The agreements define the methods of collaboration, both in the industrial field and in scientific and technological research, in the Commercial Spaceflight sector
Two important collaboration agreements were signed this morning in Rome, at the Aviator's House, aimed at enhancing the knowledge and skills of the Air Force in the aerospace sector and in particular in human space flight, a sector in which the Armed Force - coherently with the policies of the Ministry of Defense - has the competence for operational management and experimentation in microgravity. A new strategic area, that of access to low earth orbits, which is being looked at with increasing attention, also through human space flight, with a view to increasing the competence of Defense in the sector and increasing the level of infrastructure protection national space.
The agreements - signed by the Chief of Staff of the Italian Air Force, Air Team General Alberto Rosso, respectively with Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza, President of the National Research Council (CNR), and with Eng. Massimo Claudio Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia - testify to the role of excellence acquired by Italy in the field of scientific research and industrial capabilities in the aerospace sector and are part of a wider framework of collaborations that the Armed Force is developing with the world of institutions, such as the recent agreement signed with the Emilia Romagna Region, of industry and scientific research to mutually increase those skills deemed necessary in the field of human space exploration in the Commercial Spaceflight sector. Among the agreements already in place are those deriving from the lasting and consolidated synergy with the Italian Space Agency which highlight the strong link between military and civil institutions with the aim of strengthening national capabilities in a strategic and essential sector for scientific research, experimentation and national defense.
"Space is the natural dimension of our Armed Force, a fundamental resource for Italy that must be protected, valued, protected and defended" these are the first words of the Chief of Staff of the Air Force, Air Team General Alberto Rosso, who then added “Research and enhancement, including commercial, of space must be tackled together thanks to a virtuous collaboration between public and private. A synergy between institutions, a shared responsibility with the world of industry that allows us to fully exploit Italy's skills. International collaboration, with the United States for example, between institutions and with the world of industry is the added value to allow the country to grow. These agreements in the space sector, which are added to the consolidated and fruitful collaboration with the Italian Space Agency, represent an added value for the near future. "
As part of the collaboration between the Italian Air Force and Thales Alenia Space Italia, a joint venture between Thales 67% and Leonardo 33%, the agreement aims to promote access to low earth orbit in favor of institutions and the community national science, industry and commercial operators, promoting the development of a research chain on strategic issues such as medicine, new materials, biogenetics, as well as supporting the possibilities of technological development and OT&E (Operational Testing & Evaluation) in microgravity. This approach will also make it possible to enhance national industrial skills in the space infrastructure sector, both for the development of new operational capabilities and for the increase of new scientific and technological skills. The Armed Force, expanding the knowledge of the new training protocols being developed in the context of the Commercial Spaceflight thanks to the Letter of Agreement signed with Axiom Space in 2019, intends to support these projects through specific professional skills that will be at the service of the national strategy of the sector.
“I am particularly honored to have signed this collaboration agreement with the Italian Air Force aimed at promoting access and commercial exploitation to low Earth orbit” - said Massimo Claudio Comparini, CEO of Thales Alenia Space Italia. - "Given our distinctive competence and leadership in the creation of pressurized elements for the International Space Station, today, more than ever, our interest is to strengthen knowledge and skills in the field of human flight and at the same time to be part and contribute to the development of a national research chain on strategic issues - such as, for example, medicine, materials and biogenetics - naturally in line with the lines of development of the Italian Space Agency. We want to continue to be an industrial reference point at an international level, an essential partner for human exploration missions in low orbit and in deep space by developing technologies that meet the needs of users, including in the field of national defense, and at the center of a collaborative process. with the entire space ecosystem, from our institutions, international agencies, to private companies, such as our partner Axiom, with whom we are carrying out challenging initiatives for the development of new markets, a new economy based on commercial space destinations . "
Added to this is the agreement with the CNR, which strengthens an already established collaboration program in the context of experimentation opportunities in microgravity linked to the Commercial Spaceflight and the new frontiers of exploration. In this context, the purpose of this agreement is to cooperate for the increase of the scientific and technological knowledge of the Public Administration, for the identification and development of research programs, for training and for other initiatives of common interest. , aimed at spreading the national "research culture" and "aerospace culture". In particular, with reference to the theme of Commercial Spaceflight and human flight, scientific and technological topics and activities of joint interest will be identified, which will involve the academic and national research community.
Experimentation in space, and in particular in microgravity, offers experimental scenarios that are not feasible in ordinary gravity, since it allows to isolate processes otherwise masked by the effect of earth's gravity. It is therefore a frontier of great scientific interest. Among the sectors in which this activity finds application we remember the study of interstellar clouds of dust and ice and, in the field of environmental sciences, the understanding of atmospheric processes that play an essential role in the climate system, in the water cycle, in the formation of rainfall. Even in the engineering and physics sector, experimentation in space in microgravity allows the activation of a "privileged laboratory", in which it is possible to simplify fluid dynamics and concentrate on the chemistry and physics of processes, with the aim of developing new technologies for the creation of efficient and eco-sustainable energy and propulsion systems. I am therefore very pleased with the signing of this agreement and confident that the experiment, designed in collaboration with the Italian Air Force, will expand the studies already carried out on board the International Space Station (ISS) - the words of Prof. Maria Chiara Carrozza, President of the National Research Council.
On the same day, a collaboration was also signed between Thales Alenia Space Italia, as a world leader in the national industry in the field of space infrastructures, and the Axiom Space Company, an American company selected by NASA for the construction of the first space modules that they will form the commercial segment of the International Space Station. An industrial collaboration that testifies to the liveliness and strategic value of the Commercial Spaceflight, as an opportunity to increase technological capabilities, to stimulate the In-Orbit economy and to consolidate traditional bilateral relations between the United States and Italy. Air Force personnel will also be involved in this collaboration, sent for training at the Axiom headquarters in Houston, Texas, to test new training protocols for the first time and who in this circumstance will also provide support to the analysis, design, engineering and implementation of modules.
The agreements, in addition to recognizing a mutual interest in the context of their respective institutional tasks in the field of human space flight, the space economy and Commercial Spaceflight, strengthen the cooperation between public administrations, research bodies and national industry international. The collaboration between the world of defense, research (public and private) and industry is crucial to guarantee the country an opportunity for technological growth and economic development through the identification of strategic paths that allow an effective adaptation to the evolution of an operational environment and a dynamic economic sector such as aerospace, to support security and the community as a contribution to national resilience.