Leonardo’s technical roadmap emphasizes Italian-built assets, including a smart digital factory in Italy capable of producing two satellites per day.

Leonardo is targeting a Critical Design Review by June for its new proprietary constellation.

Leonardo’s proprietary constellation is designed as a bespoke intelligence machine dedicated to maritime or defense intelligence rather than mass-market bandwidth.

Leonardo is deploying the davinci-2 supercomputer upgrade to increase both computing power and storage capability in orbit.

Dr. Marco Brancati delivered the Keynote By Leonardo at the SmallSat Symposium in Mountain View.

A massive merger codenamed Project Bromo involves Leonardo, Thales, and Airbus.

Leonardo is moving high-performance computing directly into orbit as part of its Military Space Cloud Architecture (MILSCA) strategy.

Leonardo is investing nearly half a billion euros to deploy a proprietary constellation of about 20 satellites.

Leonardo is securing its supply chain against geopolitical shocks by manufacturing and operating its own satellite assets.

China intends to use reusable heavy-lift vehicles to lower launch costs while maintaining state control over its lunar infrastructure.

The Feb. 10 test simultaneously validated a high-altitude launch abort system for the Mengzhou crew capsule and a controlled, propulsive landing of the Long March 10 first stage.

The Long March 10 features a reusable first-stage architecture similar to SpaceX’s Falcon 9 but optimized for the higher thrust requirements of a lunar trajectory.

The test booster for the Long March 10 was recovered using grid fins and a propulsive burn.

CMSA plans the first full-duration static fire test of the Long March 10 triple-core configuration later in 2026.

The China Manned Space Agency aims to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030.

The Feb. 10 test is the first public demonstration by China of a full-scale integration of lunar-class hardware in a high-dynamic flight environment.

The China Manned Space Agency completed an integrated flight test of the Mengzhou crew capsule and the Long March 10 reusable rocket on Feb. 10, 2026.

The successful recovery of the Long March 10 booster demonstrates China’s possession of vertical takeoff, vertical landing (VTVL) capabilities for heavy-lift vehicles.

A debut orbital flight of the full-scale Long March 10 is projected for 2027.

The International Lunar Research Station is a joint project involving China, Russia, and other partners.

The Long March 10 is a clean-sheet heavy-lift rocket design tailored specifically for deep-space exploration and lunar missions.

Satish Dhawan Space Centre primarily houses two launchpads called the First Launch Pad (FLP) and the Second Launch Pad (SLP).

The PSLV can lift about three times more mass to space at once than Skyroot’s planned Vikram-II upgrade.

The payloads lost in the January 12 PSLV failure included a national hyperspectral satellite, seven private Indian satellites, five Brazilian satellites, one UK satellite, one Nepalese satellite, and one European satellite named KID.

The First Launch Pad cannot support GSLV Mk II or LVM3 launches because the cryogenic upper stages of those vehicles require increased preparatory infrastructure that predates the FLP.

The First Launch Pad was built in the early 1990s for ISRO to launch the PSLV and also supports launches of the smaller SSLV rocket.

The European satellite KID briefly survived the PSLV failure and transmitted some information after experiencing loads up to 30 g.

ISRO plans a dedicated SSLV launchpad optimized for polar orbits, with the first orbital launch from that pad expected in 2028 after slipping from an earlier 2025 target.

The January 12 failure was the PSLV’s second consecutive failure following an earlier PSLV failure in May 2025.

SSLV and Vikram-class rockets are planned to use the First Launch Pad for launches.

The PSLV and LVM3 both use the liquid Vikas engine, creating a technological link in propulsion between the two vehicles.

The Second Launch Pad was built in 2005 primarily to launch the heavier GSLV Mk II and LVM3 rockets and can host PSLV launches less frequently.

ISRO is pursuing a technology transfer contract with Hindustan Aeronautics Limited to productionize the SSLV.

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.