Spaceport America. Source | Virgin Galactic

Virgin Galactic Holdings (Mojave, Calif., U.S.) and Ente Nazionale per l’Aviazione Civile (ENAC), the civil aviation authority of Italy, have signed an agreement of cooperation to jointly study the feasibility of Virgin Galactic conducting spaceflight operations from Grottaglie Spaceport in the Puglia region of southern Italy.

The study will evaluate the necessary technical requirements for suborbital spaceflight operations at Grottaglie Spaceport, the surrounding area’s ability to support private and research suborbital spaceflight customers and the compatibility of Italy’s suborbital regulations with those in the U.S., where Virgin Galactic is headquartered.

Phase one of the study, anticipated to be completed in 2025, will examine Grottaglie’s airspace compatibility with Virgin Galactic’s requirements and flight profile. This will include examining any regulatory requirements, studying the facilities infrastructure and ensuring supply chain capability to support repeated spaceflights. Presuming these criteria are satisfied, phase two of the examination would expand to consider regional workforce requirements as well as the potential economic stimulation to Italy and Puglia generated by multiple spaceflights per week.

The announcement comes 18 months after members of the Italian Air Force and the National Research Council of Italy conducted research aboard Virgin Galactic’s June 2023 “Galactic 01” mission from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The flight marked the company’s inaugural commercial spaceflight.

“Development of world-class spaceports in premier locations is essential to our goal of expanding human-first space travel around the world, and we are honored to partner with the Italian government as we look to bring Virgin Galactic’s spaceline operations to Italy and the European continent,” says Michael Colglazier, CEO of Virgin Galactic. 

Grottaglie Airport is managed by Aeroporti di Puglia and was designated a commercial spaceport by the Ministry of Infrastructure and Transport in 2018, making it what is said to be the first horizontal spaceport in Italy and first in the European Union. Grottaglie Spaceport is primarily intended to provide a base for suborbital spaceflights, including private and research, acting as a center of excellence for commercial suborbital transportation and space exploration in the Mediterranean basin. The Puglia region and Italian government recently allocated funding of €70 million for airport infrastructure necessary for the full operation of Grottaglie Spaceport.