The Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, has envisioned for the Luigi Broglio Space Center in Ngomeni (Malindi) a return to the glorious past of space launches of launchers and satellites, after the flight programs were discontinued in 1988.

Urso said the government is thinking seriously about it, including as part of the celebrated "Mattei Plan" for Africa. He did so during the opening ceremony of the exhibition "Space Made in Italy. Observation, Exploration, Future and Technology: the Italian Journey from Earth to Cosmos" by the Italian Space Agency.

At present, the base also known as "San Marco" is exclusively engaged in monitoring satellites passing over the equator, but it could once again become the hub of space exploration, not only for our country, but especially for the African continent and nations, first and foremost Kenya, that are looking into space research.

"Italy can be a protagonist in the space adventure of the African continent because we think our base in Malindi can become the space base for small satellite constellations of African countries."
The idea, according to Urso, is to also create the ideal launch base for the Italian Vega launcher, thus avoiding paying France for the use of the French Guiana base.

"Step by step we will be able to better reaffirm our role, which exists and which everyone recognizes, we are one of the big players in space," Urso told reporters.
In this way the government, 35 years later, would realize the last dream, the only one ever realized, of Professor Luigi Broglio, who from the first launch into orbit from Kenya in the late 1960s, already began to think and design an all-Italian rocket to put our satellites into orbit.
The president of ASI, Teodoro Valente, recalled the importance of the Malindi Space Center and the fact that it gives from there the world's first launch from Africa, which made Italy the third country in the world for space activities.

Reactivation is not a short-run affair, but there will be a pathway that includes the base as a center for training and research for African countries. In addition to Kenya, there is interest from Egypt, Angola and Algeria, for example.
"We think Italy can be, even within the Mattei Plan, a leading player in space development for the countries of Africa, the Continent of the Future," Minister Urso said.

Malindi and its environs, the economy of Kenya's coast and also the tourism sector, not purely related to vacations, but also residential, student and international, will only benefit.