The Exploration Company announced “partial success” on a test flight of its reentry capsule, Mission Possible, but lost the spacecraft before splashdown. The 1.6-ton capsule launched aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-14 mission on June 23rd from Vandenberg Space Force Base. After a successful launch and initial phases, including payload power-up and stabilization, the capsule successfully reentered and reestablished communications. However, communication was lost minutes before planned splashdown.
“But it encountered an issue afterwards, based on our current best knowledge, and we lost communication a few minutes before splash down,” the company stated. “We are still investigating the root causes and will share more information soon.” The company apologized to its clients whose payloads were on board.
Mission Possible was a significant step towards the company's Nyx spacecraft, designed for cargo and potentially crew transport to and from low Earth orbit, and even lunar missions. It carried 300 kilograms of customer payloads, ranging from experiments to alcohol, as stated by Victor Maier at the Paris Air Show. While initially planning no further test missions before a 2028 ISS demonstration flight of Nyx, the company now intends to relaunch a similar mission soon.
“We have been pushing boundaries in record time and cost, but this partial success reflects both ambition and the inherent risks of innovation,” the company stated. “Leveraging the technical milestones achieved yesterday and the lessons we will extract from our ongoing investigation, we will then prepare to re-fly as soon as possible.”
Transporter-14 carried 70 payloads, including several satellites from companies like Iceye, Capella Space, GHGSat, Plan-S, Argotec, and Starfish Space. York Space Systems also launched its Dragoon spacecraft on the mission. Varda Space Industries launched its W-4 mission, also conducting microgravity tests, on the same flight.