A History of the Italian Space Adventure

This book retraces the long history of Italian space activities, from the end of the fourteenth century, when the word “rocket” was invented in Italy, through to the present day. The narrative is based on a wide range of evidence, including many previously unpublished documents and interviews with those directly involved in the more recent initiatives. Readers will learn about the development of pyrotechnic rockets; early research into rocket science; pioneers and visionaries of the twentieth century; the first Italian rockets, developed by the German scientists Hermann Oberth and Rolf Engel for military purposes; and the African adventure of Luigi Broglio, the “father” of Italian space exploration, who built and launched the first Italian satellite. The coverage of the later history includes the foundation of the Italian Space Agency (ASI), the ASI’s role in scientific and technological space programs and collaboration with NASA’s space shuttle program, and Italian involvement in the International Space Station and the European Ariane and Vega rockets. In recounting the fascinating and multifaceted story of the Italian space adventure, the book will appeal to a wide audience. 

Giovanni Caprara, journalist and writer, is science editor at "Il Corriere della Sera". He is the author of numerous publications on the history of science and space exploration, published in both Europe and the USA. Among his many awards, in 2000 he received the ConScientia Prize for science journalist of the year, presented jointly by the universities of Milan. In the same year, the International Astronomical Union at Harvard University named after him an asteroid orbiting between Mars and Jupiter in recognition of his outreach activities in astronomy and space exploration. In 2010, he received the European Science Writers Award from the Euroscience Foundation, and in 2016, the Prize for Scientific Communications from the Italian Physics Society. In 2014 he was made a Knight of the Italian Republic. He has served as president of the Union of Italian Science Journalists (UGIS) since 2011. He designed and curated the new space section in the Museum of Science and Technology in Milan and is a member of many scientific committees, including Bergamo Science and the Galileo Prize for science education.