San Marco programme

Luigi Broglio was assigned leadership of the force's Ammunition Research Unit in 1956, 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.{{cite web | title=The Dreamers – Luigi Broglio | url=http://www.bo.astro.it/universo/sputnik50/CSC/ASTRO/PAG4CB2.HTM?sec=scheda&id=4 | publisher= Italian National Institute for Astrophysics – Astronomical Observatory of Bologna |accessdate=2010-08-25|language=it}}

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.{{cite web | title=Italy in Space 1946–1988 | url=http://www.esa.int/esapub/hsr/HSR_30.pdf | publisher=European Space Agency | author=Michelangelo De Maria | author2=Lucia Orlando | author3=Filippo Pigliacelli | pages=5, 13–14 | accessdate=2010-08-24}}{{cite web | title=Chapter 18 – Cooperation With Western Countries | url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4211/ch18-4.htm | publisher=NASA History Office |accessdate=2010-08-24|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20070823124845/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4211/ch18-4.htm|archivedate=2007-08-23}}

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 31 May 1962.{{cite web | title=No.6663 United States of America and Italy | url=http://untreaty.un.org/unts/1_60000/13/21/00025039.pdf | publisher=The United Nations | accessdate=2010-08-27}} 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.{{cite web | title=II. SATELLITES | url=https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4402/ch2.htm | publisher=NASA History Office |accessdate=2010-08-24|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20041104153148/https://history.nasa.gov/SP-4402/ch2.htm|archivedate=2004-11-04}} 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.{{Cite web |title=San Marco 1, 2 (A, B) |url=https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/san-marco-1.htm |access-date=2024-09-10 |website=Gunter's Space Page |language=en}}

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.

{{Portal|Spaceflight}}

• Luigi Broglio
• Wallops Flight Facility
• Scout
• Broglio Space Centre – modern name of the San Marco Equatorial Range

{{Reflist|30em}}

• [http://sanmarco1964.wix.com/sanmarco Progetto San Marco Memorabilia]

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| video1=[http://www.difesa.it/NR/rdonlyres/0E6A134B-2300-46FC-B58D-733CCFFCE5F9/5752/sanmarco.wmv Italian Ministry of Defence – San Marco 3 (San Marco C) programme from development to launch]

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{{Use British English|date=January 2014}}

Category:Space program of Italy

Category:1964 in spaceflight

Category:1988 in spaceflight

Category:Italian Space Agency