A History of the Italian Space Adventure : Pioneers and Achievements from the XIVth Century to the Present

400 Pages·2020·19.432 MB·English

by  Giovanni Caprara

GGGGGGGIIIIOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNIIIIII CCCCCCCCCCCAAAAAAAAAAAAPPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAARRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAA
PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOONNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEERRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAANNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS
FFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFFRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRROOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH CCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCCEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUURRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY
TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO TTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE PPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPPRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEENNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTTT
A History of the Italian Space Adventure
Giovanni Caprara
A History of the Italian Space
Adventure
Pioneers and Achievements from the XIVth
Century to the Present
123
GiovanniCaprara
Milan,Italy
ISBN978-3-319-73986-1 ISBN978-3-319-73987-8 (eBook)
https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-73987-8
©SpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG2020
Thisworkissubjecttocopyright.AllrightsarereservedbythePublisher,whetherthewholeorpart
of the material is concerned, specifically the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations,
recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microfilms or in any other physical way, and transmission
orinformationstorageandretrieval,electronicadaptation,computersoftware,orbysimilarordissimilar
methodologynowknownorhereafterdeveloped.
The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this
publicationdoesnotimply,evenintheabsenceofaspecificstatement,thatsuchnamesareexemptfrom
therelevantprotectivelawsandregulationsandthereforefreeforgeneraluse.
The publisher, the authors and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this
book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the
authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained
hereinorforanyerrorsoromissionsthatmayhavebeenmade.Thepublisherremainsneutralwithregard
tojurisdictionalclaimsinpublishedmapsandinstitutionalaffiliations.
Coverillustration:WernhervonBraun(ontheleft)togetherwithProfessorLuigiBroglioduringthevisit
totheItalianequatoriallaunchingsiteinKenyain1971
ThisSpringerimprintispublishedbytheregisteredcompanySpringerNatureSwitzerlandAG
Theregisteredcompanyaddressis:Gewerbestrasse11,6330Cham,Switzerland
Foreword
Thebookyouareabouttoreadisahistorybook,whichconcernsapieceofItalian
history.IthasthemeritoftellingthereaderabouthowItalyhasbecomeoneofthe
world’s major powers in the aerospace sector, by reconstructing the political,
economic and social settings in which it was possible for this to take place. The
evolutionofresearchinItaly,andparticularlythatofspaceresearch,wasinevitably
affectedbythedifferentpoliticalandeconomicperiodsthat,despitevaryingtrends,
were constantly growing, thanks also to strong industrial support. The creation
oftheItalianSpaceAgencyin1988isasignofacertainmaturitythatwasreached,
albeit a little late if we consider the fact that the Italian space sector took its first
steps in the early 1960s. However, great many steps forward were made thanks to
that choice to equip the country with a space agency. A further boost to Italy’s
progress in space and to the economy that belongs to it may come from the recent
choice to equip the country with a “space” leadership, with the emergence of the
Interministerial Committee for Space, at Palazzo Chigi, reporting directly to the
Italian Prime Minister.
Thenewreformlawreorganisingthesectorshortensthechainofcommunication
betweenthegovernment,thesourceofpoliticalandstrategicdirection,andASI,the
architectofthespacesystem.Thisisanimportantlaw,whichpromisestoincreasethe
goodresultsachievedsofar,whilemaintainingtherhythmoftechnologicalandspace
business evolution. The future is already here with us. Within a few years,
mega-constellationsofsmallsatellitesnolargerthanashoeboxwillprovideInternet
accesstobillionsofpeopleineverycorneroftheplanet;spacehardwarewillbeprinted
in3Ddirectlyinorbit,significantlyloweringcostsalsoinviewofthenewfrontiersof
human exploration of Mars and the Moon; quantum satellite communication will
become the backbone of a hacker-proof system; new complex molecules will be
studiedandimplementedinspaceunderthecontrolofthepersonalsmartphone.
Itseemsclearthatspacehasbeenapervasivesuper-infrastructureforalongtime
now and, by definition, one without boundaries, from which we gather new and
interestingpotentialeveryday.Itis,therefore,essentialtoseespaceasthe“system
of systems”, based on the integration of different elements, technologies and
services.
v
vi Foreword
Space technologies increasingly and positively influence our lives. The eco-
nomic returns are huge.
It issomething more than the evolution ofthe traditional paradigmof thespace
industrybasedonpublicfunding.Differentmodesofpublicandprivateinvestment
and a variety of entrepreneurial vocations develop within this business ecosystem,
which extends from low orbits to the exploitation of asteroid resources. Italy is
present and stands out in many of these segments.
