We are thrilled to celebrate a historic milestone achieved by our portfolio company, ATMOS Space Cargo. On April 21, 2025, ATMOS successfully launched its PHOENIX 1 re-entry capsule aboard SpaceX’s Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission, marking the first-ever re-entry from space by a private European company.
The PHOENIX 1 mission aimed to:
Originally, the capsule was set to re-enter over the Indian Ocean near La Réunion. However, due to a trajectory change necessitated by the primary payload’s requirements, the re-entry path was adjusted to a steeper angle, culminating in a splashdown approximately 2,000 km off the coast of Brazil in the South Atlantic Ocean. This unexpected shift presented challenges, including the inability to recover the capsule and limited data collection during re-entry. Despite these hurdles, ATMOS’s team demonstrated remarkable agility. They swiftly established new ground stations across South America to maintain communication with PHOENIX 1. While cloud cover and distance limited visual confirmation, preliminary data indicates that the inflatable heat shield deployed as intended.
Sebastian Klaus, CEO of ATMOS Space Cargo said “What is confirmed is that we got a lot of flight data,”. The four payloads on board, from commercial customers and the German aerospace agency DLR, all turned on and returned data. “We can call that a full success.”
Further analysis is ongoing to gather insights for the development of PHOENIX 2, slated for launch in 2026.
We also extend our congratulations to Frontier Space, a Seraphim Accelerator alumnus, for their collaboration on this mission. Their Spacelab Mark 1 “lab-in-a-box” was among the payloads aboard PHOENIX 1, successfully operating in LEO and returning valuable data. This partnership exemplifies the collaborative spirit across the Seraphim portfolio driving innovation in the space industry.
ATMOS Space Cargo’s achievement not only sets a precedent for private European space endeavors but also underscores the importance of adaptability and collaboration in advancing space technology.
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