Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIDU) announced that its next LizzieSat® satellite has completed vibration testing, a qualification milestone required ahead of its planned launch on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission, currently scheduled for no earlier than October 2026 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.

The testing was conducted at Element U.S. Space & Defense's facility in Orlando, Florida. Vibration testing simulates the mechanical loads a spacecraft experiences during launch and ascent, and is intended to confirm that the satellite's structure, components, and payloads can withstand liftoff conditions and remain operational in orbit.

The satellite will next proceed to final integration and testing before delivery to the launch provider. Sidus designs, manufactures, and tests its LizzieSat spacecraft at its Cape Canaveral, Florida facility.

This mission marks the first flight of Sidus's Fortis™ Maxima Command and Data Handling (C&DH) system. The system features a quad-core ARM processor, a reconfigurable FPGA, an integrated NVIDIA edge AI/ML engine, and an assured positioning, navigation, and timing suite. Operating in orbit is expected to advance Fortis Maxima to Technology Readiness Level 9 (TRL-9), indicating a system proven through successful mission operations.

"Successfully completing vibration testing keeps us on schedule for our targeted launch on SpaceX's upcoming Transporter-18 mission," said Carol Craig, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairwoman of Sidus Space. "This is the first to carry our own Fortis™ Maxima proprietary Command and Data Handling system, an important step toward demonstrating our own technology on-orbit for our defense and commercial customers."