Space- Mission Ax-3 Voluntas: Welcome back Colonel Villadei

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On Tuesday, 20 February, the Palazzo dell’Areonautica Militare (Air Force Palace) hosted the Welcome Back Voluntas event to honour Col. Walter Villadei, now in Italy for a first quick meeting with the institutions, companies involved in space tests and the media, before going back to the United States to go on with planned post-mission activities. 
The event was attended by Air Force Chief of Staff General Luca Goretti, who did the honours, President of the Italian Space Agency Professor Teoodoro Valente and a number of institutional guests and representatives of the national and international press.
The event kicked off the post-flight tour of Mission Ax-3 Voluntas. During the mission, Col. Villadei conducted microgravity tests which resulted in positive returns for the entire national economic system, engaging academia, research centres and industries to broaden our great national expertise in the field of applied space research in the operational, medical and technological sectors. For Italy’s strategic vision, Mission Ax-3 was the trait d’union which enabled the necessary synergic connection between the Presidency of the Council of Ministers, Ministry of Defence, Ministry of Enterprises and Made in Italy (as delegated for the Space domain), Ministry of Agriculture, Food Sovereignty and Forestry, Italian Air Force and ASI (Italian space Agency). It was also a privileged occasion to continue promoting our commitment toward a safe and effective national access to Space.
“Welcome back Walter! I am greatly pleased and proud of the success of this mission, that has a strategic value not only for the Air Force but for the whole Defence sector which, with other institutional realities such as ASI and ESA, can actually provide a relevant contribution to the national economic system”, Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. Luca Goretti stated. 
Col. Villadei said:” Today, Space is for sure a context, environment and domain with facilitated access, and we will continue in this direction. This new approach also poses critical questions in terms of security, protection and regulations: hence, the Air Force and Defence can play a fundamental role to secure a safe access to Space”. Then, he concluded:” During the meeting with the Prime Minister I also had the privilege to share this important result: Mission Voluntas saw Italy working as a team, the Mission became a product of the National Economic System”: