Space cooperation between Italy and Kenya spans more than sixty years and is centred primarily on the Luigi Broglio Space Centre (Broglio Space Centre – BSC) in Malindi.
The cooperation dates back to the early 1960s, when the San Marco project, promoted by the University of Rome “La Sapienza” in collaboration with the Italian Air Force and under the leadership of Professor Luigi Broglio, who also held the rank of General in the Italian Air Force, led, with support from NASA, to the establishment of a launch facility near the Equator. The complex comprised two offshore platforms located off the coast of Malindi and a ground station on the coast for satellite tracking and control. Between 1967 and 1988, a total of nine orbital launches and 18 suborbital launches were successfully conducted.
The original agreement underpinning Italy–Kenya cooperation was concluded between the University of Rome “La Sapienza”, acting on behalf of the Italian Government, and the then Royal Technical College, now the University of Nairobi, acting on behalf of the Government of Kenya. The agreement was renewed in 1987.
This cooperation was subsequently governed by an Intergovernmental Agreement signed in 1995. A second agreement, which entered into force on December 16, 2020, establishes the use of the Centre for peaceful purposes and strengthens scientific and technological cooperation. It also includes implementation protocols for personnel training, access to scientific and Earth observation data, the creation of a Regional Earth Observation Centre, telemedicine, and support for the development of the Kenya Space Agency (KSA).
The Italian Space Agency (ASI) and the Kenya Space Agency play a central role in implementing the agreement and managing the Broglio Space Centre.
The Centre provides support services for satellite operations, data acquisition, and remote sensing, alongside training and capacity-building programs. In recent years, Malindi has also become a hub for space-related training and initiatives aimed more broadly at African nations.