History Telespazio
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18 October 1961 - Italcable and RAI create the company Telespazio, under the auspices of CNR (National Research Council) and the post and telecommunications ministry. 11 January 1962 - Memorandum of Understanding signed by Telespazio and NASA to take part in experiments with the Telstar and Relay satellites. 19 July 1962 - Agreement signed by Telespazio and the post and telecommunications ministry for the exclusive concession to the company of the equipment and operation of experimental telecommunications systems using artificial satellites. January 1963 - First signals from the Telstar satellite received at the Fucino testing station (L’Aquila ) 24 May 1963 – STET (Società Torinese per l'Esercizio Telefonico), becomes a shareholder along with Italcable and RAI. March 1964 - First television broadcasts from Fucino via the Telstar satellite 10-24 October 1964 - Telespazio receives the first experimental transmissions of live TV from the Tokyo Olympics at the Fucino Space Centre via NASA’s SYNCOM 3 satellite, which had been launched on 19 August 1964. 12 February 1965 - Exclusive concession granted to Telespazio for telecommunications services using artificial satellites. 17 February 1965 - Telespazio signs the Intelsat Special Agreement. 28 June 1965 - Launch of the commercial service via the Intelsat 1 satellite between North America and Europe, with the involvement of the Fucino station. 17 August 1967 - First large 30-metre antenna comes into service at Fucino to operate on the Atlantic region. 28 September 1967 - The Prime Minister Aldo Moro officially inaugurated the Fucino Space Centre. 2 April 1968 - Intelsat / Telespazio agreement signed for the first telemetry and telecommand services on Intelsat satellites. 20 July 1969 - In Europe, the live television broadcast of the Moon landing was made possible by the parabolic antennas at Fucino, which was at the time one of four stations on the continent – the others being Plemeur Bodou (France), Goonhilly (UK) and Raisting (West Germany) – capable of receiving TV signals via satellite from anywhere in the world. 29 July 1969 - Using a C-band antenna 8 metres in diameter, transported by air to Kampala, Telespazio was able to transmit (via the Intelsat 1 satellite) images of the historic visit to Uganda by Pope Paul VI – the first time live TV had been broadcast from Africa. 8 July 1970 - Second large antenna comes into service at Fucino Space Centre to operate on the Indian region. 9 May 1974 - Memorandum of understanding NASA / Telespazio for data reception from LANDSAT Earth observation satellites. 3 October 1974 - CNR/Telespazio agreements signed for the management of SIRIO, the Italian experimental satellite programme. 10 March 1977 - Telespazio’s Gera Lario Space Centre (Como) comes into service 30 December 1980 - CNR/Telespazio agreement signed for preliminary studies on the Italian satellite, Italsat. 1983-1985 – Telespazio, under the auspices of CNR and subsequently, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), establish the Matera Space Centre for geodesy operations. The centre is to be managed by Telespazio. 24 March 1985 - Pope John Paul II's visits the Fucino Space Centre and sends a message of peace to all workers. 1986–1987 - Telespazio establishes the Scanzano Space Centre in Palermo. 15 January 1991 - Launch of the Italsat F1 satellite: Telespazio responsible for in-orbit control. 30 May 1991 - Launch of the ARGO project, designed by Telespazio for the Italian civil protection department, the first closed network (VSat) with small, fixed antennas for emergency communications. 1994 - Telespazio’s Matera Space Centre for Earth observation activities becomes operational. 27-28 September 1994 - Completion of the course embarked on in June 1994 with the “Telecommunications restructuring plan”: Italcable and Telespazio merged into Telecom Italia. 9 January 1995 - Transfer of the space division of Telecom Italia SpA to the “New Telespazio SpA”, with share capital split between Telecom Italia and STET. 30 April 1996 – Launch of Telespazio-operated Beppo Sax Italian scientific satellite. October 1997 - The New Telespazio takes the old company name Telespazio SpA. 1999 - Telespazio takes part in the definition phase of GALILEO, the European satellite navigation programme. 7 February 2001 - Launch of SICRAL 1, the Italian system for secure communications and alerts, the first satellite of Italy’s military communications system. Telespazio manages the LEOP (Launch and Early Orbit Phase) and the first year of operations of the satellite, and then transfers all functions to the defence ministry’s Vigna di Valle control centre. December 2002 - Telespazio becomes part of the Finmeccanica Group. 