A European reentry capsule notched some essential milestones on its first-ever spaceflight final week — and took some photographs to commemorate the journey.
Phoenix 1, a prototype spacecraft constructed by German firm Atmos House Cargo, rode to the ultimate frontier on April 21 by way of SpaceX’s Bandwagon-3 rideshare mission.
Phoenix 1 was tasked with demonstrating some key reentry tech, such because the capsule’s inflatable warmth protect. Atmos additionally aimed to gather details about the flight and file scientific knowledge from the client experiments that flew aboard Phoenix 1 as nicely. All of those aims have been certainly met in the course of the flight, in line with Atmos.
“Phoenix 1 was a milestone mission that showcased the unbelievable capabilities of our staff,” Marta Oliveira, Atmos’ co-founder and chief working officer, mentioned in an April 23 update. “This mission proves that we’re not solely fixing the technical problem of re-entry — we’re laying the groundwork for a future the place house is accessible, testable and impactful for innovation right here on Earth.”
That replace included two photographs of Phoenix 1 in house. In a single picture, it is nonetheless connected to the Falcon 9 rocket’s higher stage; within the different, the capsule has simply separated and began its return to Earth.
Phoenix 1 reentered Earth’s environment southeast of the Brazilian coast about two hours after launch, in line with replace. The capsule splashed down within the Atlantic Ocean, about 1,240 miles (2,000 kilometers) offshore.
Atmos couldn’t retrieve knowledge from the ultimate phases of Phoenix 1’s descent; the corporate did not recuperate the capsule and mentioned within the replace that it hadn’t deliberate to, given how far out to sea the craft landed.
Atmos says it developed the Phoenix 1 pathfinder in lower than a 12 months. The lately accomplished mission will assist the corporate construct Phoenix 2, which is predicted to launch in 2026 and will probably be extra succesful than its predecessor.
“Atmos’ present roadmap for Phoenix 2 confirms to characteristic its personal propulsion system, enabling the capsule to decide on its reentry trajectory and splashdown zone, enabling swift restoration,” the corporate wrote within the April 23 replace.
Over the longer haul, Atmos goals to supply clients with a cheap and environment friendly option to convey helpful supplies from house all the way down to Earth.
“Our mission is to revolutionize house logistics, enabling groundbreaking developments in microgravity analysis, in-orbit manufacturing, protection purposes and life sciences,” the corporate’s website reads.
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