San Marco 1 was an Italian flight test of the satellite to furnish data on air density and ionosphere characteristics. The Scout-X4 launch vehicle was provided by NASA and was launched with an Italian launch crew from Wallops Island.

The Scout family of rockets were were American launch vehicles designed to place small satellites into orbit around the Earth. The Scout multistage rocket was the first orbital launch vehicle to be entirely composed of solid fuel stages.

The Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche (CNR) or National Research Council, is the largest research council in Italy. As a public organisation, its remit is to support scientific and technological research. Its headquarters are in Rome.