the company continued to be involved in the development of several Italian space-related programmes, such as Italsat. During 1983, under the auspices of CNR and subsequently, the Italian Space Agency (ASI), Telespazio established and managed the Matera Space Center for Geodesy Operations. In 1987, it inaugurated its third space center handling satellites communications, based in Scanzano, Palermo. On 30 May 1991, Telespazio launched the ARGO project, the first closed network equipped with small fixed antennas for emergency communications, intended for Italian civil protection. During 1994, Telespazio Argentina, based in Buenos Aires, is established. On 30 April 1996, the BeppoSAX scientific satellite, operated by the firm, was launched. In the following year, it founded its second subsidiary, Telespazio Brasil, based in Rio de Janeiro. During 1998, Telespazio partnered with Romanian firm Radiocom to establish the Rartel Company, thus developing a presence in this country as well. That same year, the firm finalised an agreement with European satellite operator Eutelsat to take control and commercialise of the EMS payload carried on the Italsat F2 communications satellite. On 7 February 2001, Italy’s first military communications satellite system, the Telespazio-managed SICRAL 1, was launched. During December 2002, the firm became a part of the Italian aerospace conglomerate Finmeccanica; the acquisition had involved a lengthy period of negotiation with Telespazio's former parent company, Telecom Italia. On 25 July 2003, Telespazio acquired the German Earth observation satellite services specialist GAF AG. The company became a Franco-Italian joint venture on 1 July 2005, through a merger between Telespazio and the space services division of Alcatel. Creation of the joint venture was concurrent with the creation of Alcatel Alenia Space (now Thales Alenia Space), formed by the merger of two other Alcatel and Finmeccanica (since 2016 rebranded Leonardo-Finmeccanica) space businesses (Alcatel Space and Alenia Spazio respectively). During 2007, the European Commission (EC) approved the transfer to Thales of Alcatel's interests in joint ventures Alcatel Alenia Space (Thales: 67%; Finmeccanica: 33%) and Telespazio (Finmeccanica: 67%; Thales: 33%); this restructuring resulted in the creation of a new space-orientated alliance between Thales and Finmeccanica. Prior to approving the change, the EC had performed an in-depth investigation due to concerns that the transfer may have had a detrimental effect on downstream satellite and subsystem competition. In January 2011, Telespazio acquired the space activities of two Finmeccanica subsidiares, the Italy-based Elsag Datamat Space and the UK-based VEGA (the latter was subsequently renamed Telespazio