In May, at the headquarters of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the chapter organized the conference "Constellations of Small Satellites and Its Applications" with the aim of providing an overview of the studies and initiatives underway at the national level. The chapter collaborated with defense, ASI and various industrial and academic entities.
Small satellites are playing an increasing role, complementing high-performance satellites, rapidly transforming the space sector: just think of the development of the ambitious IRIDE program, scheduled for completion in 2026, carried out by the Italian government under the management of ESA and with the support of ASI. This project will make it possible to develop an innovative constellation, complementing national and European assets already in orbit, to serve public administrations in multiple areas, such as hydrogeological instability and infrastructure monitoring.
The conference was opened by Chapter President Lt. Gen. Antonio Tangorra, ITAF (Ret.), and Luca Salamone.
The first talk, "Multi-messenger Astronomy: the Role of Space Missions and Satellite Constellations" was given by Valerio D'Elia, managing director, ASI.
Next, Gerardo De Rubeis, Esri Italia, presented "Esri: Enabling Technologies in Earth Observation."
Davide Rizzato, Thales Alenia Space, then provided the presentation "Small Constellation for Earth Observation: New Orbital Design Approaches in Response to User Needs/Main Applications." Giuseppe Tomasicchio-Telespazio spoke on "Technologies and Services of Emerging Hybrid Constellations of Small Satellites," also providing some application examples based on different constellations of small satellites.
The first speech from the military was by Capt. Alberto Filippo Galli, Teledife, who presented "Satellite Applications in Defense: from BIG to SMALL Satellites."
Massimo Zotti, Planetek Italy, presented "3CS: Cognitive Cloud Computing in Space," introducing the highly innovative topic for cloud computing infrastructures in the space environment. Mariella Battagliere, ASI, presented "Small Satellite Constellations and Applications: Challenges and National Perspectives in the Era of the New Space Economy." The IRIDE program fits into this context.
In the second follow-up talk for Thales Alenia Space, Wahib Aziza Sabrina discussed "Small Sat Reconfigurable for TLC Missions" and presented the multidimensional small satellite constellation in low-Earth orbit (LEO). From the academic world, Ernestina Cianca and Mauro De Sanctis, professors from the University of Tor Vergata, presented "Integration of Communication and Navigation in Future 6G Networks: the Role of LEO Satellite Constellations."
The conference was concluded with a speech by Michèle Lavagna, professor, Politecnico di Milano, on "Distributed Smallsats: Challenges and Opportunities," presenting the use case of the VULCAIN Earth Observation mission, as an example of the opportunities offered by CubeSats.
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