European space logistics startup The Exploration Company has announced that its recovery vessel, Makushin Bay, departed Dutch Harbor, Alaska, on 10 June. The vessel will be used to recover the company’s Mission Possible demonstrator capsule from the Pacific following its return from space.
Founded in 2021, The Exploration Company is developing a space capsule called Nyx, which it initially intends to utilize for cargo transport to and from the International Space Station. The company also envisions additional applications in the future, including free-flying microgravity missions, cargo deliveries to lunar orbit, and potentially even crewed missions to low Earth orbit.
As part of its preparations for the inaugural flight of Nyx, The Exploration Company has been developing progressively larger sub-scale prototypes, focusing on mastering the technologies required for successful atmospheric reentry. The first of these, a prototype called Mission Bikini, launched aboard the inaugural Ariane 6 flight in July 2024. However, due to an anomaly that prevented the Ariane 6 upper stage from performing its final burn, the mission did not include a reentry attempt.
The second, slightly larger prototype, called Mission Possible, is expected to be launched on 21 June aboard the SpaceX Falcon 9 Transporter-14 mission. The capsule is expected to remain attached to the rocket’s upper stage until after it has completed a deorbit burn. It will then be deployed for its reentry attempt.
In an 11 June update, The Exploration Company announced that the recovery vessel tasked with retrieving the Mission Possible capsule after splashdown had departed the previous day from a harbour in Alaska. The vessel, named Makushin Bay, is a 40-metre salvage and rescue ship owned and operated by US-based maritime logistics company Resolve Marine. Two members of The Exploration Company’s team will accompany the vessel on its mission. Over the next week, it will make its way to the expected splashdown zone in the central Pacific Ocean. According to The Exploration Company, current weather conditions appear favourable for both splashdown and recovery operations.
The 11 June update was followed a day later by a second Mission Possible update, confirming that integration of the capsule had been completed and that it was now in its final configuration. The next step will be its transfer to the payload adapter, followed by integration with the full Falcon 9 launch stack.
