[1] With the programme Italy became the third country in the world to operate a launch with its own crew, after the Soviet Union and the United States, and the fifth to operate its own satellites after also Canada, and the United Kingdom (earlier Canadian and British satellites had been launched relying on American facilities and crews).

Luigi Broglio was assigned leadership of the force's Ammunition Research Unit in 1956, responsible for the military's rocket programme, by General Secretary of Aeronautics Mario Pezzi.

[6] While Soviet and American teams had been working on plans for orbiting research satellites for a number of years, the launch on 4 October 1957 of the world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, began the Space Race in earnest and America soon launched its own Explorer 1 system in response.

[7][8] In February 1961 Broglio introduced the idea to Prime Minister Amintore Fanfani that Italy should pursue a satellite research programme of its own, launched from its own facility.

[8] In that same year, at a meeting of the Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) in Florence, Broglio had discussions with some NASA officials present and proposed the idea of the US supplying launchers and training Italian ground crews to fire them for this effort.