This is the story of Luca, a engineer nuclear power that today lworks at the European Space Agency near The Hague. Together with his team he manages the projects that test European satellites before launch and takes care of the launch campaigns themselves. The next will be that of Sentinel 2B, part of a constellation of satellites that monitor the Earth and provide various information and data. All freely accessible and consultable, by companies and individuals. We talk about it with Luca: how did an engineer come to Holland?
To learn another story of Italian excellence in space, read , promising.
An engineer in the Netherlands: it wasn't planned
How does your international adventure start?
I studied nuclear engineering in Turin, at the Polytechnic. But I knew that nuclear power in Italy had now been banned, so I chose a different topic for the lyrics, satellites. This opened the doors to me in Alenia, where I started in 2000. Six years ago however, I had the opportunity to join the European Space Agency. I never thought I'd leave Italy. The professional aspect motivated me. And today I would never leave here again.
Where did you settle?
I live in The Hague (editor's note, The Hague in Italian) with my family. The ESA center is located in Noordwijk. My team follows all the satellite tests. The more tests we do in the lab, the more we minimize the risk of something going wrong in orbit. Now we are about to launch a satellite that will monitor the earth's surface for agricultural purposes (such as mapping soil fertility), it will analyze the health of forests by collecting data on chlorophyll levels and will also study marine currents. By statute, ESA has no military purposes. The launch will be in Kourou, French Guiana. There are other bases, but this is the most used. And I I'm also going to follow the launches on site.
An engineer in the Netherlands: an international family
You didn't move alone ...
No, I'm here with my wife, Tania, who is of Russian origin, and two kids. On the contrary, I have to say that they know Dutch better than I do, that I know about 10 words… My wife is studying it, while the children are obviously learning it at school one and kindergarten the second. Fortunately, here at ESA we work in English and in general all Dutch people know English very well.
An engineer in the Netherlands: I would not go back
What are the advantages of living in the Netherlands?
Like any other country in the world it is not perfect. Here, for example, they are a lot individualists, friendships, social relationships, even the family matter little. They are very attentive to money and appearances. In short, I find they are very different from me and in general by those who come from a Mediterranean country.
I anyway I feel good. I have a job I like, international friends, a better balance between professional and family life. Indeed, one of the aspects that I appreciate most is the possibility of having time for myself, hours of life. For example, despite being in charge of an upcoming launch project, I had three weeks to stay at home with my family when one of the children was born.
Another good news are the results of last week's political elections.
The liberals won (editor's note, the center-right party of outgoing Prime Minister Mark Rutte), but they still lost seats (-5). The anti-EU and anti-immigrant party (editor's note, the one led by Geert Wilders) did not manage to win the majority, but still finished second and took 8 more seats than in previous elections. The Social Democrats have dissolved. In short, they will make a coalition government leaving the populists out. It's not a clear-cut victory, but the day after the vote I saw many more relaxed faces.
Have you ever thought of returning to Italy?
No, I would not go back. If for some reason I had to leave I would choose the Germany or the France, where the quality of life is better.
And then here, thanks to programs with Masterchef, a little more food culture is spreading and there are more and more Italian products.
All the more reason to stay then.
