News Italy planning to reopen its Kenyan offshore launch site again

[Urwumpe]

An Italian-run space centre located in Kenya will once again host rocket launches from an offshore launch platform.

Italy built the Luigi Broglio Space Center near Malindi, Kenya, in the 1960s. In addition to providing ground services for space missions, which it continues to do, the facility also included a launch capability from the San Marco platform. On 26 April 1967, the facility hosted its inaugural orbital launch attempt, with a Scout B rocket delivering the San Marco-2 satellite into low Earth orbit. The final flight was launched from the facility in March 1988.

Italy to Reopen Kenya-Based Offshore Launch Facility - European Spaceflight

After ceasing launches in 1988, Italy plans to once again launch rockets from the Luigi Broglio Space Center near Malindi in Kenya.

europeanspaceflight.com

Did somebody already do a visual update of the historic launch platform between Kenya and Madagaskar? The base is a part of Orbiters base markers since release 2003 at least.

 

[Fabri91]

Italy to Reopen Kenya-Based Offshore Launch Facility - European Spaceflight

After ceasing launches in 1988, Italy plans to once again launch rockets from the Luigi Broglio Space Center near Malindi in Kenya.

europeanspaceflight.com

Did somebody already do a visual update of the historic launch platform between Kenya and Madagaskar? The base is a part of Orbiters base markers since release 2003 at least.

The things one learns after 1.5 decades.

 

[Piorun]

I’ve already made the Scout A launch vehicle and even began some job on San Marco 1 satellite — the launch platform has been residing on my to-do-list since a longer time too. It should be pretty easy to redevelop the Scout A into other Scout family members (Scout B, C, X, Blue Scout etc. - including the versions used by the Italian team in real life). The Scouts will constitute a part of my larger project codenamed ”The Forgotten Rockets”, which will be focused on lesser known space launchers of the 50s-70s (and which will hopefully become an available and functional addon for Orbiter one day). However, I will be able to resume the development not earlier than in Q1 2025, as since months I’ve been up to my ears in my everyday work. The San Marco platform seems to have relatively simple shapes - a good challange to verify my not so sophisticated skills. I will need to conduct some additional research but at first glance the launch site seems to be doable.

In the meantime, some screenshots below (WIP):

• San Marco 1 satellite (the mesh to be refined). This one had been exceptionally launched from Wallops Flight Facility, but its twin - San Marco 2 - was already launched from San Marco:

https://flic.kr/p/2qxkMFk

• A Scout B rocket in the historical Italian livery:

https://flic.kr/p/2qxnjA2

• A Scout B rocket climbing over San Marco:

https://flic.kr/p/2qxkNZn

https://flic.kr/p/2qxndgc

 

[Urwumpe]

Well, the same launch site is supposed to operate the Vega-C launcher, which has many Italian components. I wonder how it will look like in the end. At least it makes sense to have a second launch site for Vega, so scheduling problems can be avoided easier. I wonder what Kenya will get from that deal.