A message from the President Enrico Saggese

On behalf of ASI - Italian Space Agency, I would like to greet all the visitors of this website, where we are trying to present our work and let all the citizens know the importance of space research for our country. Communication is essential for every institution, but particularly for those, like ASI, which deal with complicated and fascinating subjects, and have the task of drawing new generations to scientific and technical studies, so that they will continue the great Italian tradition in this field.

Space is one of the fields in which Italy has shown its excellence on a global level since the '60s, when It was the third country in the world after the URSS and the USA to launch its own satellite.

A tradition of excellence that covers geophysics and astrophysics, telecommunications and satellite navigation, launchers development and human spaceflight, and that deserves the constant attention of the Italian audience.

I hope that by visiting this website you will appreciate the great results obtained by Italy during more than half a century of efforts, with its own missions and with many other realized in collaboration with international agencies like ESA and NASA. Even more, I hope that you will understand the challenges we will face in the future.

Enrico Saggese became President of the Italian Space Agency on July 3, 2009.

Biography

Enrico Saggese was Born in Potenza, April 15 1949. He is married and has two sons

Education:
In 1971 he graduated in Electronic Engineering cum laude in Rome, where he lives.
In 1974 he got a Post Graduate diploma in Telephony and Data Transimission (100/100) from Politecnico di Torino University.

Previous positions:

(2005-2008) Senior Vice President in Finmeccanica, in charge of Coordination of Space Activities.
(2002 - 2005) Chief Executive Officer of Telespazio SpA, giving a strong push to the overall company positioning and looking after the economic restructuring.
(1989 - 2002) He was one of the founders and General Manager of Space Engineering SpA, a company operating in the field of satellite components and systems design.
(1976 - 1989) in Telespazio SpA, Research & Development Division, he was in charge of the mission definition of telecommunication satellites.
Previously he held positions in Sip (now Telecom Italia) and Montedison Elettronica SpA.

Other responsibilities:

• Director in the Board of Avio
• Deputy Chairman of the Board of Telespazio SpA
• Chairman of the Board of ELSACOMM NV
• Member of the National Communication Authority Council
• Member of Technical Council of the Italian Ministry for the University and Scientific Research
• Member of Inter-ministerial Commission for Coordination and Orientation of the National Aerospace Plan
• Member of the Board of Ugo Bordoni Foundation
• He has also served as chairman of ESOA (European Satellite Operators Association)

International experience
He carried out teaching activity in India, on behalf of ITU (International Telecommunication Union- Ginevra).
He is a member of the "Space System and Communications" Committee of the International Astronautical Federation (IAF).
He acted as Chairman of several international conferences

Publications
Co-author of "Satellite Communication Systems Design", Plenum Publishing Corporation, New York.
He is the author of about 60 technical articles in conference proceedings or specialized journals
Member of the Editorial Board of "International Journal of Satellite Communication".