Avio’s FD1 rocket demonstrator targets a 70-kilometre test flight

A temporary launch pad is rising inside Sardinia’s Salto di Quirra Interforce Test Range. Avio plans to use it for FD1, a 6.3-tonne single-stage rocket demonstrator whose flight is meant to test the hardware that could support launch vehicles beyond Vega E. The pad is built on concrete blocks resting on the ground, with no permanent groundworks planned.

The site will handle liquid methane and liquid oxygen, the propellants for Avio’s methalox engine — a methane-and-liquid-oxygen design — alongside liquid nitrogen, telemetry, remote control, power generation and fire suppression. Environmental documents filed on 17 March 2026 say construction was scheduled to begin in May, with commissioning expected to conclude in November. The entire temporary complex is due to be removed and the site restored after the activities.

The flight profile gives the test its technical purpose. The MR10 engine, in its flight-configured DMX2 version, is expected to propel FD1 to around 40 kilometres before shutdown. The vehicle would then coast to roughly 70 kilometres, reignite the engine at partial thrust for around 8.5 seconds during descent, and continue down unpowered before splashing into the sea approximately 400 seconds after liftoff, around 20 kilometres from the launch point. Avio expects the vehicle to be recovered.

The demonstration is designed to check six things: the MR10 engine’s functional behaviour, operations before ignition, propellant management, stage temperatures during ascent and low-gravity conditions, vehicle-control manoeuvres, and an attempted engine restart during descent. The Italian government is funding the work through a €181.6 million contract under its National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

So what changes in practice? FD1 gives Avio a flight test in which engine operation, tanks, avionics and guidance are exposed to the conditions a future launcher must survive, rather than being assessed only on the ground. But the schedule remains tight: Avio has given no launch date, and with site commissioning expected only in November, the company would have a narrow window to complete preparations and fly before the end of 2026. These are the company’s planned objectives and timelines; the flight has not yet taken place.