It's been 61 years since the launch of Sputnik 1, the world's first artificial satellite that forced the Americans to speed up their own space programme in the midst of the Cold War.
Following Sputnik and some subsequent military applications, satellite communication technology was perfected to the point that, just ten years later, the entire world was able to witness the first Olympic Games on TV at exactly the same moment: it was 1964.
The advantages brought by satellite telecommunications have undoubtedly given much to society and complement those provided by the Internet.
Italy is a key global satellite communications player, with the company Telespazio leading the way in the geo-information field. Telespazio is one of the world's leading providers of area and environment monitoring services, supplying rapid mapping services to support rescuers in the event of natural catastrophes and providing products concerning Defence, Intelligence and Maritime Surveillance.
Faentia Consulting recently had the pleasure of taking part in a workshop organised by Telespazio on 25 and 26 June in Rome and gaining an insight into the state of the art of satellite communications. The title of the event, coordinated by Marco Brancati (CTO of Innovation and Technological Governance) and moderated by Luigi Pasquali (CEO of Telespazio and Coordinator of Space Projects at Leonardo Spa), was “Servizi Ground per macrocostellazioni” (Ground services for macroconstellations).
It was attended by all the major Italian players such as Argotec, Gauss, Sitael and D-Orbit yet also foreign firms such as the American Orbital Insight Inc. Talks by specialised universities such as the Università degli Studi di Roma 'La Sapienza', the Department of Industrial Engineering of the University of Bologna, the Polytechnic of Turin and the Università degli Studi di Napoli 'Federico II' were also greatly appreciated.
We were highly impressed by the level of organisation of the event, which was openly conceived to provide a snapshot of the state of technological development in the field. Moreover, we were extremely fascinated by the numerous opportunities offered by the technological development of Microsatellites and Macroconstellations.
We sincerely wish to thank Marco Brancati for inviting us to take part and hope to continue witnessing 'live' the arrival of the future!