Portal:Space exploration/Biography/Week 37 2007
Gaetano Arturo Crocco (1877-1968) was the founder of the Italian Rocket Society, and went on to become Italy's leading space scientist.
In 1927, Crocco begun working with solid-propellant rockets and, in 1929, designed and built the first liquid-propellant rocket motors in Italy. He began work with monopropellants (fuel and oxidizer combined in one chemical liquid) in 1932, making him one of the first researchers in this field.
As head of the School of Aeronautics of the University of Rome, he performed research on flight mechanics, structural design, and high altitude flight in addition to his work in rocket propulsion.
Because of his early efforts in aeronautics, Italy orbited its own satellites starting in the 1960s.