From 9 to 10 July the Castelgrande Astronomical Observatory in Basilicata (Italy) hosted the “IAA Italian Regional Symposium of Space Debris Observations from Basilicata”, organized by the Group of Astrodynamics of the Use of Space Systems (GAUSS). This event forms part of “Matera 2019 – European Capital of Culture” and, for this reason, Castelgrande was awarded the title of “European Capital for a Day” at the opening of the conference.

Castelgrande Observatory, among other remits, forms part of the International Scientific Optical Network (ISON), carrying out activities of detection, observation and monitoring of both space debris and Near Earth Objects (NEOs) under the CastelGAUSS Project, doing so in cooperation with the Keldish Institute of Moscow (KIAM) and by agreement with the municipal district of Castelgrande.

Sponsored by the International Academy of Astronautics (IAA), this symposium sets out to address issues to do with the observation, prevention, mitigation and potential active removal of space debris in the most commonly used earth orbits (LEO, MEO and GEO), plus the observation of nearby asteroids.

Mariella Graziano, GMV’s Manager of GMV’s Robotics and Flight Segment, gave a masterclass under the title "GMV experience on effective space debris monitoring, limitation and potential active removal", based on GMV’s wealth of experience in this field.

GMV has been an R&D-intensive firm for over 20 years now, developing various solutions for the space-debris problem and participating in a host of key projects carried out by ESA and national space agencies.

GMV has thus won itself a worldwide renown for the study, monitoring, mitigation and elimination of space debris. The company now has 40 engineers working in seven different countries (Spain, France, Germany, UK, Poland, Romania and Portugal). It is also leading GNC (Guidance, Navigation and Control) design for the first ever planetary defense mission, HERA.