Italy has become the first European country to allow spaceports to be built on its territory after the Italian civil aviation authority, ENAC, gave the go-ahead.
What is a spaceport?
A spaceport is a site for launching (or receiving) spacecraft – similarly to an airport for aircraft. The word “spaceport” has traditionally been used for sites capable of launching spacecraft into orbit around the Earth or on interplanetary trajectories. A spaceport may also include runways for takeoff and landing of aircraft to support spaceport operations or to enable support of HTHL (Horizontal takeoff, horizontal landing) or HTVL (Horizontal takeoff, vertical landing) winged launch vehicles.
There are only two spaceports that achieved horizontal launches of humans to 100 km, starting from a horizontal runway. All the flights were sub-orbital. This includes Edwards Air Force Base in California, US for instance. The carrier aircraft was a B-52 and the spacecraft was the X-15 (1963). The second example took place at the Mojave Air and Space Port in California, US. The carrier aircraft was a Scaled Composites Model 318 White Knight and the spacecraft was the SpaceShipOne (2004).
The regulations for the construction and operation of spaceports in Italy
The President of ENAC, Nicola Zaccheo, said that the latest announcement “is a fundamental step to launch this important and strategic new segment of civil aviation that will allow shortly commercial suborbital flights from Italy”.
In the ENAC press release, it was stressed that with the adoption of this regulation it will be possible, therefore, to start the process that will allow the use of the airport of Taranto Grottaglie as a national spaceport.
it is necessary to consider that the regulation falls under the regulation of suborbital commercial activities, which includes flight operations and air navigation services. This is essential to allow Italy to achieve autonomous access to space according to the government strategies on the “space economy”.