25 July 2003 - Telespazio acquires control of the German company, GAF AG, operating in the Earth observation satellite services sector. June 2005 - Telespazio acquires the MARS Center in Naples, a company that conducts scientific experiments on board the International Space Station and on behalf of the world's major space agencies. In 2009, the company is merged into Telespazio’s Scientific Programmes division. April 2007 - The European Commission approves the transfer to Thales of Alcatel’s interests in joint ventures Alcatel Alenia Space (Thales: 67%; Finmeccanica: 33%) and Telespazio (Finmeccanica: 67%; Thales: 33%). This creates the new Space Alliance between Thales and Finmeccanica. 7 June 2007 - Launch of the first of the four satellites of the COSMO-SkyMed constellation, Italy’s dual-use Earth observation system, established through an agreement between the Italian Space Agency and the Italian defence ministry. Telespazio builds the system’s ground segment and manages the launch into orbit of the satellites. e-GEOS, a company created by Telespazio and the ASI, sells COSMO-SkyMed data worldwide. 27 September 2007 - The first stone of the control centre for the constellation of Galileo, is laid at Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre. The new infrastructure will house one of the two constellation mission control stations for Galileo mission. 31 October 2007 - Telespazio acquires from France Press 85% of Fileas, an operator in satellite telecommunications services. 2 April 2008 - Telespazio acquires 100% of Aurensis SL, a Spanish company specialising in technologies for territorial applications, and Earth observation services. In September 2008, Telespazio acquires 40% of French company Novacom Services SA, a specialist operator in navigation and localisation services. 27 April 2008 - Launch of GIOVE-B, the second experimental satellite of the Galileo constellation. Telespazio’s Fucino Space Centre manage operations for the Launch and Early Orbit (LEOP) stage and satellite control. 29 October 2008 - Telespazio signs an agreement with US company GeoEye, Inc. to sell images from the GeoEye-1 satellite in Europe and North Africa, and thereby acquiring the exclusive distribution rights for Earth images produced at the highest resolution currently available for commercial use. 29 December 2008 - Telespazio signs a framework agreement with DRS Technologies, a US company acquired by Finmeccanica in October 2008, to provide telecommunications services via the Italian SICRAL satellites and the Telespazio satellite telecommunications centre in Fucino. 20 April 2009 - Launch of SICRAL 1B, the Italian defence ministry’s second secure communications satellite. Telespazio builds the system’s ground segment and is responsible for the launch services, positioning and in-orbit testing of the satellite. The company contributes to the programme’s direct costs and sells part of SICRAL 1B’s transmission capacity. 16 July 2009 - Telespazio, as prime contractor, won the contract to build, together with Thales Alenia Space, the satellite system Göktürk for the Turkish Defence Ministry. 25 October 2010 – Spaceopal, the 50:50 joint venture between Telespazio and DLR GfR (a German Space Agency company) signes a contract with the ESA relating to Operations that will bring European satellite navigation system Galileo to full operational capacity. 20 December 2010 - The Galileo Control Centre, a 5,000 m2 infrastructure to manage the European satellite navigation system’s satellites and signal, is inaugurated at the Fucino Space Centre. 1 January 2011 – Telespazio acquires the space activities of two Finmeccanica Group companies: VEGA, based in the UK, and Elsag Datamat, based in Genoa. 18 October 2011 – Telespazio is 50 years old. To celebrate this anniversary the exhibition Telespazio – 50 Years of Space History opened at the Ara Pacis Museum, Rome. 21 October 2011 – First two Galileo satellites launched. Telespazio will be heavily involved in all the phases of the system's operational life through Spaceopal. 1 January 2012 - The French companies Fileas SAS and Vega Technologies SAS have been merged and absorbed into Telespazio France. The merger, which will streamline structures and improve the efficiency of services and represents an important stage in the development of Telespazio in France. 13 February 2012 - The ESA's new Vega launcher was launched successfully from the Kourou Space Centre. Telespazio provides radar, telemetry and control services and is also supplying software systems for the ground segment and the launch vehicle. |