Terran Orbital promotes Margherita Cardi to lead European

Terran Orbital has promoted Margherita Cardi to Vice President of European Operations and Head of Strategic Programs. The announcement was made on September 17, 2026, according to the company.

Cardi will serve as the senior operational leader for Terran Orbital's European organization. She will oversee all local functions and departments in Italy. Cardi reports directly to Peter Krauss, President and CEO of Terran Orbital and Managing Director of Tyvak International.

Krauss expressed confidence in Cardi's leadership. "Margherita has been an important part of Tyvak International almost from the beginning," he said. "She understands our customers, our programs and, most importantly, our people."

Career at Tyvak International

Cardi joined Tyvak International in 2016 as the company's third employee. She has held roles in systems engineering, program management, business development, and executive leadership. Her most recent position was Vice President of Programs and Business Development.

Throughout her tenure, Cardi has managed programs for major European institutional customers. She has helped secure contracts with the European Space Agency (ESA) and the Italian Space Agency (ASI).

Key Program Leadership

One of the significant programs Cardi has led is the Milani CubeSat. This spacecraft was developed for ESA's Hera planetary defense mission. As Milani Program Manager, Cardi led the satellite's development and delivery.

The Hera mission is a pioneering deep-space endeavor to study the Didymos binary asteroid system. Hera is scheduled to arrive at Didymos in late 2026. The Milani CubeSat is expected to be released in early 2027 to support the mission's detailed investigation.

Cardi reflected on her experience with the growing company. Being part of Tyvak International since its early days and seeing what this team has built over the past 10 years has been an incredible experience, she said. We have grown from a small team with an ambitious vision into an organization trusted to execute highly complex missions.

Background and New Responsibilities

Before joining Tyvak International, Cardi worked at Vitrociset S.p.A. There, she held program management and systems engineering roles supporting the Vega launch program. Her work included involvement in launch campaigns at Europe's Spaceport in French Guiana. She holds advanced degrees in Space Engineering and Space Systems and Services from Sapienza University of Rome.

In her new role, Cardi will oversee Tyvak International's operations in Italy. She will help drive the execution of European programs. A key focus will be strengthening relationships with institutional, government, and commercial customers. Peter Krauss will remain the Managing Director and legal corporate representative of Tyvak International.

Terran Orbital, a Lockheed Martin company, specializes in satellite solutions for the aerospace and defense industries. Through its subsidiary Tyvak International, it maintains a strong presence in the European space market from its base in Torino, Italy.