In a bold step toward the future of reusable space technology, German startup Atmos Space Cargo is calling its first test flight a success—even though its Phoenix reentry vehicle was never recovered and the most crucial data is still being parsed.
Launched aboard SpaceX’s Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission on April 21, the Phoenix vehicle detached from the rocket’s upper stage about 90 minutes after liftoff. Roughly 30 minutes later, it began reentry, ultimately splashing down in the South Atlantic Ocean—2,000 kilometers off Brazil’s coast.
This mission marked the debut of Phoenix, a small uncrewed spacecraft designed to test reentry systems, particularly its inflatable heat shield. According to CEO Sebastian Klaus, the mission had three major objectives:
- Gather in-flight data from the spacecraft itself
- Return data from onboard commercial and research payloads
- Collect data on the heat shield’s performance during atmospheric reentry
And how did it go?
“What is confirmed is that we got a lot of flight data,” Klaus said during a press briefing on April 22. All four onboard payloads, including one from the German Aerospace Center (DLR), powered on and transmitted usable data—a clear win for the team.
But not everything went according to plan.
Originally, the Phoenix was supposed to reenter over the Indian Ocean, near Réunion Island. Atmos had spent six months preparing for that specific recovery operation—deploying ships, aircraft, and data collection infrastructure. Then, five weeks before launch, SpaceX changed the trajectory due to constraints from its main customer: a South Korean reconnaissance satellite.
That last-minute adjustment forced Phoenix to reenter over the South Atlantic, far beyond recovery range and under a much steeper descent path than planned. That meant the vehicle experienced higher stress loads, and Atmos lost the chance to retrieve the spacecraft after splashdown. Their chartered aircraft, intended to capture reentry data, couldn’t reach the area either due to distance and weather.
Despite the loss of visual confirmation during reentry, Klaus says there are signs the inflatable heat shield deployed correctly, though deeper analysis is ongoing.
“It’s very difficult to get data from Phoenix in the final stages of flight,” Klaus admitted, noting the lack of nearby ground stations and the sheer distance involved.
Still, the data collected is proving immensely valuable. It’s informing development for Phoenix’s next iteration, set to launch in 2026.
“Would we have liked more data from the critical last phase? Absolutely,” Klaus said. “But there’s a lot we learned from everything else. Operationally, this was a huge step forward.”
Bottom line? Phoenix flew, returned data, and survived reentry—at least in part. And for a startup testing brand-new tech in the most extreme environment imaginable, that’s a major achievement.
“All in all, I would say, it’s a very successful mission.”
