From (under)ground to space

Nuclear Physics B (Proc. Suppl.) 212–213 (2011) 34–49 www.elsevier.com/locate/npbps

From (under)ground to space. The birth of Space Science in Italy and the growth of astrophysics in its National Institutions Giorgio G.C. Palumbo Dipartimento di Astronomia, Universit´ a degli Studi di Bologna, Via Ranzani 1, 40127 Bologna, Italy The first attempt by Italian scientists to carry on Astrophysical observations from Space can be traced back to the early 60’s just after the launch of the first satellites. Dominated by Physicists for decades, slowly space astrophysics has become one of the major fields of modern Astronomy. From the first experiments flown on balloons and rockets to the construction of today’s sophisticated satellites a historical scenario will be presented in the framework of Italian Science and, more generally, of European and World growth of the field. The first experiments in Universities, the setting of the CNR (National Research Council) labs, later transformed in institutes, to the recent merging of all Astronomical Observatories, will be discussed with mention to historical episodes. Main results and achievements will be outlined. How politics has affected the development of this branch of astronomical research will also be briefly considered within the limits assigned to the present talk. Some of the information contained in this paper comes from original documents, some from interviewing people who played a major role in the events, some from the literature but most of it is from personal reminiscences.

1. The conquest of space The easiest way to trace back in time the origin of Space Science and the birth of Astrophysics in Italy is to start from the conquest of Space in 1957. That is to identify the first approaches to put detectors in orbit above the atmosphere to access those bands of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum which are unaccessible from Earth because of the screening effect of the Atmosphere (a more science-oriented chronology of the events can be found in Setti 2005). First mention of sending electromagnetic radiation detectors in space for scientific purposes came from the American delegates at the International Council of Scientific Union (ICSU) meeting in Rome in 1954, where it was suggested to launch artificial Earth satellites for a scientific purpose. Then the International Geophysical Year, IGY, which run for 18 months (1 July 1957 - 31 December 1958), started with the aim to gather information about upper atmosphere phenomena during maximum solar activity. The initiative was supported by 66 nations. The attention of cosmic physicists soon moved 0920-5632/$ – see front matter © 2011 Published by Elsevier B.V. doi:10.1016/j.nuclphysbps.2011.03.006

to these problems. A stimulus came from a comment made by Louis Leprince-Ringuet (1901– 2000) in 1953 at the International Cosmic Ray Conference in Bagn`ere de Bigorre, France. In that occasion the known scientist warned the Cosmic Ray community that they were going to face a crises. In spite of the wholesale of data from cosmic particle detection a few people had realized that the construction of big accelerators, in expansion in those days in Europe (i.e. CERN) and the US, would completely change the interests of Cosmic Physics. Particle Physics was going to leave the Cosmic Ray scenario and shift toward well controlled beams such as the ones accelerators could provide. The interest in Cosmic Rays was, therefore, going to concentrate on more astrophysical aspects such as their origin, composition and energy spectrum. Physicists and some Astronomers started to focus their attention towards these problems. In a broad sense the discipline of Astrophysics was born at that time. One should keep in mind that in post World War II years Italian Physics was in a rather miserable state. Edoardo Amaldi (1908–1989) in Roma

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followed by a few others concentrated their efforts in order to pick up what was left from the pre war ”Fermi School”. Most of the original school members had left but the spirit of competition and aim for excellence were still in the air. The former students, like Amaldi, and their disciples became energetically active in reinvigorating physical sciences in Universities. The explosion of atomic bombs, through which Physicists had known sin (according to J.R. Oppenheimer) contributed, however, to give credibility to the ”apprentice sorcerers” of the time. Blooming Radioastronomy did the rest when synchrotron radiation, produced by cosmic electrons in cosmic magnetic fields, was discovered to be the main power source of the, so far unidentified, radio sources. October 4th 1957: Moscow radio announces the launch of Sputnik–1. The satellite consisted of a sphere of 58 cm diameter, 84 kg in weight which circled Earth once every 96.3 minutes. Beep– Beep were broadcast for 21 days. In Italy the signal was first detected in Torino by two radio amateur brothers Achille and Giovanni Battista Judica Cordilia. Sputnik provided the first measurements of atmospheric density and radio transmission through the ionosphere. It was the Russian contribution to the IGY! Sputnik–2 was launched on November 3rd, on board there was the little dog ”Laika”. These two satellites proved that space could be reached by human built machines and living creatures could survive in it. The impact of these two basic facts was soon recognized to be enormous and many people world wide immediately realized the far reaching consequences. In the United States a group named ”V2 Panel” after the German V2 rockets used to bomb London, had been set up since 1946 as a consequence of the post war activities growing around the migration of German scientists in the US along with all their equipment. The ”rocket society”, started in the 30thies in Germany, resumed its activities with Hermann Oberth, and Werner von Braun (1912–1977) soon after they settled in Southern US. On December 1957 the American Vanguard failed (nicknames like Kaputnik and Flopnik became popular in the press). The reaction to So-

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viet success and US failures was immediate and very strong. Members of the V2 group were scientists from Universities and the Army. Their task was to evaluate proposals from research groups across the country with declared interest in exploiting opportunities for sending scientific equipment into space by means of sounding rockets. Group leader from 1948 to 1957 was James van Allen. The late Prof. Livio Scarsi (1927–2006) remembered that he arrived in Cambridge Massachusetts in September 1957 just on time to witness the Sputnik event. The shock was evident everywhere. At MIT the activity stirred up by the event was quite noticeable. At that time MIT President was nominated White House ”Special Advisor for Space Policy” while Bruno Rossi became member of the ”National Space Science Committee”. Scarsi was enrolled in a ”crash course” of ”Technical Russian Language”. The whole Rossi ”Research Group” was soon redirected towards a new Space oriented programme. 31st January 1958: Explorer 1 becomes the first JPL satellite in orbit (US Army Jupiter-C rocket). About 100 kg of Geiger-Mueller counters were onboard. The experiment led to the discovery of electrons and protons from 0.1 to 100 MeV trapped in the Earth magnetic field, the now called Van Allen belts. Unexplored fields of Geophysics, Solar Physics and Cosmic Ray Physics were open. The 17th March Navy’s Vanguard–1 became spaceborn followed by von Braun’s Explorer–3. A race that lasted decades had started. The 5th of March 1958 President Eisenhower approves the National Aeronautics and Space Act. The Russian satellites had a huge political and strategic impact on U.S. and triggered the creation of NASA. One year after Sputnik, to the day, NASA becomes official and its growth is really extraordinary; from 8000 people and a budget of 400 M$ in 1959 to 30,000 people and 4000 M$ in 1963. In Italy Professor Edoardo Amaldi, a former Fermi student, followed the events, like everyone else, with much attention. Amaldi’s idea was that neither military nor technological competition with USSR and U.S. was possible in Europe at the time. On the other hand scientific competition was a challenge that could be taken.

