The opportunities offered to the Italian system by the space economy and the prospects of public-private collaboration between the historic partnership with the United States and the future space missions: these are the themes at the centre of the international conference which took place in Los Angeles at the Villaggio Italiathe multi-year World Travelling Exhibition of Italian excellence which will accompany the Vespucci tour for another seven stages. The conference, opened by the speeches of Deputy Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Valentino Valentini he was born in Undersecretary of Defense Matteo Perego di Cremnagosaw the participation of experts, policymakers, astronauts, managers and executives from the aerospace sector of Italy and the USA.
“Italy has a long tradition in space activitieshaving been the third nation in history to achieve aerospace status. A tradition that we continually renew. In the Space Economy, the government has invested 7.3 billion euros by 2026 and has recently passed a bill that regulates access to space for non-governmental operators. In fact, we believe that in the context of the space economy, the current challenge lies in greater involvement and integration of non-space companies in space activities. Italy boasts not only supply chains and champions of excellence in sectors such as pharmaceuticals and precision mechanics, but also in a sector that can open up important prospects such as agri-food. In this context, cooperation with the USA is fundamental, recently relaunched by President Meloni and President Biden: we are partners in the commercial exploitation of low Earth orbit but also in more ambitious plans such as human missions to the Moon and Mars”, said Deputy Minister Valentini.
“The Space Economy has become accessible to various forms of entrepreneurship and this has constituted a great opportunity for the industry to enter the global arena, which has led to a strong expansion of the sector. The space domain, increasingly accessible and contested, is crucial not only for security and defense, but also for many essential activities of modern societies. To address this climate of competition, it is therefore necessary to strengthen public-private cooperation at an international level, because investing in the space sector means, in fact, obtaining significant returns for the well-being of citizens. As a Country System, we have the brains, the specialists and the important companies in the Defense sector, all elements that give Italy the opportunity to play a key role in the Space Economy and to become a point of reference at a global level”, stated Undersecretary Perego di Cremnago.
The event also highlighted the important Italy’s role through the Air Force – General Francesco Vestito spoke at the opening, representing the Chief of Staff, Air Force General Luca Goretti – as a “facilitator” of future activities thanks to his expertise in the aerospace domain.
Current trends in the space economy between collaboration and diversification were the subject of the first panel of the conference which was attended by astronaut Colonel Walter Villadei of the Italian Air Force, Chief Astronaut of Axiom Space Michael Lopez Alegria, Sirisha Bandla, Vice President of Government Affairs and Research Operations of Virgin Galactic, Francesco Curia, Head of the Defense Artificial Intelligence and Systems Analysis (DEAS) area and the Head of the Department for Business Policies of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy Amedeo Teti.
In the second part of the conference, the issues related to international relations, security and innovation in the aerospace sector with a panel that included speeches by Air Force General and European Space Agency astronaut Roberto Vittori, Director of International Affairs of the Air Force Space System Command Deanna Ryals, CEO of Vast Space Max Haot, and Frank Webb, Program Manager of NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory.
The Village Italy is an international Made in Italy exhibition that brings together the “nationals of Italian excellence”. In Los Angeles and in seven of the subsequent stops of the Vespucci (Tokyo, Darwin, Singapore, Mumbai, Abu Dhabi, Doha and Jeddah), Italy presents itself alongside the “most beautiful ship in the world” with an innovative and engaging space through which it dialogues, hosts and welcomes not only Italians around the world, but also citizens and visitors of the cities reached through the culture, creativity, research and innovation of Made in Italy, sport, sustainability projects and the Italian landscape heritage.
In addition to the Ministry of Defense, the Presidency of the Council of Ministers – with the Minister for Civil Protection and Maritime Policies and the Minister for Sport and Youth – the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation, the Ministry of Economy and Finance, the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport, the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy, the Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forests, the Ministry of the Environment and Energy Security, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Tourism are participating in the Villaggio Italia initiative.
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