GiovanniCaprara’sAHistoryoftheItalianSpaceAdventureprovidesavaluable
historicalperspectivethatallowsustogetabetterunderstandingofthemeaningof
whathasbeendone,whatwearedoingandwhatwewilldointhissector.Among
theconsiderableinformation,numerousstoriesandcuriosities,afundamentalpoint
emerges from the book: the Italian space infrastructure is an increasingly strategic
asset that no important country can do without. We inherited it from a ruling class
that, in the post-war period, had the insight, the courage and the will to launch a
country that had just emerged from a devastating war and was undergoing the
global-level challenge of total reconstruction, full of enthusiasm and promise. To
preserveandmultiplythebenefitsofthatbraveinsight,wemustcarryonwiththis
work,keepinginmindthattheresults deriving fromitwillbeanimportantlegacy
for future generations. Since investments in innovation involve choices based on
merit, it is precisely these choices that will define the system’s rate of innovation
and, ultimately, the effectiveness of public policies.
Giorgio Saccoccia
President
ItalianSpaceAgency(ASI)
Rome,Italy
Preface
Spaceexplorationisexperiencingaperiodofgreatrevival.Afterbeingconfinedto
Earth’sorbitforhalfacentury,humankind’sreturntotheMoonandthepreparation
ofthelong-awaitedleaptoMarshavebecomerealisableprojects.Wehaveentered
intoatrue“spatialrenaissance”inwhichItalyisalsoaleadingplayer,continuinga
historyofboldinitiativesandvisions.Ahistorybeginsfromafar,inVenice,where
theword“rocket”wasfirstcreatedattheendofthefourteenthcentury.Sincethen,
it has come into use all over the world.
The book tells its story by reconstructing the facts and characters over seven
centuries,comparingeventsinItalytowhatwashappeningelsewhereintheworld.
Itstartsasahistoryofrockets,includingfireworks,whichwereevenusedbygreat
architects like Brunelleschi to show off their creativity. Then, rockets became a
military tool, a field of cutting-edge technological development and, finally, a
means to get off Earth, advance science and launch satellites useful to man.
However, the way was first opened up by visionary enthusiasts who, with
courage,insolitudeandwiththeirownmeans,triedtodesignandsometimesbuild
ways to climb towards space. Some only dreamt of it, while others, trying it out
directly, fell victim to it. This is how the desire for cosmic conquest, which only
science fiction had been able to feed, grew and grew in Italy too.
From the first pioneer to the first rocket-builders, all united by great courage in
thefaceofaseeminglyinsurmountablechallengetoeveryonebutthem,whonever
stopped seeking the way forward.
Thebook,therefore,isfirstofallastoryofmen,oflivesthatwereoftendifficult,
committed first and foremost to overcoming indifference and sometimes the hos-
tilities, includingscientificones,thatsurroundedthem.Buttheybelievedinit,and
sothestorycontinued. And astechnology progressed,Italytriedtoplay therole it
wasgiven.Thecountryhasalwaysbeenabletodeveloparoleofsignificantvalue
in the possibilities it offered. Despite considerable difficulties and many conflicts,
often linked to Italian mentality, in the end, however, the results were achieved,
demonstrating our internationally recognised abilities.
vii
viii Preface
Thesefactsandthesemen,amidstsuccesses,weaknessesandillusions,makeup
thestoriestoldinthebookbornfromtheideaandproposalofmyfriendFrancesco
Rea,responsibleforcommunicationinASI,andwhoIwouldliketothank.Hisidea
(sharedinthefirstedition byPresident Enrico Saggese) toreconstructthecultural,
human and political history of space exploration immediately fascinated me as the
realisation of a dream I had been cultivating for some time. This created an
opportunitytoseekoutmanyaspirationsthatemergedovertimeandshowhow,in
fact, they were united by an invisible plot, in tune with the conquests of other
nations.Uptothepointofnowsharingthe“spatialrenaissance”whereexploration,
science and technology have also become a significant driver of economic devel-
opment,makingthenewdimensionoftheSpaceEconomyareality, alsofor Italy.
It was a magnificent adventure to dig into archives and parliamentary docu-
ments,todiscoverunknownpersonalities,tounitetheanalysesofspecialistsofthe
variousperiodsandtoseteverythinginthecontextoftheerasthat,meanwhile,the
countrywaspassingthroughamidstdaringleaps,economicdifficultiesandendless
political crises. The result isa story of achievements that have made the history of
science and technology and have helped our cultural world to evolve and the
economic world to grow in a modern and international framework.
