Il Joint Management and Control Center - CIGC SICRAL celebrated the 20th anniversary of its establishment.
Pending the launch of the first military communications satellite, called SICRAL 1, which would take place a few days later, on January 23, 2001, the first nucleus of the Centre's military personnel began preparing and training for the control of the satellite at the site. of Vigna di Valle (Rome).
The CIGC-S is still the first European center capable of carrying out the control of satellites in orbit only with military personnel. This primacy fully reflects the will of the Italian Defense to project itself and become strategically independent in a sector, then in its infancy but now in full expansion, characterized by a very high level of technology and specific skills, thus highlighting even more the capabilities and 'very high level of training of the personnel of the Armed Forces.
To date, the staff of the Joint Force Center controls and manages the three communication satellites of the SICRAL constellation and, in collaboration with the Joint Satellite Remote Sensing Center, the military earth observation satellite OPTSAT 3000.
By managing the communications provided by the three SICRAL satellites and by the Italian-French satellite ATHENA FIDUS, the staff of the Center also ensures connectivity and support to the Departments located throughout the country and in exercise / operation outside the area. From their orbital position, SICRAL satellites guarantee coverage of about one third of the entire globe.
Having been placed under the command of the Space Operations Command, from 30 June 2020 the CIGC-SICRAL became an integral part of the space sector of the Italian Defense.
