First Italian Satellites

Press, Volume CII, Issue 30130, 14 May 1963, Page 11

First Italian Satellites

In a recent firing of a 2stage Shotput rocket from Wallops Island. Virginia, some of the instrumentation to be carried aboard the first Italian satellite was given a preliminary sub-orbital test. The Italians, in a co-opera-tive programme with the

United States, hope to launch at least one satellite into an equatorial orbit in order to make atmospheric and ionospheric measurements above the equatorial regions of the earth. They are building the satellites and establishing facilities while the United States provides the necessary Shotput and Scout rockets. The first orbital flight in Project San Marco, as it has been called, should take place next year from Wallops Island. This will be more in the nature of a final test, because a satellite launched from this base cannot acheive an equatorial orbit. Therefore the Italians are developing a floating towable platform to enable rockets to be launched from a site night on the equator, in the Indian Ocean. If sub-orbital test firings from the platform are successful and if the first San Marco satellite launched from Wallops Island performs as expected, the final version of the satellite will be launched into its required equatorial orbit from the Indian Ocean site. This may be acheived during 1965.