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In Europe the leading country in rocketry was the UK. They had experimented with the USA the Blue Streak rockets since 1955. Their rocket launch base was in Woomera (Australia). Skylark were first tested on the 17th of February 1957 and were to become a major cause of difficulties in the early days of European Space Research because of several failures. In 1960 the ”Commission Prparatoire Europenne de Recherche Spatiale” (COPERS) is established. Two different organizations were set up in 1962: ESRO (European Space Research Organization) and ELDO (European Launcher Development Organization) to recycle British rockets. The aim was the organization of a Space Science Community. Strong in Radioastronomy and Atmospheric Physics the British had a boost with Skylark, during their participation in the IGY. In December 1958 the British National Committee for Space Research (BNCSR) (Harrie Massey chair) was created. Subsequently Ariel–1 was launched the 26th of April 1962 in cooperation with the US. Seven experiments to investigate the Van Allen belts were flown. Two more Ariel satellites were launched in March 1964 and May 1967. In France the experience with rockets from the war led, in 1954, to a programme named V´eronique, programme not well defined until 1958 when De Gaulle started nuclear power and rocket developments. In 1959 the Comit´e de Recherces Spatiales (Pierre Auger chair) is created. This is the beginning of a collaboration between Edoardo Amaldi and Pirre Auger (1899–1993) [De Maria, 2000]. In 1961 Auger starts CNES (Centre National d’Etudes Spatiales) to become the French Space Agency. The equivalent in Italy, ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana), will see light in 1988, 27 years later! The launcher Diamant puts in orbit Asterix the 26th of November 1965. Ten days later a Scout launched the first French scientific satellite FR–1. In 1966–1967 three more scientific satellites were launched, all with Diamant rockets. The launch base is established in Kouru, French Guyana; it will become the official launch base of ESA. France becomes the third space power and claims an independent role. From here on we will concentrate only on Italy (for a general review see De Maria et al. 2003).

2. Space science in Italy Birth and development of Space Astrophysics are very strongly correlated to technological development. Data had to be collected before theories and models could be developed. In 1950 General Prof. Ing. Gaetano Arturo Crocco (1877– 1968) holds the first course on ”Advanced Ballistics” at the Scuola di Ingegneria Aeronautica dell’Universita’ di Roma which he had started in 1926. In 1951 takes place the constitution of the Associazione Italiana Razzi (AIR) chaired by G.A. Crocco. Research on missiles was passed to his son Luigi Crocco who moved to the US. He helped Italian researchers to exchange visits with their US colleagues. (In 1958 Crocco was professor of Aerospace Propulsion at the Department of Aeronautical Engineering at Princeton University) (Serio 1998). In 1954 the Centro di Ricerche Aerospaziali (CRA) is created at the Aeroporto dell’Urbe in Roma within the Scuola di Ingegneria Aeronautica directed by a Lutenent Colonel of the Italian Air Force and University Professor: Luigi Broglio (1911-2001). 1955 is the year of construction of a supersonic wind tunnel, the first in Europe, at CRA and consolidation of the first group of technicians to operate it (Di Bernardo Nicolai, 2005). Space Programmes are stimulated by the military. Wernher von Braun and Hermann Oberth, his teacher, are invited to the ”Scuola Aeronautica” in La Spezia for several summers to teach missiles technology and act as advisor. Rockets are built in Italy by industry, under licence. The main goal is not scientific but focussed on aeronautics technology. A group working in aerodynamics and problems related to space travel later grew in Padova; most illustrious member Professor Giuseppe (Bepi) Colombo (1920–1984). Broglio received frequent political help from Amaldi. Being connected to the militaries, however, he received no attention from the Scientists and returned very little to them. In 1958 Amaldi and Pierre Auger take the initiative for the creation of a European scientific organization in space research modeled on CERN. Amaldi writes to Auger (February 6th 1959) about his idea to enter the space challenge on purely scientific grounds. Auger, as mentioned

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earlier, immediately establishes the ”Comite’ des Recerches Spatiales” (CRS) to design a national programme to be an example for other European nations. There is a meeting between Amaldi and Auger in April 1959 in the Luxembourg gardens, Paris; the outcome is an agreement and the walk in the gardens witness the birth of the first plan for a European Space Organization. This plan sprang from political rather than strictly scientific consideration. He later put it as an ”urgent necessity” (De Maria et al. 2000). Back in Roma, Amaldi writes ”Space Research in Europe”, a paper explaining the plan agreed with Auger for a European organization for space research, with no military ties of any sort, and sends it to all relevant European scientists. Many of them are in favor of it, including I. Rabi (18981988) (instrumental to CERN foundation), some are against it, including Massey (president of UK National Committee for Space Research) and Broglio, probably because his interests were more national. To most people the plan is attractive because its structure is similar to CERN. 3. Astrophysics from space in Italy At the end of the 50’s in Bologna scientists with an interest in space research form the Bologna Ricerche Spaziali (BoRiSpa) group (Brini, 1995), led by Prof. Domenico Brini (1923–2008), by suggestion and support of Giampiero Puppi (1917– 2006). Physics professor at Bologna University, Puppi is one of the rare physicists supporters of Astronomy. At the time he was also Director of the Physics Institute Augusto Righi, in charge of teaching Astronomy was Leonida Rosino (1915–1997). Puppi gave a famous lecture in Bologna City Hall (Palazzo d’Accursio) about energy and energy sources. In those years in Italy it was common belief that nuclear energy would be the way out from the heavy dependence from petrol to accommodate internal energy demand. From that event he was given the substantial amount of 50 million lire to spend in research in the Physics Institute. In those years, in Italy, Astrophysics was absent from any Physics University programme and no research was carried on in the field. The main reason was that,

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for a typically Italian mechanism of academic ”chair” (full professorships) control in Faculties, Astronomy was the domain of either Mathematics or Geophysics. A parallel group OVRaRCo (Osservazione Variazioni Rapide dei Raggi Cosmici) devoted to ground based observations of Cosmic Ray variability was also started, group leader Prof. Menotti Galli. Funding came from CNR (Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), technical support and personnel from INFN (Istituto Nazionale Fisica Nucleare) and CNEN (Comitato Nazionale Energia Nucleare). What happened in Bologna soon spread out, all groups, later to become CNR Labs were hosted in University buildings, had time limited contracts for personnel mostly from CNR or other research institutions and were led by University academics. For a very long time this was a reason for uneasiness among staff. Finally the change of directors from academic to staff members brought peace for a few years. However it soon became apparent that Lab Directors, academics or not, followed the same unwritten but universal rules: the driver was bureaucracy not Science. Main interests of the Bologna group were electronics and hardware development. Preparatory exercises to practice building experiments sturdy enough to operate in space were the main activity. Weight limits and energy budgets are dominant problems, but also relevant are data acquisition and transmission with minimal errors and construction of experiments insensitive to uncomfortably low temperature and pressure conditions. First commercial transistors become available on the market in the mid ’60s, there was a quick transition from conventional valves electronics to solid state circuitry. Home made prototypes of that period today appear as archeological findings and most young people would be unable to understand how they function, and yet they worked! The photon energy band chosen was 20–200 keV hard and penetrating enough to reach atmospheric balloon altitudes (30–40 km). These choices stemmed from economical evaluation. In those days rockets and satellites were available only in NASA and slowly developing in ESRO. Another electromechanical problem which often emerged was the

