Consolidated mission marks first Sidus launch from Florida's Space Coast and follows expanded Fortis qualification testing
CAPE CANAVERAL, Fla., Sept. 28, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIDU) ("Sidus" or the "Company"), a vertically integrated space and defense technology company, today announced that LizzieSat-4 and LizzieSat-5 are currently aligned with launch on the SpaceX Bandwagon-6 rideshare mission, targeted for no earlier than April 2027. Launch timing will depend on the outcome of qualification testing, spacecraft integration, and launch vehicle and rideshare mission readiness.
LizzieSat-5 was previously manifested on SpaceX's Transporter-18 rideshare mission, targeted for launch no earlier than October 2026. Sidus elected to move the vehicle to Bandwagon-6 in order to expand qualification testing of the Company's Fortis VPX - Maxima platform, verifying performance against capability requirements the Company anticipates for future missions. "Expanding the Fortis qualification campaign lets us characterize the platform against a larger set of mission requirements in a single test window rather than repeating the effort vehicle by vehicle," said Patrick Butler, Chief Operating Officer of Sidus Space. "It also lets us characterize Fortis against environments and interfaces beyond a single spacecraft configuration, which is exactly what an open-architecture VPX approach enables."
Bandwagon-6 will launch from Florida's Space Coast, marking the first Sidus mission to launch from the same coast where its satellites are built. Both vehicles will move directly from the Company's Cape Canaveral manufacturing, assembly, integration and testing facility to the launch site. The mission will place LizzieSat-4 and LizzieSat-5 into a mid-inclination orbit, providing more frequent revisit over mid-latitude regions than the sun-synchronous profile previously planned for LizzieSat-5.
Fortis-based opportunities in the Company's pipeline extend across defense and commercial mission applications. In July 2026, Sidus entered into a teaming agreement with a commercial space contractor, under which Sidus would contribute Fortis as the proposed mission processor in support of a proposal for an advanced orbital mission designed to deliver resilient, high-performance capabilities in support of national security objectives. Pursuits of this kind require Fortis to be assessed against system-level, mission, and payload processing requirements, spacecraft bus architecture, power and thermal budgets, form factor constraints, and data handling architecture.
LizzieSat-4 is currently in production and will proceed to environmental testing, carrying hosted payloads from Solar MEMS, Lonestar and Maris-Tech. LizzieSat-5, carrying a hosted payload from The Netherlands Organization (TNO), has completed environmental testing, including vibration testing conducted at Element U.S. Space & Defense in Orlando, Florida, and is awaiting final integration. Both spacecraft will also fly a Simera Sense HyperScape-100 imager and Satlabs Polaris AIS receiver as part of the Sidus payload suite.
"Our customers are asking for more capable processing at the edge, across land, sea, air, and space applications," said Carol Craig, Founder, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Sidus Space. "We made a deliberate choice to complete the additional testing on the ground rather than discover a gap on orbit. Proving that capability before we commit it to a mission is the right call for our customers and for the fleet."
About Sidus Space?
Sidus Space, Inc. (NASDAQ: SIDU) is a vertically integrated space and defense technology company delivering satellite manufacturing and technology integration across all orbits, including LEO, GEO and lunar; all domain digital mission computing solutions; mission planning and management operations; AI enabling products and services; and space and defense hardware manufacturing. With its mission of Space Access Reimagined®, Sidus Space is committed to rapid innovation, adaptable solutions, and the optimization of space systems and data collection performance. With demonstrated space heritage, including designing, manufacturing and operating its own satellite and sensor system, LizzieSat®, Sidus Space serves government, defense, intelligence, and commercial customers around the globe. Strategically headquartered on Florida's Space Coast, Sidus Space operates a 35,000-square-foot space manufacturing, assembly, integration, and testing facility with direct access to nearby launch facilities. For more information, visit: sidusspace.com
Forward-Looking Statements
Statements in this press release about future expectations, plans and prospects, as well as any other statements?regarding?matters that are not historical facts, may constitute 'forward-looking?statements'?within the meaning of The Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995.?These statements include, but are not limited to, statements relating to the expected trading commencement and closing dates.?The words 'anticipate,' 'believe,' 'continue,' 'could,' 'estimate,' 'expect,' 'intend,' 'may,' 'plan,' 'potential,' 'predict,' 'project,' 'should,' 'target,' 'will,' 'would' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, although not all forward-looking statements contain these identifying words. Actual results may differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements as a result of various important factors, including: the uncertainties related to market conditions and other factors described more fully in the section entitled 'Risk Factors' in Sidus Space's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2025, and other periodic reports filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Any forward-looking statements contained in this press release speak only as of the date hereof, and Sidus Space, Inc. specifically?disclaims?any obligation to update any forward-looking statement, whether?as a result of?new information, future events or otherwise.?
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