In the 18 days on board the International Space Station, Col. Walter Villadei carried out experimentation activities in microgravity, with positive repercussions for the entire country system
Editorial
The shuttle returned just before 14pm (Italian time) today, with ditching off the coast of Daytona (Florida). SpaceX Dragon with the Colonel of the Air Force on board Walter Villadei, crew member of the Ax-3 mission of Axiom space, which in Italy takes the name Voluntas.
Launching from the Kennedy Space Center (Cape Canaveral, Florida) last January 18, with a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket, the Ax-3 mission saw a crew of four European astronauts board the International Space Station.
In the three weeks he spent in orbit, Col. Villadei carried out 13 experiments, promoted by the Air Force in collaboration with the Italian Space Agency (ASI), which involved universities, research centers and industries, to amplify the great experience national in the operational, medical and technological fields, applied to space. A further 2 experiments, also aimed at studying the effect of microgravity on the human body, will be carried out in the next few days in laboratories on the ground, contributing - together with those carried out on the ISS - to collect data from the experimental activity which will have repercussions positive in the study of neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's, human fertility, the cardiovascular system, as well as the increase in the technological and application level linked to the sector.
For Italy, Ax-3 represented the liaison enabling within the scope of a strategic vision that synergistically links, under the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Ministry of Defence, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy (with delegation to Space), the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and of the Forests, the Air Force and the ASI, and represented a privileged opportunity to continue to promote the commitment towards safe and effective national access to Space.
The reactions to the return of the Italian astronaut
"Congratulations to Colonel Walter Villadei, who returned to Earth after more than two weeks of stay on the International Space Station with the Axiom Space-3 Mission. I thank him for having witnessed, with pride and enthusiasm, the participation of the Italian institutions and of the entire scientific, academic and industrial community in the numerous research activities conducted on the Space Station. With the awareness that each of these activities will contribute to strengthening Italy's role in the space economy and promoting the excellence that our nation is able to express". The Prime Minister wrote it on social media Giorgia Meloni.
"Mission accomplished! Welcome home to Colonel Villadei of the Air Force on behalf of myself and all Defense personnel. A new success for the country which allows Italy to seize the development opportunities offered by the New Space Economy, stimulating a new model of coordination between public and private”. Thus the Minister of Defense, Guido Crosetto, in a note upon the return to earth of the Axiom – 3 Voluntas mission. “The aerospace sector is strategic for the country and Defense supports the Government's efforts for its development: a sector which, in addition to the Armed Forces, involves many Italian companies", added Crosetto.
“Our country is third in Europe for investments in the space sector” recalls the Undersecretary of Defense Isabella Rauti which in recent days has also organized a Defense project in favor of STEM. The Undersecretary continues on Adnkronos, “theastronaut Walter Villadei, colonel and engineer of theair Force, aboard the spacecraft Crew Dragon which docked with the International Space Station, is the symbol of the strong commitment of the entire country system". On interinstitutional synergy Rauti said: “The synergy which, in addition to the very high professionalism of the Defense personnel, is bringing together scientific, technological and international cooperation capabilities, in the context of the development of the New Space Economy, a sector in which Italy wants to confirm its leading role top player. Our country is in fact third in Europe for investments in the space sector".
"Welcome back to Earth Colonel of the Air Force Walter Villadei” states the Undersecretary of State for Defence Matteo Perego of Cremnago to the return of the Italian cosmonaut protagonist of his first orbital mission and the first Italian experience in the field of commercial space flights "thank you for bringing, in these two weeks, science, technology, innovation and made in Italy to the International Space Station". "The mission, which I had the honor of seeing start in Florida,” Perego continues “enabled by Axiom, NASA and Space X has conducted numerous scientific experiments, some on behalf of the Italian Space Agency (ASI) and for Defense; a page of history has been written with Italy as the protagonist".
Il Chief of Staff of the Air Force General Air Force Luca Goretti commented on the return of the Armed Forces astronaut engineer as follows: “The participation of the Air Force in this international mission, with a strong European connotation, has made it possible to involve new subjects, both public and private, in a sector, the space sector, which is currently subject to new expansion. This confirmed the key role that the Blue Army has in this domain, in which it is already strongly committed both with human space flight experience and with capabilities related to its security. The Air Force – underlined Gen. Goretti – makes its professionalism and skills available to the scientific, technical and industrial community, for the benefit of the entire country system".
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