A “mission impossible” style challenge: geopolitics and scientific research, competition and exploration, economy, industry and market, with the prospect of future military conflict looming.
The space sector is one in which Italy boasts significant technical-scientific successes that go way back: 60 years ago, in fact, on December 15, 1964, Italy launched its San Marco satellite, the first to be built by a European country. Though rocket and base were both located in Virginia, the launch was Italian; it was the first by a country other than the Soviet Union or the United States. Moreover, the crew – under lead engineer Luigi Broglio – was entirely Italian.
Since the dawn of the space age – which began on October 4, 1957, with the launch of the Sputnik – much has changed. Space is no longer contested by two superpowers alone but, thanks to enormous cost reductions, other regularly operating actors are now on the scene. There is a degree of global competition, in what is defined as the new space economy. After the initial impetus and acceleration of the late 1960s, there were no lunar landings between 1976 and 2013. Then, eleven years ago, China became the third major actor to accomplish that feat. India got its turn in 2023, with a mission that cost less than it took to make the film “Oppenheimer”, which was released in movie theaters around the same time.
Space represents a key frontier for technological progress where humanity challenges itself. It takes vision and courage to seek those developments that might simplify our future. A winning example of this is the personal computer: developed as a prototype for technological needs in space, in the 1960s, within just twenty years it had become an industrial product capable of generating up to 300,000 patents for the United States.
The global space market is now worth 500 billion dollars, with estimates placing it at 750 billion by 2030, and Italy has long played an important role in the sector. After achieving that 1964 launch – thanks to the bilateral cooperation of the US – Italy continued to develop its know-how in various branches of the space economy. Current turnover stands at 2 to 3 billion euros (according to the calculation method used), with approximately 400 active companies and a range of strongpoints. Italy, for example, holds second place for number of operational military satellites. And, although at the moment it lacks an agency dedicated to facilitating technological transfers and public/private/academic cooperation, the sector is central to several undertakings, including parliamentary efforts on space activity legislation.
Space remains a major factor in attracting young talent. Thanks to the PNRR, there are companies in Italy that have significantly increased their workforce – by up to one-third in fact – with an average age of 29 and employees from 19 different nations. The opportunities for the younger generations are many: the European Space Agency (ESA), for instance, has recruited hundreds of young engineers in recent years, and nearly 50% of the new candidates are from Italy.
The Draghi Report, published in September 2024, devoted an entire chapter to Europe’s strong points as well as to its lagging competitiveness vis-à-vis the global market, suggesting a list of reforms by which to strengthen the sector. In any case, the sector continues to grow and attract; so much so that major corporations thus far operating in other contexts – from the automotive to the food industry – have recently opened aerospace divisions with the support of both civil and military institutions.
Given current international tensions, the question remains open about whether the superpowers will work to transform space into a sphere of cooperation rather than another scenario of conflict. This is a complex challenge that not only involves the engineering world, but also legal and geopolitical spheres. It is emerging as a priority for the present even more than for the future.