Skyroot’s Vikram-I rocket has a lift capacity roughly six to seven times lower than the PSLV for equivalent orbits.

ISRO released a cause-of-anomaly and recommendations report following the SSLV inaugural-flight failure in 2022 that involved a failure analysis committee.

ISRO has not released a failure analysis report detailing key findings and corrective measures for the May 2025 PSLV failure as of the present account.

The third launch pad will be capable of supporting launches of the GSLV Mk II even though ISRO plans to phase out the GSLV Mk II in favor of the LVM3.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre in Sriharikota is India’s only active orbital spaceport and is located at approximately 13.7°N latitude.

India’s government approved a third launch pad (TLP) at Sriharikota for $460 million to support ISRO’s upcoming heavy-lift NGLV rocket starting next decade.

Agnikul’s planned launch vehicles have even smaller lift capacity than Skyroot’s Vikram-I.

Vikram-I was designed by many former ISRO engineers who were associated with the PSLV or SSLV and may be using many common contractors.

The SSLV’s second-stage motor is derived from the PSLV’s third-stage motor.

Sixteen spacecraft were lost to air and sea in the January 12 PSLV failure.

The LVM3 has completed eight orbital flights with no failures to date.

The third launch pad will serve as a secondary pad for robotic LVM3 launches and as a standby for human spaceflight contingencies.

The January 12 PSLV launch failed due to anomalous performance of the rocket’s third stage that resulted in visible tumbling on mission control telemetry and the livestream.

The January 12 flight was the 64th flight of the PSLV launch vehicle.

The PSLV and the GSLV Mk II share the S139 solid rocket booster as their core stage.

Airbus Defence and Space built the original Aeolus mission and is considered a likely prime contractor for Aeolus-2 based on that prior work.

The Aeolus-2 prime contractor has been selected, the clarification phase has concluded, and work is planned to start in the first quarter of 2026.

During the 28 January meeting the ESA approved an Authorization to Proceed of €70 million to allow the selected prime contractor to begin Phase B2 (advanced preliminary design and system definition) for Aeolus-2.

The Aeolus-2 mission is being developed under Eumetsat’s European Polar System program in partnership with the ESA to provide high-resolution wind measurements for weather forecasting.

A Doppler lidar uses the Doppler effect on scattered laser light to measure the velocity and direction of moving particles or the relative velocity of objects.

The ESA is preparing to close an initial award of €70 million to begin the next development phase of Aeolus-2.

The name Aeolus-2 derives from Aeolus, the Greek god of the wind.

Project Bromo is a planned merger combining the space businesses of Airbus, Thales, and Leonardo.

Aeolus-2 is the planned operational successor to the original Aeolus mission.

The two Aeolus-2 satellites are expected to provide more than ten years of continuous operations together.

Each Aeolus-2 satellite platform will be designed for a life of between 5.5 and 7 years.

Aeolus’s Doppler lidar was the first spaceborne instrument capable of measuring global wind profiles from the lower atmosphere up to about 40 kilometers in altitude.

The ESA Industrial Policy Committee met in Paris on 28 January and approved the next development phase for Aeolus-2.

The European Space Agency (ESA) approved the selection of the prime contractor for the Aeolus-2 meteorological satellite.

The original Aeolus mission was built by Airbus Defence and Space and was deorbited in early 2023.

The first Aeolus-2 satellite, with a mass of 2.5 tonnes, is scheduled for launch in 2034.

Eumetsat plans Aeolus-2 to consist of two satellites launched sequentially, each carrying a Doppler lidar.

The ESA could require assurances that Aeolus-2 development will not be hindered by reorganization following the planned merger of aerospace businesses.

Planned CTA++ developments include research on silicon sensors with potential technology transfer to biomedical sectors and advanced environmental and atmospheric monitoring.

ASTRASud aims to upgrade INAF radiotelescopes and telescopes located in southern Italy to support space surveillance and multimessenger astronomy research.

CTAO is the largest and most powerful gamma-ray observatory in the world currently under construction.

ASTRASud plans to upgrade receivers at the Sardinia Radio Telescope in Sardinia and the Noto radiotelescope in Sicily for high- and low-frequency observations.

The STILEMI program is funded with €18,729,994.22 and is entirely financed by INAF.

INAF is funding three projects under the program: CTA++, STILEMI, and ASTRASud.

The Italian Ministry of University and Research assigned €55.22 million to the Istituto Nazionale di Astrofisica (INAF) under the Programma Nazionale Ricerca, Innovazione e Competitività 2021–2027.

ASTRASud plans to develop new optical telescopes for space weather and solar studies and to design, build, and test wide-field sky-observation telescopes.

Planned CTA++ developments include techniques for studying and monitoring active volcanoes and methodologies complementary to traditional space surveillance.

CTA++ aims to expand applications of particle astrophysics using experience from the Cherenkov Telescope Array Observatory (CTAO).

ASTRASud plans to develop powerful computing systems and data-processing algorithms for acquired observational data.

The total allocation to research bodies and Italian universities under the same program exceeded €274 million.

STILEMI plans to build a Lunar Environment Simulation Chamber to replicate and control hostile lunar conditions and test degradation of space instruments.

STILEMI aims to create a technological excellence ecosystem to support INAF’s scientific mission and drive innovation for the aerospace and micro/nano-technology sectors.

The ASTRASud proposal is funded with €17,512,992.78 and is entirely financed by INAF.

INAF received nearly €5 million in an additional performance-based fund on top of the €55.22 million allocation.

STILEMI plans to build a high-energy ion accelerator for materials science in extreme environments and a facility for characterization and fabrication of integrated materials and devices at the nanometer scale.