Istalia

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AISA announces the conversion of the LHD Aquila into a Mobile Space Launch Platform

The project was born from strategic and geopolitical assessments: the lack of reliable international partners in the optimal area makes the mobile solution the most effective for the Istalian space program.

AISA leadership and spokepersons from the Finance and Space and Science Committee of the National Congress present the conversion plans to the press

January 5645

ROMULA – The Istalian Authority for Space and Aeronautics (AISA) has officially launched the project to convert the amphibious assault ship LHD Aquila into a Mobile Space Launch Platform, keeping the same name to honor the history and prestige of the vessel.

The decision, announced in a joint conference by the AISA leadership and spokespersons of the Finance, and of the Science and Space Committees of the National Congress, came at the end of a long cost-benefit analysis commissioned by the government. This study examined the logistical and strategic needs of the AISA, the international geopolitical context and the prospects of foreign cooperation for the installation of a land launch base on foreign territory.

It should be noted, however, that the future mobile platform, while representing a significant step forward for Istalia's space autonomy, will only be operational for a certain category of launchers, namely missiles and carriers whose size and payload capacity do not exceed certain technical limits, imposed by the original structure of the LHD Aquila and by the operating conditions at sea. For missions beyond Earth's orbit or of an interplanetary nature, which require much larger and more powerful carriers, it will inevitably be necessary in the future to have a stable base on land or a new maritime platform, much more imposing and specifically designed for such needs. Nonetheless, for the current needs of AISA and the Ministry of Defense, and for the immediate future, the conversion of Aquila remains the most valid, economically sustainable and strategically autonomous solution.

The picture that emerged from the analysis is clear: the creation of a fixed base abroad, in an equatorial area of the Southern Ocean, the ideal geographical area to maximize the efficiency of orbital launches, as well as for the transport of equipements and technical materials, clashes with serious diplomatic and logistical difficulties.

In Majatra, the nations close to the equator, Amudim (formerly Beiteynu), Pontesi and Selucia, maintain suspicious, if not hostile, or null relations with Istalia, excluding any cooperation in the space sector. Other potential candidates, such as Cildania and Barmenistan, are currently isolated on the international level. Even Badara, despite the recent promising diplomatic rapprochement, is not yet able to guarantee the conditions of security and technological cooperation necessary for such a delicate infrastructure.

The same goes for Vanuku, where contacts are still too embryonic. On the eastern front of the Southern Ocean, the situation is not improving: Aldegar and Saridan are in the same condition of isolation as Cildania, while Tukarali is busy with post-revolutionary stabilization and will hardly be able to dedicate itself to complex strategic cooperation. The hypotheses Mordusia, Baltusia and Valruzia, all nations with which Istalia has initiated or planned contacts, are also at too early a stage to support a project of this magnitude.

In light of these considerations, the Ministry of Defense and AISA have decided to proceed with an option that is both pragmatic and ambitious: the said transformation of the LHD Aquila into a maritime launch platform, capable of moving towards the ideal ocean areas for orbital access, without having to submit to the political and territorial constraints of a fixed base abroad.
The choice has significant advantages: reduced transportation costs compared to a distant land base, full logistical and strategic control by the Istalian authorities, and the possibility of carrying out launches safely in international waters, far from trade routes and densely populated areas.

The project, already informally renamed “Aquila Spaziale”, represents an important turning point for the national space program, which in recent years has experienced a phase of renewed impetus and ambition. The mobile platform will allow Istalia to continue to develop its aerospace capabilities autonomously, while waiting for international conditions to eventually also allow the creation of a shared or partnership land base.

The conversion work on L’Aquila will begin by the end of the year, with the aim of carrying out the first test launch within 24 months. A goal that, if met, would mark a historic moment for Istalia and for AISA, confirming furthermore the country among the elite of nations capable of autonomously managing mobile space infrastructures.

In the meantime, the government will continue to carefully cultivate diplomatic dialogues with emerging partners, Badara, Valruzia, Mordusia, so that in the future, alongside the Aquila, a strategic terrestrial presence for space exploration may also arise.