Italy among the key international players in the Space industry

Within the context of Italian participation in the Satellite 2019 Exhibit in Washington, the President of the Italian Space Agency, Giorgio Saccoccia, spoke at the conference organised by the Italian Embassy to present the governance framework of the Italian space industry. The conference, which was inaugurated by the Italian Ambassador to the United States, Armando Varricchio, focused on future outlooks for further consolidation of Italian presence in the sector, thanks to an ever-growing cooperation at international level with NASA and, at European level, with the European Space Agency. During the conference, President Saccoccia underlined the increasingly important role in the private sector and the need for increasingly stronger cooperation with the public sector regarding exploration and research activities and, most importantly, increasing the positive impact on the real economy, security and technological development.
“This is an area in which Italy and the USA, our first and main ally, can boast a solid tradition of strategic cooperation between public administrations which in recent years has been enriched by flagship projects carried out by private businesses” said Ambassador Varricchio. “The success of this cooperation was also reiterated during the joint press conference by Prime Minister Conte and President Trump last July”.
Last night, the Italian Ambassador hosted a gala dinner in honour of President Saccoccia. The event was attended by the heads of the American Administration, including Scott Pace, Executive Secretary of the National Space Council, General John F. Raymond, Captain of the Air Force Space Command, Jonathan Margolis, Deputy Assistant to the Secretary of State for Science, Space and Health, Fred Kennedy, Director of the Space Development Agency, represented by NASA and the American Departments and Agencies, as well as companies active in this sector on both sides of the Atlantic. Simonetta Di Pippo, the Italian astrophysicist who is currently Director of the United Nations Office for Outer Space Affairs, was also present.