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development of stabilized platforms connecting scientific payload to the balloon, essential interface which allowed precision pointing of cosmic sources in the sky. Amaldi succeeded to have approved (8th September 1959) from CNR (President 1956–1960 Francesco Giordani) the ”Commissione Ricerche Spaziali (CRS)”. Members of CRS: Broglio (Istituto di Ingegneria Aeronautica, Universita’ di Roma and Colonnello dell’Aeronautica) President, Amaldi (Fisica, Roma), Puppi (Fisica, Bologna), Boella (Istituto di Comunicazioni Elettriche, Torino), Carrara (Onde Elettromagnetiche, Firenze), Casci (Motori e Aeromobili, Milano) and Righini (Astronomia, Firenze). Broglio’s role was predominant since, at the time, he was the only privileged channel between NASA and Italy. Broglio had very strong political connections. A convinced Christian Democrat had direct access to the Ministry of Education, the major source of funds, and often (Italian Government mean life, in the 60’s, was less than one year) to the Prime Minister in person. His personal friendship with Giorgio La Pira, a charismatic figure from the partisan resistance, acted as a valid pass to financial channels. All civilian scientists were ignored and to a certain extent even CNR, who was supposed to coordinate, was basically cut out. In those years minister of education and research were Aldo Moro and Giuseppe Medici. This ”abnormal situation” was, at least, partly justified by the Government with the role of Italy in the ”Cold war” strategy of the ”North Atlantic Treaty Organization” (NATO) by hosting US Nuclear head Jupiter launch sites deployed in the East coast of the Italian peninsula. Revisions of the Amaldi paper follow during 1959, the final (French) version is accepted and, in January 1960, approved in Nice at the first COSPAR (Committee for Space Research) Space Science Symposium. Participating countries Belgium, France, Italy, Holland, Sweden and UK. Later on Germany and Switzerland joined (van de Hulst, 1998). Auger writes ”this conference plays the same role the Geneva conference played in 1955 for the atom” (when CERN was approved). The expected budget for the newly created multinational institution was 3–4 times the CERN

budget. Preliminary plans included balloons and rocket flights. In 1959 CNR launched a programme for upper atmosphere research under the direction of Colonel Luigi Broglio. Later on a group of physicists interested in upper atmosphere phenomena and space related magnetospheric events started in Roma University; it will eventually become part of another CNR Lab, the Istituto di Fisica dello Spazio Interplanetario, IFSI. The rocket launching range chosen was in Salto de Quirra, Sardegna in a remote place called Perdasdefogu. Between 1959 and 1960 in Bologna Domenico Brini and Marcello Ceccarelli (MC) fly balloons from the Physics Institute roof terrace with the aim of detecting electron-positron pairs in emulsions generated by energetic Gamma-rays from the radio source Cygnus A (Braccesi et al. 1960). Soon after MC devoted himself to the development of a radio telescope. June 9th 1960, the first trace on a chart recorder was acquired, proof of the detection of Cygnus A. A few days later the first elements of what later became known as the Northern Cross (although, for lack of funds never grew bigger than a T shaped radio-telescope) has an official opening, in Medicina, a small town 30 km from Bologna, present the Minister for Education Medici. This part of history deserves a full chapter by itself. It will not be pursued here but a personal account of those early days can be found in Braccesi (1997). Various European countries discuss in the new international organization (COPERS) the possibility of coordinated Space Research. Luigi Broglio was one of the two COPERS vicepresidents. In April 1960 a collaboration between CRS and NASA is signed. In July 9th Broglio’s team secretly launched successfully the first Nike rocket from Salto di Quirra. In the same year Livio Gratton (1910–1991) returns to Italy from Argentina where he had worked for almost 10 years and collaborated with B. Rossi. Invited by G. Puppi, takes the chair of Astronomy in Bologna. The following year he moves to Frascati where he starts a collaboration with the Laboratorio Gas Ionizzati of INFN, takes the chair of Astronomy at Rome University and promotes what will become the CNR Laboratorio di

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Astrofisica Spaziale. In Frascati Gratton creates several groups. One pursuing research in the field he was expert on: optical stellar spectroscopy, the most traditional Astrophysics. A theoretical group to study stellar evolution and a second one to study compact objects. An experimental group to build payloads for balloons and rockets. Bands of interest UV (Paresce 2005) and X-Rays, senior researcher was Auriemma. Later on a group of planetologists would also join from the University. Broglio announces that between June 1960 and July 1961, 5–6 Nike rockets, built entirely in Italy by Bomprini-Parodi - Delfino on NASA license, will be launched. Scientific purpose: study upper atmosphere injecting sodium clouds. Amaldi assures the Italian labs will be capable and willing to participate to the programme. Aeronautica (military) contributes 500 MLire for the rockets and CNR 300 Million lire for scientific payloads. A very substantial amount of money considering that a year salary of a worker amounted to no more than 400,000 lire. In 1960 Amaldi writes a national programme, the main bullets were: Cosmic Ray neutrons with emulsions (Roma, Bologna, Parma); Neutron measurements following solar flares (Roma and Bologna); Measurements of total ionizing radiation as a function of altitude (Bologna); X and Gamma ray measurements during high solar activity (Roma, Bologna); X ray and electron measurements (Roma); Intensity measurements of radiation between 1 and 1000 and 1100 and 1345 Angstroms (Firenze, Bologna). In Torino Carlo Castagnoli (1924–2005), faithful to the Cosmic Ray tradition, took advantage of the newly opened Mont Blanc tunnel, connecting Courmayeur to Chamonix, France, to set up experiments to investigate the penetrating power of muons. The Laboratorio Testa Grigia, official opening on January 11th 1948, had witnessed the presence of the best names in Italian Cosmic Ray Physics performing important experiments. Neglected for sometime was activated again by Castagnoli and research at 3505 meters above sea level started (Castagnoli, 1998). In later years another experimental station was open at the Gran Sasso underground lab and a robust search for cosmic neutrino started. From the Castag-

