German space logistics startup The Exploration Company has shipped its Mission Possible capsule to the launch site in California, ahead of a planned June liftoff.
The Exploration Company is developing a modular spacecraft called Nyx, which will initially transport cargo to and from the International Space Station. Future iterations are planned to support human spaceflight. In preparation for the inaugural flight of Nyx, the company has developed progressively larger demonstration capsules, with the first, Mission Bikini, having launched aboard the inaugural Ariane 6 flight in June 2024.
Mission Possible is the second of the company’s subscale demonstrators, measuring 2.5 metres in diameter. A full-scale Nyx spacecraft will have a diameter of approximately four metres. Mission Possible will also mark the company’s first commercial mission, with the capsule carrying a number of small customer payloads.
In a 6 May update, The Exploration Company announced that it had completed Mission Possible’s pre-shipment review on 2 May and subsequently shipped the capsule to its launch site in the United States. The spacecraft will launch aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 as part of the Transporter-14 rideshare mission, which is expected to lift off no earlier than June 2025.
Once launched, the Mission Possible capsule will remain attached to the Falcon 9 upper stage until after the stage completes its deorbit burn. This approach is necessary because the capsule lacks sufficient propulsion to independently deorbit itself. After separation, it will carry out a series of reorientation manoeuvres as it begins atmospheric reentry.
In its 6 May update, The Exploration Company tempered expectations, acknowledging that “we know that Mission Possible may fail.” The company did, however, add that it was doing everything possible to maximise its chances of success.
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