The Global Geodetic Observing System (GGOS) is the contribution of the International Association of Geodesy (IAG) to GEO (Group on Earth Observation) for the realization of a global Earth monitoring system. This endeavor relies on the will and capability of the various national Agencies to provide, maintain and develop the necessary infrastructure. Even before the official creation of ASI in 1988, Italy has started to provide the international scientific community with major contributions in this field. The inauguration of the “Giuseppe Colombo” Center for Space Geodesy at Matera dates back to 1983. The ASI Center at Matera has become one of the few fundamental stations of the global space geodesy network; it is, in fact, equipped with the most relevant technology namely Satellite and Lunar Laser Ranging (SLR/LLR), Very Long Baseline Interferometry (VLBI) and Global Positioning System (GPS). More recently also an absolute gravimeter has been acquired. Global geodetic parameters estimated from SLR observations (station coordinates, Earth rotation, geocenter motion) are provided weekly to the IAG Services. In a joint mission with NASA, ASI has built and launched in October 1992 the LAser GEOdynamics Satellite II (LAGEOS-II) which, together with its predecessor LAGEOS-I supplies key observations for the realization of the global reference frame and for geodetic and geodynamics investigations. The LARES mission (LAser RElativity Satellite) is, at present, being considered by ASI; the principal goal of the mission is to measure the general relativistic Lense-Thirring node precession, however, other important contributions to fundamental physics are foreseen. ASI has just successfully launched the first of the four radar, X-band satellites of the COSMO Sky-Med constellation. This system will allow monitoring of the whole Earth with the aim of mitigating environmental hazards. The constellation will be completed within 2009.