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noli group eventually some solar research from space born telescopes was started, in connection with the Pino Torinese Osservatorio Astronomico as well as a small but active theoretical group for many years coordinated by Prof. Alberto Masani. Giuseppe (Beppo) Occhialini (1907–1993) (Redondi, Sironi, Tucci and Vegni 2006) returned from England where he had worked for many years, first with Blackett (work recognized with a Nobel Price to Blackett in 1948) and then with Powell (work also recognized with a Nobel to Powell in 1950). Bruno Pontecorvo (1913–1993) summed it up nicely, in a famous toast: ”I drink not to Beppo, but to us all: may we collaborate with him, it is a practically sure way of winning a Nobel Prize”. Beppo was given a full professorship in Genova University. After sometime in Genova, Occhialini moves to Milano followed by two bright students: Livio Scarsi who would contribute greatly, as we shall see later, to the growth of Space Science in Italy, and Alberto Bonetti, who eventually moved to Firenze. Riccardo Giacconi, student in Milano, never really worked with him but, in his words, ”by far the most important influence on my university life was that of Giuseppe (Beppo) Occhialini ... .His arrival at the University of Milan was like a breath of fresh air ...” (Giacconi 2008). However he soon moved to the US and ended up working with Rossi. He finally was awarded a Nobel Price in 2002, when Occhialini was no longer around to see it. In 1960 Occhialini and his wife Constance (Connie) Dilworth, also a physicist, are invited to MIT by their long time friend: Bruno Rossi. There they are involved with Rossi’s group: Herb Bridge, George Clark (who eventually would spend one year in Milano), Bill Kraushaar, Stan Olbert, Martin Annis and others. Livio Scarsi was also invited to the meetings. The scientific interests of the group were interplanetary plasma and extraterrestrial gamma-rays with energy above 50 MeV, and their origin (at the time people debated whether they could originate either in discrete sources or were diffuse radiation from decay of neutral pions produced by Cosmic Ray interaction with the interstellar medium material). When Occhialini returned to Italy he named his newly formed group in Milano ”Space Group”.

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In 1961 Occhialini’s group joins the CRS/CNR association. The first scientific aim of that group was to study the presence of electrons in Cosmic Rays flying payloads on balloons and rockets. To achieve these goals a network of international collaboration was established between Milano and laboratories in France and the US. This international character singled out Milano from the other Italian Labs, for many years. Many visitors, mostly from the U.K., spent from one to several years in Milano. Bologna, in particular, remained rather parochial for quite sometime. Things changed when Henry Horstman, a physicist from NASA, joined the group. In April 1961 the ”International Space Science Symposium” is hosted in Firenze. In those days many European Labs were visited by Brini, Occhialini etc. (Bagn`ere de Bigorre, France; Lindau, Germany; Delft, Holland) European collaboration expands. Balloon’s technology is learned and developed. From the necessity to follow balloon flights and monitor data acquisition SPARMO (Solar Particles and Radiation Monitoring ) is created. The first 10 hour link at 108 MHz between Bologna and Aire sur l’Adour, in the Alps, are achieved in 1962. However no follow up takes place and SPARMO has no future. On June 14th 1962 the ESRO convention, according to which ESRO would not have to make the scientific payloads, is signed. It is also approved the proposal by Broglio and strongly supported by Amaldi of placing the European Space Research Institute (ESRIN) in Frascati. In the years 1960–1965 CNR President is Giovanni Polvani. Also in 1961 Telespazio is established, in January an agreement on the San Marco project is signed followed by a presentation of the San Marco programme by Polvani and Broglio to President Fanfani and members of the government. In the years 1960–1962 CNR assigned no grants to CRS. All funds were given to the San Marco project. In 1962 an official agreement between Italy and USA is signed for the ”San Marco” project and cooperation on space activities. Cooperation between CRS and NASA is also signed in May 31st . Vice President Lyndon Johnson came to Rome for the occasion, the Italian counterpart being the Minister of Foreign

Affairs Attilio Piccioni. Broglio took Johnson to visit the CRA labs. In 1962 the Italian Parliament allocates 4.5 billion lire to the San Marco programme. Another demonstration of Broglio’s managerial power and ability to navigate in Italian political circles comes from the story of the San Marco launch platform. The San Marco originally was a US Army landing platform which was towed to La Spezia in 1964 and given in loan by NASA to Italy, the rent being proper maintenance of the platform. A lucky deal from our part since only a few months later all other platforms were to be seized by the US government to be used in Vietnam. Enrico Mattei, an entrepreneur president of ENI, had pursued a daring personal political plan to procure cheap petrol to Italy, notoriously lacking any kind of natural fuel. Mattei had acquired a second platform to drill the bottom of the sea for oil, such platform at the time, was lying idle off the Egiptian coast. Broglio succeeded in convincing Mattei to give him that platform (to be named Santa Rita) and the government to pay for a cargo ship to drag them both around Africa all the way to the shores of Kenia, facing Malindi. Conventions for ESRO and ELDO are also signed. Broglio, vice president of ESRO, kept this activity independent from the Malindi programme which was strongly connected to NASA. Meanwhile on June 19 (6:59 UT) 1962, from the desert of White Sand, New Mexico, Riccardo Giacconi, Herb Gursky, Frank Paolini and Bruno Rossi launch a Aerobee 150 rocket with X-ray detectors on board. In Phys. Rev. (Giacconi et al. 1992) are reported the first X-ray detection of a discrete extrasolar source (Sco X-1) and of the diffuse X-ray background. Bruno Rossi (1905– 1993) and Riccardo Giacconi will play a major role in early Italian Space Science development and growth. (Rossi, 1987). The 29th of April 1963 X-rays from the Crab Nebula are detected. This source will be the object of much attention for quite sometime and a target of observation by many Italian balloon flights. From 1963 to 1969 BoRiSpa flyes X-Ray experiments with an ESRO Rocket. Experiment R/73–S/11 and R/73–S/1 were flown from Perdasdefogu, Sardegna from Broglio’s base. The

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first ESRO flight, in 1966 failed, the second flight, on May 24 1967, had a very limited success. It must be pointed out, however, that in the years 1964–1967 ESRO launched 50 rockets, only 24 of which were successful and 9 were partially successful and these included the one just mentioned. In particular the Skylark launches from Sardegna were 25. The success rate was 17/25 while the flights from other bases had the miserable rate of 1/12. At the end of 1969 two more ESRO rockets flights were approved: 5 June from Kiruna (Sweden) the payload experiment worked but an excessive background count rate prevented any significant data to be collected. A second flight gave again partial results. During the late 60’s the Milano group made a number of transmediterranean balloon flights, during which the first gamma rays from the Crab were detected. COPERS developed its own bureaucratic structures in order to plan and carry on research plans and common activities. Since 1962 Occhialini was a member of its Scientific Council as responsible of Cosmic Rays and Trapped Particles sectors. 4. Coalescence into GIFCO In 1963 CNR created the ”Gruppo Italiano di Fisica Cosmica (GIFCO)” to coordinate and promote research on Cosmic Physics. Promoters Amaldi, Castagnoli, Occhialini and Puppi. It grouped three sections: Milano Occhialini, Bologna Brini, Roma Gratton. The attitude within Occhialini’s group was to completely disentangle space research from the military. CNR was identified as the best institution for it, in agreement with the interested ministry. A National Space Commission was then created (a precursor of ASI) supported by a ”Servizio Attivit´ a Spaziali” under CNR control. First director was Livio Scarsi. In 1963 BoRiSpa develops an X-Ray telescope (20–200)keV with one of the best sensitivities, background rejection and X-Ray collimation ever built before. Prototypes were flown on balloons. Ottavio Vittori an airforce captain and a CNR employee, Head of the Monte Cimone Meteorological Centre of the Italian Air Force, provided balloon flight facilities from the Bologna Airport.

