The Memorandum was signed during the 76th edition of the International Astronautical Congress
Today, through the ASI and the Italian industry, Italy carries on a long and important research tradition in the field of space propulsion. The primary mission pursued by the ASI in the industry of space transportation aims at supporting the development and manufacturing of transportation systems which contribute to the strategic independency of the European access to space. Space transportation systems are complex by nature, and they require huge manufacturing and production capacities and the operational availability of targeted ground-based infrastructure. Because of this, they are manufactured by the ASI mainly through a European-level cooperation, within the ESA, and an international-level cooperation (with the Russian partners, in particular), accompanied by a strongly synergic and complementary national activity.

					                
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    
                                    



