Fucino Space Centre

Located in the Fucino plain in Abruzzo within the municipal area of Ortucchio, near Avezzano (AQ), central-east Italy, it is named after the engineer Piero Fanti, first director of Telespazio, and managed by the same company consisting of two joint ventures, the Italian Leonardo (Finmeccanica) for 67% and the French Thales for the remaining 33%.

[1][2] The beginning of the history of Telespazio Spa coincides with the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the company and NASA which took place in January 1962 and made it possible to participate and develop projects relating to the Telstar 1 and Relay satellites.

[3] The experimentation began at the end of 1962 through some small antennas of the radio link installed on three mobile vans parked in the Fucino plain in the locality of Cintarella, in the municipality of Ortucchio.

[4] Following the positive outcome of the experimental phase, the first antenna was established in 1964 which became the symbol of modern industry at a time when the historic sugar refinery in Avezzano was progressively dismantled, which represented the first industrial-type initiative launched in territory of Marsica.

[3] In 1966 the first large 27-meter satellite dish was erected in the Fucino and entered service in August 1967, a few days before the official inauguration of the space center on 28 September, which was also attended by the head of the Government Aldo Moro.