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Data sent by telemetry were collected by an antenna located on a metallic tower built in Medicina at the radiotelescope sites. On April 30, 1964 Prof. Brini and Prof. Galli visited Washington DC to present a proposal to put an experiment (Solar X-Ray Spectroheliograph), of the 8 planned, onboard the Orbiting Solar Observatory 6 (OSO6) to detect solar and cosmic X-Rays. In the summer of 1965 Mr. Hogarth from NASA visited Bologna to verify the group had enough structure to do the job. This was the first Italian experiment accepted on board a NASA satellite. By October a work plan was presented to NASA and milestones decided. Approval followed, it was decided that the payload had to reach the Ball Brothers Research Co. in Colorado around the end of 1968. In 1968 in Italy, and in most of Europe, University students experienced a very restless period. Access to most institutes were denied by building occupants (Physics students being the most active and determined). CNR approved renting apartments outside the University grounds. The OSO6 experiment was completed and the prototype shipped to Colorado. The box containing the final version of the experiment was actually misplaced by the shipping company, instead of Colorado it went to Australia, however, with a month delay, at the end of 1968, the experiment was mounted on the OSO6 wheel and flown the 9th of August 1969. The detectors on board worked fine and a number of papers were published on the data collected from solar flares and strong sources. The most exciting results though turned out to be serendipitous observations of the newly discovered Gamma Ray Bursts (GRB) in 1974 discovered in the data base of OSO6 (Palumbo et al. 1974). In 1964 FIAT, Finmeccanica, Bomprini Parodi Delfino, Montecatini, Selenia & Breda merge in CIA (Compagnia Industriale Aerospaziale). On the 15th of December 1964 the San Marco-1 is launched by an American Scout from Wallops Island, Virginia. A sphere of 66 cm. diameter, 115 kg in weight San Marco was built by Centro Ricerche Aerospaziali, Universit di Roma (Broglio director). It was the First all-European satellite to circle Earth. This made Italy the third

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Space Nation after USSR and US. (Note France and Canada flew payloads at that time too but they were multi national efforts). On board San Marco there was the ”Bilancia Broglio” a dynamometric balance to measure atmospheric density variations and, indirectly, temperature and molecular weight of the air. From 1965 to 1972 the CNR president was Vincenzo Caglioti. In the years 1965-1966 BoRiSpa flu balloons from Airesur-Adour for studies of cosmic X-Rays, balloons and operation facilities were provided by CNES. In 1967 (April 26) San Marco 2 was launched from the Italian San Marco platform in Kenia. In this Italy again was the third nation, after the USSR and USA, to launch a satellite from a non US and non Russian launch platform. In 1968 BoRiSpa flu a second generation balloon experiments to detect X-Ray sources. In January 1969 the first issue of A&A is published. It will become the European Astrophysics Journal, one of the leading journals in the field worldwide. The Italian ”Memorie della Societ´a Astronomica Italiana” survived unlike many other European bulletins which were merged in the A&A journal. It still is a periodical publication of conference proceedings. In 1969 CNR (Puppi is member of the ”Comitato per la Fisica”) allocates funds and the GIFCO sections become labs. Staff, budget and structures are integrated in the CNR structure. In a few days scientists, engineers and clerical people are all given permanent positions. This happened for the Laboratorio di Fisica Cosmica e Tecnologie Relative (LFCTR) in Milano. A section in Palermo, first under Occhialini’s directorate passed to Scarsi and became an independent lab in 1981. The Palermo lab took the name: ” Laboratorio di Fisica Cosmica con Applicazioni di Informatica” (LFCAI). In Bologna the ”Laboratorio Tecnologie e Studio delle Radiazioni Extraterrestri” (LTeSRE) led by Brini is born from the merging of BoRISPA and OVRARCO, and in Roma Frascati starts the ”Laboratorio di Astrofisica Spaziale” led by Castellani. Also in Roma Frascati the ”Istituto di Fisica del Plasma Interplanetario” was created. When the labs came into being Bologna had associated a small group in Firenze. Head of the group was Prof.

Bonetti, former student of Occhialini from Genova. He started developing technologies for detecting InfraRed radiation. Originally he had worked on the experiment S88 data with Mencaraglia. With him Francesco Melchiorri and a few from Roma. Eventually Melchiorri moved to La Sapienza in Roma when he became Professor there and started cosmological experiments from ground and balloon borne. The Infra-Red group did several experiments relevant for Cosmology, mostly from Antarctica. In those years member of the LTeSRE scientific council were Occhialini first then Rossi. This is when Puppi asked Setti to accept the directorship of the future ”Istituto di Radioastronomia” otherwise the radioastronomy lab would have suffered and, quite likely, been closed. Probably Puppi’s choice was motivated by the very radical political attitudes all radioastronomers has taken during the 1968 revolt. 5. Summer schools and the internationalization of Italian Astrophysics In the summer of 1969 Scarsi organizes in Erice the first School of Cosmic Physics. Among others, teachers were: W. Fowler (to become a Nobel Price) and Bruno Rossi, Setti and Vaiana. Most of the Erice schools that followed were directed by Giancarlo Setti and supported by a NATO grant which allowed to pay for travel and sustenance for the teachers. Those summers schools were real ”schools” for both teacher’s high standard and number of lectures given by each teacher. They lasted 2–3 weeks and both students and teachers alike were expected to attend the whole time. In subsequent years teachers in Erice were: Sir Fred Hoyle, Dennis Sciama, Margaret and Geoffrey Burbidge, John Arcibald Wheeler, Marvin Ruderman, Riccardo Giacconi, Sir Martin Rees, to mention some among the illustrious names (see the volume by Giacconi and Setti (1980) which collects lectures of the 1979 course as an example). 6. CNR Labs upgraded into Institutes In the early 70s Labs became ”Istituti”. Legal structures with direct funding from CNR Servizio

