
European Space Agency
The European Space Agency , established in 1975, is an intergovernmental organisation dedicated to the exploration of space, currently with 18 member states...
.
Missions
| Launch Date | Vehicle | Payload | NSSDC ID | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 15-12-1964 | Scout-X4 | San Marco 1 San Marco 1 San Marco 1, also known as San Marco A, was the first Italian satellite, and one of the earliest non-Soviet/US spacecraft. Built in-house by the Italian Space Research Commission on behalf of the National Research Council, it was the first of five as part of the Italian-US San Marco programme.The... |
1964-084A | |
| 26-04-1967 | Scout B | San Marco 2 | 1967-038A | |
| 24-04-1971 | Scout B | San Marco 3 | 1971-036A | |
| 18-02-1974 | Scout D-1 | San Marco 4 | 1974-009A | |
| 01-07-1983 | Scout G-1 | San Marco D/M | SANM-DM | Cancelled |
| 25-03-1988 | Scout G-1 | San Marco D/L | 1988-026A |
See also
- Luigi BroglioLuigi BroglioLuigi Broglio , was an Italian aerospace engineer, airforce lieutenant colonel and dean of the school of aeronautical engineering at the University of Rome La Sapienza...
- Wallops Flight FacilityWallops Flight FacilityWallops Flight Facility , located on the Eastern Shore of Virginia, is operated by NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center, primarily as a rocket launch site to support science and exploration missions for NASA and other U.S. government agencies...
- ScoutScout (rocket)The Scout family of rockets were launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages....
- Broglio Space Centre - modern name of the San Marco Equatorial Range