APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080002-5
ELDO Europa-1 launch vehicle program, which concluded in June 1970. It continues to be involved to a lesser degree in some aspects of the Europa-2 program. The industry has contributed to the design and development of electronic and other components for the major satellite projects of ESRO; Italy has also cooperated in ESRO programs by designing satellite and sounding rockets onboard scientific experiments and has also made available to ESRO its Salto di Quirra rocket launching range on the southeast coast of Sardinia.
The country has cooperated almost extensively with the U.S. NASA since 1960. Initially, rocket-launched sodium vapor high-altitude wind studies were made from the Salto di Quirra range. The San Marco project was cooperatively begun in 1962, under which Italy established the San Marco launch range near the equator off the Kenya coast of Africa. The range consists of two platforms a few miles out in Formosa Bay. One, the San Marco, is the launch platform; the other, the Santa Rita, is the base for launch control and tracking facilities. Italy has designed, build, and launched three scientific satellites under the San Marco program: the San Marco 1, launched in 1964 from Wallops Island, Virginia; the San Marco 2, launched from the San Marco range in 1967 (the first scientific satellite to be placed by any nation into an equatorial orbit); and in April 1971, the San Marco 3, the last of the series, was also launched from the San Marco range into an equatorial orbit. In March 1970, the CNR and NASA established an agreement by which the latter will provide reimbursable launchings for Italian scientific spacecraft. The first expected to be launched under this agreement is the Italian SIRIO satellite. This is a communications and scientific satellite to be placed into earth synchronous orbit from Cape Kennedy.
In March 1972 a new series of sodium vapor high altitude wind studies was begun with the launching of a Nike-Apache rocket from the San Marco range. The Italians have also developed and utilized meteorological rockets for sounding the atmosphere at somewhat lower levels. In 1970 an inexpensive two-stage rocket was under development, the first stage of which is recoverable and is propelled by chemically generated steam. The U.S. Air Force was partially supporting the development of the second stage, which is propelled by the combustion of metals in water.
Italy is a member of the International Telecommunications Satellite Consortium (INTELSAT). Its major ground terminal is located at Conca del Fucino, about 60 miles east of Rome. A second terminal at a new site about 90 miles from Rome is planned. This will supplement that at Fucino and will work with the SIRIO satellite.
Italian meteorological research is limited and not particularly significant. The country has several government agencies concerned with the area, but the Air Force Meteorological Service, which is attached to the Inspectorate for Telecommunications and Flight Assistance of the Ministry of Defense, is responsible for serving both civil and military interests by operating the country's major synoptic observing and forecasting stations. The director, Maj. Gen. Prof. De Giorgio Fea, represents Italy in the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) as a member of that organization's Executive Committee. Besides its six administrative divisions, the service headquarters supervises main three meteorological offices through the Analysis, Forecast, and Meteorological Information Center and supports four semiautonomous research institutes, the most important being the Institute of Atmospheric Physics in Rome.
The Institute of Atmospheric Physics is one of main research bodies of the CNR and was founded to promote, intensify, and coordinate the research activity in meteorology and atmospheric physics in Italy. The activities of the Institute of Atmospheric Physics range from theoretical studies and experiments to specialized education and training. These multifold activities, developed in close collaboration with the Italian Meteorological Service for Aviation, are carried out through the se of scientific and technical services, workshops, a vast library, and close relationship with relevant national and international bodies. The Institute of Atmospheric Physics has been directed by the CNR to develop two distinct programs. The first has the double purpose to update the National Meteorological Organization and its equipment and to realize a more efficient weather forecasting system able to provide realtime warnings of hazardous weather for the protection of life and property. This program will span 5 years and cost about $25 million, approximately half of which will be spent by the Air Force Meteorological Service to establish a radar warning net of at least 10 weather radar stations to augment the present network of six stations. Equipment utilized by this project will be provided by the Industrial Society of Automatic Electronic Products (SIAPE) of Bologna. This company also develops and produces computer systems and various other electronic equipment for use in meteorological operations. The second project being developed is concerned with the establishment of an International Center for studies and research on meteorology and dynamic climatology of the Mediterranean with
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APPROVED FOR RELEASE: 2009/06/16: CIA-RDP01-00707R000200080002-5