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Attivit´ a Spaziali (SAS), later Piano Spaziale Nazionale (PSN) and, in 1988, ASI (Agenzia Spaziale Italiana). In 1969 the S79 (ESRO HEOS A-1) experiment to study cosmic electrons is launched by LFCTR. In 1969-1970 BoRiSpa has developed balloon payloads of the third generation. At the same time LFCTR flies experiments on transoceanic balloons to study gamma ray emission from celestial sources. December 12th 1971 Giacconi and Rossi launch Uhuru (SAS-1) the first satellite dedicated to XRay Astronomy from Broglio’s Base in Malindi, Kenia. This launch was the first of a series of three Small Astronomical Satellites (SAS). The second housed gamma ray detectors and the third X-Rays again. Broglio’s relationship with the two italo-american scientist was on a friendship basis with Giacconi while he mention Rossi as ”an XRay expert” (Di Bernardo Nicolai 2005). After the UHURU success Giacconi comes to Italy, meets with Setti, Spada and Brini. He offers to Brini the opportunity of using UHURU’s spare copy and fly it under Italian flag from Malindi as UHURU-2. Brini, a sound and honest physicist afraid of taking risks and perhaps used to building his own equipment, was naturally reluctant to take the chance and reacted rather skeptically. Finally he refused the offer. We shall never know whether Italy missed a chance or was spared another mistake. Certainly, at the time Giacconi and Setti were both aggravated by the decision. The 9th of March Italian Parliament approves a financial bill for the SIRIO Programme. On April 24th is launched San Marco 3 and in November 15 NASA SSS-2 both from the San Marco platform. This total isolation between Broglio’s launches and Italian first steps into Space Science are certainly due, as we have already mentioned earlier, to the communication barrier between Scientists and the, by now General Broglio, built on lack of confidence and distrust, but also by the total lack of coordination from the government’s part. Was this due to endemic poor efficiency or political strategy? Interesting question which must be left for future history scholars. In Rome Gratton sponsors and hosts the first of the IAU conferences ”Non Solar X and Gamma

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Ray Astronomy” (Gratton, 1970). From 1972 to 1975 CNR President is Alessandro Faedo. In 1972 BoRiSpa undertakes a 5 launch campaign with Nike and Apache rockets. In 1972 LFCTR starts an intense launch campaign mostly of payloads on board ESRO satellites: S209 (ESRO HEOS A-2) cosmic electrons, S88 (ESRO TD-1) solar Gamma-Rays, S133 (ESRO TD-1) celestial Gamma Rays. An extended collaboration between Milano-MonacoSaclay (MIMOSA) is started. In 1973 ESA becomes operational, supersedes ELDO and ESRO which are merged. In 1974 Aeritalia becomes member of ERNO (a German industry associated to VFW Fokker), Italy takes part in ESA Spacelab programme. Livio Scarsi obtains from the Physics Faculty to give Bruno Rossi the course ”Complementi di fisica generale” in Palermo. As a matter of fact to obtain that Rossi had to apply for the position of professor and, as he put it, ”there were several applicants, I sent my curriculum and list of publications and I got the job”. He kept that course until 1980, frequently commuting with the US. October 15th is the launch date of Ariel V and October 15th the launch of British UK-5 both from the San Marco platform. In ESRO working groups (WGs) were organized for: Atmospheric Physics (ATM), Solar Physics (SUN), Planetary Bodies (PLA), Stars (STAR), and Cosmic Ray trapped radiation (COS). Proposals from WGs were submitted to a Launching Programme Advisory Committee (LPAC) chaired by Occhialini. In 1975 COS-B is launched. The mission was the result of a competition between two proposals COS-A, X-Ray oriented, project leader Ken Pound from Leicester U.K., and COS-B devoted to an all sky survey in Gamma Rays, Project Scientist Vittorio Manno. COS-B is the first of ESA large astrophysical observatories. LFCTR under Occhialini leadership is one of the major institutes responsible for the construction of the instruments and exploitation of the data. In July 14th 1975 a balloon launching base is opened in Trapani-Milo. In the years 1976-1984 President of the CNR was Ernesto Quagliariello. Giuseppe Salvatore Vaiana (Pippo) returns to native Sicily from the US in 1976, after almost

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a decade of collaboration with Rossi and Giacconi, and becomes director of the Palermo Astronomical Observatory. He introduced X-Ray Astronomy in the traditionally optical astronomy oriented Observatories. Soon after astronomers from other Observatories across Italy followed. In August 12, 1977 HEAO-1 is put in orbit by NASA. It will make a very precise measurement of the X-ray background. This is another topic in which several Italian scientists will contribute both with new observations and interpretation models of the much discussed shape of the spectrum. In 1977 25th of August SIRIO, satellite for telecommunications is launched from Cape Canaveral. Part of the electronic equipment was designed and constructed in the GIFCO Labs. At the Comitato Nazionale per le Scienze Fisiche of the CNR as Astronomy representative is appointed Professor Giancarlo Setti (1977 to 1986) and President from 1979 to 1981. Later he moves to ESO. It turned out to be a good time to leave the country. Shortly after, in fact, the P2 scandal exploded in Italian politics in which many eminent names were involved. In the Space Science domain Castagnoli and Morettini from CNR were involved. Bad times for planning the future. 7. Italian astronomers learn the art of ”Guest Observing” In January 26, 1978 the ”International Ultraviolet Explorer” telescope, for short IUE, is launched. It is the result of a joint effort among NASA, ESA and UK SRC. It performed spectrophotometry between (0.1–0.3) Angstrom and (6–7) Angstrom for over 19 years! one of the most successful scientific space missions: with it multiwavelength astronomy became a common practice. In Italy a vast use of this telescope was facilitated by an efficient and rather bureaucracy free financing system which sent money to the scientists, or group, to whom observation time was granted (from here on called ”Guest Observers”), from ASI via the Trieste Astronomical Observatory. The programm was managed by Prof. Margherita Hack in Trieste. On November 13th, 1978 was successfully put in orbit the X-Ray Astronomy Observatory

HEAO-2 soon renamed EINSTEIN Observatory. It brought X-Ray Astronomy from the state of experimental discovery stage to a astronomical observatory stage. ”Guest Observers” became popular with EINSTEIN as with IUE. A new way of doing Space Astronomy began and a new era started. Data base were kept and made accessible upon request from members of the science community. This procedure is now a standard. 8. Beppo-SAX adventure In 1979 the PSN issued a five year plan which included a small-medium size scientific satellite. Prof. L. Guerriero, PSN director issued a call on May 15th 1981 which was circulated among the community as a letter. In response to this letter 3 proposals were submitted: a mission to study the anisotropy of the Cosmic Background in the IR, which later was withdrawn, OOXA (Osservatorio Orbitante per X-Astronomia) and SAX (Satellite per X-Astronomia). The man who put most of the enthusiasm, energy and dedication to carry SAX to acceptance in PSN was Gianfranco Spada, one of Gratton’s boys in Frascati. Spada spent several years at MIT in Rossi’s Group. After returning to Rome he eventually became director of the ITeSRE in Bologna. During the Bologna years he pushed the idea of an X-Ray Astronomy dedicated satellite trough ESA (Taylor et al. 1982) and as an all Italian mission in PSN (Scarsi and Spada, 1981) where he swiftly moved around bureaucracy as only a native Roman knows how to do. Forced to leave his job, CNR and in 1986, probably the country, for very personal choices he had made earlier, the project was handled primarily by Livio Scarsi plus a group of faithful scientists who, strong from the balloon experience, devoted their efforts to hard X-Ray Astronomy. The responsibility for the SAX instruments was distributed among the CNR Labs. Vaiana, following Giacconi’s suggestion had proposed, together with Salvatore Serio and Remo Ruffini, in contrast to SAX, a new mission: OOXA. The idea was taken from NASA ”Coronal Explorer” for stellar spectroscopy at energies below 2 keV. The scientific return would have been