Space continues to fascinate us precisely because it unites aspirations, risks,
challenges,butalsogreatresults.Iamgratefulforthecarefulreadingofthevarious
chapters by Marcello Spagnulo, Fabrizio Zucchini, Luciano Guerriero, Arturo
Russo, John Krige, Mariano Andrenucci, Claudio Magris, and above all for their
suggestions,whichIhaveobviouslytakenintoaccount.Ialoneamresponsiblefor
anyshortcomings.AndathoughtofgratitudetoElenaforhavingsharedthiseffort
with price suggestions and loving patience.
Seven years have passed since the first edition of this history, and it was
appropriate to integrate and update it (as shared by President Roberto Battiston)
because both the international and the Italian contexts have changed greatly. The
space economy has fostered profound changes, sparked initiatives and even
transformedthepoliticsofitsmanagement,anchoringspaceinamoresolidwayon
the one hand to the daily economy of the country and on the other hand to the
sharing of new explorations to ensure evolution.
Of course, I have recounted what I considered important and useful, the salient
stepsofeventsespeciallybetweenItaly,Europe,theUSA,China,Russiaandother
nations of which I have tried to grasp the spirit, logic and strategy. In the end, of
course, the facts speak for themselves, but the most exciting aspect remains above
all the passion, the courage to face the risks and the human determination of all
those who have made these facts come true by believing in future.
Milan, Italy Giovanni Caprara
Contents
1 The Word “Razzo” (Rocket) Is Born in Venice . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
The Rebirth of Venice and the Decline of Genoa . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
From the Arabs to Europe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Tuscany, a Cradle of Pyrotechnics. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Biringuccio, a Metallurgical Engineer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Multistage Pyrotechnic Rockets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Ruggieri and the Gioco alla Bolognese (Bolognese Game) . . . . . . . . . 9
Rockets in Colour. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
The French Army’s Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2 The Nineteenth Century, The Rocket Launchers of the Savoy
Army and of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Friendship with the Prince of Wales . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
From Charles Felix to Charles Albert. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
The “Artificier’s Handbook” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Tests in Venaria . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
Bourbon Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Russia Makes Its Entrance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Professor Ruffini’s Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Astronautics, the Dearest of Dreams . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
The Pioneer of Salerno . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Forlanini, from Helicopters to Rockets. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
3 Early Twentieth Century Pioneers and Visionaries. . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Costanzi, from the Moon to Venus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 30
The Gentleman from Brescia Who Invented Spaceships . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Badoglio Finances the Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
Experiences in Europe and the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 35
Luigi Crocco, the Student . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
1930: The First Combustion Chamber Is Ignited. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
ix
x Contents
Von Kármán in Como. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
Cattaneo and the First Rocket-Powered Aircraft . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40
The Mysterious German in Torino. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Cicogna, the First Victim in the Laboratory . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
Fenoglio and the Piedmont Association . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 45
A Flight into the Poplars. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 47
The Origin of “Oltre Il Cielo” . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 48
Ricci, a Project for Defence. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
4 The First Italian Rockets and Two German Scientists in Italy . . . . 51
Ferri Flees from Guidonia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
The Hunt by the Secret Services . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 55
CISE and Nuclear Research in Milan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 57
Atlantic Mobilisation for Science. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 58
The Hiring of Professor Hermann Oberth. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 59
A House in La Spezia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 61
The Navy Terminates the Contract. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
Robotti and the First Italian Rocket . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
Submarine and Nuclear-Powered Ship for the Navy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 66
Fanfani and the Economic Boom. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
The Agreement for Missiles in Apulia . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 68
The Committee of the International Geophysical Year in Rome. . . . . . 69
Crocco and the Mars Orbit . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 70
Broglio and Research for the United States . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Commission for Space Research . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
SISPRE Builds Rockets . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 74
Rolf Engel from Germany. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 75
The C41 Experimental Rocket. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 78
Buongiorno Studies Quirra . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 80
Exploration of the Upper Atmosphere . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 81
The First Nike Flies from Sardinia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
Anfuso, a Brooklyn Lawyer . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
5 Professor Luigi Broglio’s African Adventure . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 87
The COSPAR Conference in Florence . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
La Pira, the “Space” Mayor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 89
Fanfani’s Green Light. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
The Name San Marco. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 91
Vice President Johnson in Rome . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 93
The Search for a Launch Base. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
A Platform at Sea. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
Buongiorno the Coordinator . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 97
A Complicated Institute. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 98
Training the Technicians. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 99