Imagine planning a space mission for months, only to have it all fall apart when someone decides the shuttle's trajectory needs to change. That's exactly what happened to Atmos Space Cargo, which saw its Phoenix spacecraft launch in the midst of a whirlwind of sudden changes. The mission was supposed to be perfect, but as often happens in the space industry, plans seem to have been the only thing that doesn't defy gravity.
A mission that was anything but boring
Atmos Space Cargo is a young German startup that, among its many futuristic projects, has given life to its most daring creation: Phoenix, a donut-shaped spacecraft. Of course, it doesn't do it justice when you call it that: it might make you think of some sort of bizarre experiment, but that's not the case. Behind that unusual shape hides an enormous ambition: to test new technologies for atmospheric reentry. On April 21, the vehicle was launched aboard the Bandwagon-3 mission of SpaceX, with the aim of collecting valuable data to improve future space missions. But, as often happens in the space sector (right, Boeing?) things never go as expected.
SpaceX's U-turn That Shifted Everything
Less than a month after launch, SpaceX decided to change the trajectory of the Bandwagon-3 mission. Why? Simple: operational problems related to the main payload, a South Korean reconnaissance satellite. Translated, this means that the Phoenix mission has seen its destination and path completely changed, forcing the vehicle to undertake a much more complex reentry than initially planned. And as if that were not enough, the reentry point has been moved from the Indian Ocean, where Atmos had organized all the logistics to recover the vehicle, to the Atlantic Ocean, a good 2.000 kilometers further west. A big problem for those who already had everything ready: recovery ships, planes to collect data, and even ground stations in South America. But fate, as we know, has its plans.
Despite everything, Atmos Space Cargo speaks of success. Is he right?
The return of the Phoenix vehicle was a logistical nightmare: the final position of the vehicle was so far away that any recovery attempt was canceled. But Atmos Space Cargo, with brazen determination, decided that this mission would still be a success. This was stated in a press conference on April 22 by the company's CEO, Sebastian Claus, that stressed how, despite the difficulties, the test achieved its main objectives. “We collected a lot of data during the flight,” he said. This, according to him, was the heart of the mission's success. And who am I to disagree? After all, the four scientific devices aboard the Phoenix worked as expected, returning vital information for future development.
Representation of the orbital and reentry trajectory of PHOENIX 1 up to splashdown.
The vehicle, after separating from the top of SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket, entered reentry, about 90 minutes after launch. And yes, the data collected during this time was crucial, especially regarding the inflatable heat shield system, one of Phoenix’s key innovations. Sure, the vehicle encountered higher loads during reentry due to the steeper trajectory, but Atmos was still able to confirm that the thermal protection system worked, although retrieving images and data in the final phase was, as Klaus himself admits, “very difficult.” The distance, in fact, made it impossible to collect information in real time, and cloudy air prevented visual recording of the reentry.
What really went wrong and what didn't
It seems clear to me, jokes aside, that the Phoenix mission was, as sometimes happens, a mix of failures and successes. The inability to recover the vehicle is a hard blow for any company, but the fact that the scientific devices returned significant data is something that goes far beyond initial expectations. It is not an epic mission, but it certainly provided more answers than questions. What the engineers of the German company learned from the data collected will undoubtedly help to refine the design and operational strategy of the next Phoenix, planned for the 2026.
Atmos Space Cargo, the future that makes space (literally)
Maybe next time, when the “space donut” decides to return to Earth, it will be able to collect more data, recover the vehicle and, finally, crown the success that this German startup is trying to achieve, amidst difficulties, unexpected events and a bit of space irony.
So if you're wondering whether this mission was a success... well, yes, but perhaps it's more interesting to ask what will happen next time. Because, as space teaches us, every mistake is just a step towards the great discovery.