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fast (no hardware development) copious and of high quality. Many of the data analyzers and Guest Observers, by now a well developed skill among the community, liked the idea immediately. Everyone of them would anticipate a regular stream of papers assured for at least a decade. However the proposal had two weak points. The first one that the science promised was not innovative enough but rather more of the same after the EINSTEIN success in detecting X-Rays from stars. The second, a real point of weakness, the work for national industries was rather vague. Many influential scientists were for OOXA science. For example Professor Pacini, at the time a member of PSN Scientific Council (President Remo Ruffini) voted against SAX. Eventually SAX was selected mostly thanks to the assiduous and intelligent lobbying of Scarsi and Spada in PSN/ASI headquarters. They were smart in triggering industrial circles who put political pressure on the Agency executive. A collaboration with the Dutch, who were to build two Wide Field Camera, was the cherry which topped the cake. Finally a large SAX Science conference was hosted in CNR headquarters (Perola and Salvati 1993). All the Big of X-Ray Astronomy were there. Discussion got quite hot with Giacconi, at times, especially after Scarsi presentation of SAX, chairman Occhialini, who had to use all the influence he still had with his two former students, to bring them to order. At the end a committee formed by Amaldi, Occhialini, Rossi and Woltjer was asked to examine the pros and cons of both proposals and make the final choice between SAX and OOXA. That’s how SAX was selected for a phase A study, not without some discontent and several complaints. April 30th 1996 launch of Beppo-SAX (Satellite per Astronomia a raggi X) ”Beppo” in honor of Giuseppe Occhialini. A chronological history of the SAX mission was given by Scarsi (1998). Vaiana passed away in 1991. In 1993, in his G.S. Vaiana memorial lecture Giacconi writes: ”His last experiment (a proposal for a small X-ray satellite which combined imaging and dispersive spectroscopy) to further study the stars would have been a wonderful logical extension of the line of inquiry he had initiated. He fought with courage

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and perseverance to bring this effort to fruition. In the U.S. the opportunities for small satellite investigations where just then (1980) closing rather then increasing; in that decline of the U.S. Space Program from which we have not yet recovered. In Italy (1981) politics, industrial and institutional interests rather then scientific worth led to different choices. Here again it will take years to recover from those mistakes.” (Linsky and Serio, 1993). Fortunately for Italian Science the prediction made by the future Nobel Laureate, in his sincere and beautiful tribute to a fellow scientist and friend, turned out to be utterly wrong. In fact the Beppo-SAX team was awarded the prestigious Rossi price of the American Astronomical Society in 1998. SAX reached immediate fame when, thanks to Italian flexibility, blamed in most occasions, in this circumstance allowed a fast, unplanned, manoeuver towards the direction of a Gamma Ray Burst (GRB). The precise identification of the burst source allowed to determine the extragalactic nature of the phenomenon and the solution of a 30 year old puzzle concerning the origin, and consequently the intrinsic energy of GRBs. Leaving this quite extraordinary combination of personal ability of the young people in the SAX team on duty and luck aside, SAX brought fame and scientific recognition from the international community to Italian X-Ray Astronomy thanks to the broad energy band (1–200) keV and sensitivity of the telescopes on board has made possible to make basic steps forward in the study of celestial objects, in particular neutron stars and black holes (see a summary of SAX results in Scarsi, Bradt, Giommi and Fiore, 1998). The bureaucratic body which materializes government spending decisions in Italian economy is the ”Comitato Interministeriale per la Programmazione Economica” (CIPE). The first national space plan (PSN) was approved by CIPE on 25 October 1979. For the years 1979–83 PSN allocated 200 billion lire for space activities, 98 billion for the first three years, 12 of which for basic research. Management was given to CNR and Professor Luciano Guerriero appointed Director of PSN. A scientific Committee was assigned for project management. Of scientific interest was

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the ”Tethered” experiment, based on an idea of Bepi Colombo, from Padova. The experiment consisted of a tethered satellite for research on the ionosphere at different altitudes. The experiment was flown on August 1992 with a tether 20 km long and deployed from the Shuttle. On board was the first Italian Astronaut Franco Malerba. The main CNR Insitute involved was IFSI. 9. Adequate housing for the CNR Institues From 1984 to 1993 President of CNR is Luigi Rossi Bernardi. Under his presidency and the efficient and competent management of Dr. Alberto Bombonati (his contribution to the building and maintenance of the Northern Cross radiotelescope in Ceccarelli’s days was fundamental and extended his deep experience on how to operate with public structures) CNR astrophysical Institutes are moved in custom designed buildings research areas in Bologna, Roma and later also Palermo. Before then CNR/GIFCO Institutes were located in old Physics Institutes (Milano and Palermo) overcrowded and ill equipped for modern technology, in old historical buildings with painted sealing but inadequate for labs (Bologna) or in prefabs falling apart and unsafe (Roma Frascati). Between 1981 and 1985 Italy contributed 57% of all the national expenditures (636 billion lire) for space projects to ESA programmes. On 26th of May 1983 ESA launched EXOSAT. The Italian participation is quite high and many young graduate join the ESA staff for several years to be mission operators, a practice which still continues on other missions (e.g. XMMNewton and INTEGRAL). In June 1984 an international conference on X-Ray Astronomy is held in Bologna (Oda and Giacconi, 1984). For the years 1982–1986 CIPE plans funds for 620 billion lire for national programmes and 678.4 billion lire for international cooperation and strongly recommends the creation of a single management structure. Professor Giancarlo Setti becomes member of the ”Consiglio per le Ricerche Astronomiche del MURST” (1983 to 1999); and Vice President from 1987 to 1999. In the framework of ESA ESLAB conferences a major meeting is organized in

Bologna (Hunt and Battrick, 1989). 10. The Agenzia Spaziale Italiana comes to life In 1985 the bill presented by MURST (Ministero dell’Universit´ a e della Ricerca Scientifica e Tecnologica) Minister Luigi Granelli is approved, the creation of an Agency assured. In 1986 the five year plan is totally revised; for the creation of ASI, however, it was necessary to wait May 30th 1988 with the law no. 186 when finally becomes institutional the ”Agenzia Spaziale Italiana” (ASI). Its first President is Professor Luciano Guerriero, a physicist from Bari University, before head of PSN for many years. From 1997 to 1999 Professor Giancarlo Setti is President of PSN/ASI Scientific Council whose main task was the distribution of funds to the whole community. Enclosed in the bill which defines the tasks of ASI there is a little clause which puts the lower limit of 15% of the total ASI budget to be devoted to Science. Discussions about this limit divide Italian scientists and administrators for years. Finally Professor Sergio De Iulio, new president of ASI in 1998, succeeds in changing the law. The 15% limit is taken out. This implied also that funds were no longer distributed by the scientific committee but by the executive. For several years, in fact, the amount distributed to the scientific community reached about 25% of the total budget but, with the change of administration it went as low as 5–10% bringing the community to an historical low in the years 2003–2006. 1990 April 18th is launched HST (Hubble Space Telescope). Built by NASA in partnership with ESA, Hubble sees a technological and aggressive participation of Italian scientists, most proposals from Observatories. Among guest observers Italians are the one who score the highest fraction of allocation time. From 1994 Professor Franco Pacini is member of the CNR ”Comitato per la Fisica”. In 1995 December 30th NASA launched RXTE (Rossi X-ray Timing Explorer) a tribute to the Italian born Scientist. In his name the US also created the Rossi Price of the American Astronomical Society. Another testimonial of the pres-

