The third edition of ______ took place on 19 November in Rome, at Palazzo Piacentini – the headquarters of the Ministry of Business and Made in Italy. Forum Space & Blue, an event dedicated to the integration between the Space and Sea supply chains. The conference was attended by representatives from the Government, the Armed Forces, academia, and industry, including the Minister for Civil Protection and Sea Policies, Nello Musumeci, and the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso.
The speakers included representatives from the European Space Agency, the Italian Space Agency, the Air Force, the Navy, industrial clusters and the chamber of commerce system.
For the Air Force, ... intervened. Air Force Corps General Silvano Frigerio, Commander of the Air Squad Command and of the 1st Air Region, who at the side of the event highlighted how «The interconnection between space and the sea, and the building of an Italian supply chain capable of guaranteeing national technological sovereignty, represent a decisive challenge that concerns not only Defence, but the entire nation's system.» He also added: «Today, the space, air, and maritime domains are increasingly integrated into a fully multi-domain context. In this scenario, the challenge to pursue and win is that of technological innovation conceived from the outset in close integration with the civilian world. Defence, and in particular the Air Force for its areas of responsibility, is paying close attention to this aspect, which is why it looks to industry, leading universities, and small and medium-sized enterprises, so that this interconnected system can generate positive effects and benefits for the country.»
So the Colonel Walter Villadei, an astronaut from the Italian Air Force, speaking at the Forum remotely from Houston: «Space and oceans, despite being governed by different physical laws and technologies, share many analogies, especially as increasingly “contested, congested, and competitive” operational domains, where Space and the Blue Economy meet.» Villadei recalled that «the development and security of these environments will depend on technological innovation and scientific research.» and recalled the experience of the Ax-3 mission, during which «The Air Force collaborated on an ASI experiment alongside the Navy and the University of Florence to compare the effects on submariners» organisms with those of astronauts. He then concluded by emphasising that «Italy, naturally inclined towards exploration, must continue to explore both these environments in the coming decades with a leading role.»
