Istalia

[XanderOne]

Successful launch for DISP-SAT 3 mission

Istalia launches the Sira 1 D-DSCS satellite into orbit fully marking the relaunch of its space ambitions

Launch of the Sira 1 D-DSCS on board of the Caelum launcher departing from the new AISA launch base at Punta Siliciana

May 5641

PORTO SAN TEODORO (NE) — With a perfect launch at the crack of dawn, Istalia has marked a new milestone in its reborn space adventure. The DISP-SAT 3 mission, conducted jointly by AISA (Istalian Space and Aeronautics Administration) and the Space Operations Joint Command, has launched the Sira 1 D-DSCS satellite into orbit, the new high-throughput secure communications satellite of the Istalian Defense destined for geostationary orbit.

The launch, which took place from the new AISA's "Valerio Auriemma" space launch base at Punta Siliciana, in the far north of Alaria, a former Air Force base already used in the past for Defense space activities, also marked the debut of "Caelum" launch vehicle, a medium launcher developed by AUDISS, the well-known Istalian industrial-technological megaconglomerate, controlled by IMERIN (Imperial Authority for National Reconstruction), developed in a relatively short time because it was based on technologies and skills developed during the glories of the Istalian space program of the First and Third Empires and therefore thanks to the know-how handed down from those glorious times.

Sira 1 D-DSCS will reach in the next days geostationary orbit to perform dual-use functions: it will guarantee high-capacity encrypted communications for the armed forces, but will also be able to support civilian networks in emergency situations or serious disasters. The satellite is part of a broader strategic plan, which has already seen the launches of the OPTREC-2000, a Terran observation and reconnaissance satellite equipped with a high-resolution optical imaging system capable of delivering panchromatic images with a resolution of 0.5 m while operating multispectral channel at the same time, and the first two modules of the COSISAR Integrated System, a network of Intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance surface observation compact satellites with a synthetic-aperture radar sensors aimed at global coverage of the planet, funded by the Ministry of Defense and DIRSAD (Directorate for Advanced Defense Research and Development), and also managed by the Space Operations Joint Command.

The relaunch of the Istalian space program, although already started several years ago, and despite the aforementioned robust know-how, has so far seen only three launches due to the challenges posed by Istalian latitudes, which involve greater costs and technical complexity, which has also delayed the development of the new family of AUDISS launchers. However, AISA, in collaboration with DIRSAD, the Defense and the Government, is already evaluating two possible solutions to overcome the problem: the conversion of the last still existing Aquila-class LHD, which has remained in the harbor for a very long time, being old already at the time of the Seventh Republic, into a mobile ocean launch platform, and the possible opening of an equatorial base abroad, in collaboration with a partner nation with which a long-term strategic agreement will be established.

To underline the importance of the mission, the Emperor himself was also present at the Launch Control Center in Porto San Teodoro, who after the launch visited the construction site of the nascent "Paolo Tarso" Space Center, the future operational heart of Istalian space missions, including those with human crews, a declared objective of AISA for the next decades.

In the short term, in the context of civil research missions, the space agency is preparing to launch a satellite for solar observation, the first step in a new series of scientific missions. The satellite will be carried into orbit by the new "Super Caelum", an enhanced version with additional boosters, whose first test lauch last year was also a success.

But AUDISS has also announced the launch of another launch system, the Zefiro light commercial launcher, operational around the end of the year to carry civil and scientific payloads into orbit. The company is in negotiations to participate in the LHD conversion project by proposing to AISA and institutional partners to also use it for private launches, with interesting economic returns for the national space agency.

But AUDISS is not the only non-institutional company that is investing in the space economy, and in any case it remains a company controlled by IMERIN and through it by the state: the new "VerTech-SIDERALE" has expressed interest in entering the market, aiming to come back to be one of the world leaders in this field. Born from the acquisition by VerTech of the assets of the defunct SIDERALE, worldwide leading space company in the past (and that for some time it even monopolized the space commercial global market), the company is the historic well known Istalian firm engaged in research and development of cutting-edge technology owned by the Verratti Group, restablished with the return of its assets to the Verratti family with the end of the communist regime. The definitive name of the new company will be announced in the coming months, but the ambition is clear: to prevent the establishment of an AUDISS monopoly in the domestic market and to contribute to the relaunch of the national and international space economy.

With the DISP-SAT 3 mission and the previous ones, Istalia shows not only that it is back in space, but that it has a concrete, integrated and ambitious vision for the future.

Upon exiting the Launch Control Center, the Emperor met the press who, despite the numerous questions on the space program, also insistently questioned him on another issue, which has nothing to do with space but with decidedly more "earthly" events and which are filling the front pages of newspapers around the world, namely the Migrant Pass crisis, which recently saw Selucia backtrack by lifting the tariffs on maritime trade in the area, to which the Emperor responded as follows:

Fully supporting the Government, I am convinced that there remains a need for an international discussion on the issue: the Migrant Pass is too important a hub for international trade to leave its management in the hands of the 3rd Point Federation, which to date does not seem to be able to adequately coordinate the action of its members and which, above all, cannot continue to have a unilateral role in the "management" of that stretch of sea. Istalia is convinced that international rules must be fully applied again in the area: the ability and freedom to trade of the rest of the world's nations must be guaranteed in light of the vital importance of international trade.

(OOC: Sources:
SICRAL 1B - Wikipedia
OPTSAT-3000 - Wikipedia
COSMO-SkyMed - Wikipedia
Naval Air: Italian Carriers Upgraded)