Italian mission to Sweden for opportunities in the space sector

(ANSA) - STOCCOLMA, 20 NOV - On 19 November, a delegation from the Piedmontese aerospace cluster, an association of companies operating in the aeronautical and space fields, and comprising excellence in the aircraft, propulsion, and space exploration sectors, met in Stockholm with Business Sweden, the agency for the internationalisation of the Swedish production system. The objectives of this first meeting, promoted by the Italian Embassy and attended by Fulvia Quagliotti, President of the district, as well as some representatives of the district's more than 80 companies, were to strengthen the Italian aerospace supply chain through networking activities with a reality that is fundamental for investing in Sweden and expanding in the Nordic aerospace market.
    "The mission of the Piedmont Aerospace District in Sweden, organised by the Italian Embassy in Stockholm, is very important to establish new contacts between Italian and Swedish companies," emphasised Fulvia Quagliotti, the President of the District. "We are present here in Sweden with four member companies: Altec (whose activity in the field of space mission management is important at international level) and three SMEs (Bisiach&Carrù, Riven and Vanzetti Engineering), which had the opportunity to get to know Swedish companies active in the space sector thanks to Business Sweden. The visit to the Esrange base in Kiruna will also be a unique opportunity to see the recent developments of the Swedish Space Port, the future launch pad for suborbital flights with Virgin Galactic's Space Ship Two shuttle, and the ramp of the Maxus solid rocket launcher.
    The visit of the Piedmontese delegation, accompanied by Ambassador Pala and Scientific Attaché Marcelli, will continue in Kiruna at the Esrange space base to learn about opportunities for collaboration and agreements to share the future scientific and technological challenges of the Swedish space economy.
    During the visit to Kiruna, a meeting is also planned with the director of the Institute of Radiation Physics (IRF), Olle Norberg. The IRF is a research and training institute in space physics, space technology and atmospheric physics with more than 60 years of experience in space and atmospheric physics. The visit will underline the importance of bilateral cooperation, and above all is intended to encourage new bilateral scientific initiatives supported by the Embassy. The IRF together with the Swedish Space Corporation, the National Institute of Astrophysics and the University of Milan recently signed the Memorandum of Understanding of the Solaris project. This scientific collaboration will work on the development of a system for solar observation in the Swedish Arctic regions, designed to study cutting-edge aspects of solar physics and for space meteorology applications.
    Ambassador Pala expressed particular satisfaction with this visit, which is a harbinger of concrete spin-offs in sectors that are a priority for his office's activities and that can truly characterise the quality of Italian-Swedish relations.
    Italy has been collaborating with Sweden for more than ten years in the space sector, a scientific, technological and economic sector that can offer great opportunities for research and industry. The visit will end on 21 November at the ESRANGE space base, the launch pad in Arctic Sweden operated since 1966 by the Swedish Space Corporation in collaboration with the Swedish Space Agency.