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tige the Italian community had achieved in the international scenario, is the very large international conference held in Bologna (White et al., 2001). December 10th 1999 launch of ESA XMMNewton. A member of the LFCTR institute and one of Occhialini’s team, Oberto Citterio, after a long experience acquired in electronics and in infrared technology, in 1985, had developed a technique to produce X-Ray reflecting mirrors. He was the mastermind behind the solution of a much debated problem. As he put it: ”one day Occhialini asked me: why don’t you take care of SAX optics” and he did in collaboration with a small firm in Lecco who took the chance with him. The Citterio mirror technology and the qualified manpower of Medialario, a small firm in the outskirts of Milano, later provided mirrors for several telescopes, Jet–X, to go on SWIFT, and XMM with the largest and, so far, unsurpassed X-Ray detection area ever put in orbit. This technology is now a pivotal point in the world of X-Ray Astronomy. A small but efficient research group, who inherited Citterio’s skills, is active now in Merate Observatory, a rare example in Italian Astronomy, is second to none in mirror production and multilayer studies, real leaders in the field. In these years Italian contribution to space missions grows. Limited only by the amount of resources available Italian scientists contribute to ESA solar mission SOHO and magnetospheric studies multi satellite mission CLUSTER. Numerous are also the contributions to NASA missions, some still operating or waiting to be launched, see SWIFT and GLAST (now in orbit and renamed ”Fermi”). As mentioned earlier there is no room in this review for planetology. It must be mentioned however, that Italian built scientific instrumentation is now orbiting Titan (Cassini) Mars (Mars Express), soon Venus (Venus Express) and on the way to a comet (Rosetta). Suffice to say that Italian technology excels in radar construction. Although smaller than the astrophysical one, the community of planetologists is just as aggressive and active. One major event must be remembered here: April 30th 2002 is the end of mission operations

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for Beppo-SAX (reentry August 29 2003 22:06 UT). Another event cannot be forgotten. On October 17th 2002 at 4:41 UT Launch of INTEGRAL from Baikonur, another ESA mission for hard X-Ray, soft Gamma Ray Astronomy on which the Italian presence is significant. PI of the main coded mask imager IBIS is Pietro Ubertini from the glorious Gratton Group in Frascati. At this point an extended collaboration among scientists of the various Institute has become a rule. Science requires freedom and independence. Collaboration bloom among young people based on common interests and affinity. 11. INAF and a future for Astrophysics After several years of political and bureaucratic work Professor Giancarlo Setti, in the year 2000, obtains all green lights and can unify all Astronomical Observatories in one institute: INAF (Istituto Nazionale di AstroFisica). CNR Institutes follow and join effectively in 2005. Research Scientists of the Physical and Astronomical fields are now regulated by unified standard procedures. Latest events are rich of changes all with the brand of innovation. However one cannot look at these events from an unbiased historical point of view because this is no longer history but it is contemporary life. Therefore this story ends here. Acknowledgements In writing this concise account I benefitted of the many conversations I had with the following colleagues: Giancarlo Setti, Giovanni Fabrizio Bignami, whom I wish to thank also for inviting me to talk in the Accademia dei Lincei. Oberto Citterio, Laura Maraschi, Giorgio Sironi, Giuliano Boella, all contributed anecdotes and data about the Occhialini adventure. Enrico Costa and Pietro Ubertini told me about the early days of the Gratton adventure in Frascati. Bruno Sacco, Salvatore Serio and Salvatore Sciortino enlightened me about the early days of Scarsi and Vaiana research from Space in Palermo. From all of them I not only learned historical facts and anecdotes but about scientist personalities, characters and temperaments. Last but not least I

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am grateful to Cettina Maccarone and Antonio Insolia for inviting me to the CRIS 2010 conference and giving me the opportunity to publish this long paper. REFERENCES 1. Braccesi A. 1997, Mem. S.A.It. 68 521 2. Braccesi A., Ceccarelli M., Saladini G. 1960, N.C. X. 17, 691 3. Brini D. 1995, ”il BORISPA” Nascita e sviluppo dell’astronomia aperimentale in raggi X duri a Bologna. CNR Area della Ricerca di Bologna. Memorie, esperienze, documenti. 4. Castagnoli C., 1988, in SIF, Quaderni di storia della Fisica. 3, 53 5. De Maria M. 2000 in SIF, Quaderni di storia della Fisica. 7, 123 6. De Maria M., Orlando L., Pigliacelli F., February 2003 ”Italy in Space” ESA HSR-30 7. Di Bernardo Nicolai G. 2005, ”Nella nebbia, in attesa del sole. Breve storia di Luigi Broglio padre dell’astronautica italiana”. Di Renzo Editore 8. Giacconi R., Gursky H., Paolini F., Rossi B. 1962, Phys. Rev. 9. Giacconi R., Setti G. Editors 1980, ”X-Ray Astronomy” Proceedings of the NATO Advanced Study Institute held in Erice, Sicily, July 1-14, 1979, D. Reidel Pub. Co. 10. Giacconi R. ”Secrets of the Hoary Deep” (A personal History of Modern Astronomy) 2008 The Johns Hopkins University Press 11. Gratton L. Ed., 1970, ”Non Solar X and Gamma Ray Astronomy” 12. Hunt J., & Battrick B., 1989 ”Proceedings of the 23rd ESLAB Symposium on two topics of X-Ray Astronomy” Vol 1: X-Ray Binaries, Vol 2: AGN and the X-Ray Background. Bologna 13 - 20 September 1989. ESA SP-296 13. Linsky J.F. and S. Serio Eds., 1993, ”Physics of Solar and Stellar Coronae” 3-19, Kluver. 14. Oda M., Giacconi R. Editors 1984 ”X-Ray Astronomy ’84” Proceedings of the International Symposium on X-Ray Astronomy held in Bologna in June 1984. Institute of Space and Astronautical Science, Tokyo, Japan

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27. Van de Hulst H., 1998 in ”40 years of COSPAR” G. Haerendel, S. Grezedzielski, G. Cavallo & B.Battrick Eds. COSPAR/ESA 28. White N.E., Malaguti G., Palumbo G.G.C. Editors 2001 ”X-Ray Astronomy: Stellar Endpoints, AGN, and the Diffuse X-ray Background” Proceedings of a conference held in Bologna 6 - 10 September 1999 American Institute of Physics Conference Proceedings Vol. 599.

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