In-space logistics startup The Exploration Company has declared its Mission Possible flight both a partial success and a partial failure following a successful reentry.

As The Exploration Company works toward the inaugural flight of its full-scale Nyx spacecraft, it has used a series of subscale demonstrators to validate key technologies. The first, Mission Bikini, was launched aboard the first Ariane 6 flight in July 2024. However, the capsule was ultimately not deployed after the rocket’s upper stage failed to perform a deorbit burn that would have placed it on a reentry trajectory. Mission Possible was the second demonstrator, a larger capsule, and the first to carry customer payloads. It was intended to be the final subscale test before the company fully transitioned to the Nyx programme.

The Mission Possible demonstrator was launched aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 Transporter-14 rideshare mission at 21:18 UTC on 23 June from Vandenberg Space Force Base. In an initial update posted approximately 12 hours after liftoff, The Exploration Company confirmed that the capsule had successfully powered on its passenger payloads, stabilized itself after separation from the rocket’s upper stage, reentered Earth’s atmosphere, and reestablished communication following the expected blackout period.

Despite a successful reentry and the reestablishment of communication, the company reported that it lost contact with the capsule just minutes before the expected splashdown. It has already begun an investigation to determine the root cause of what appears to be the capsule’s ultimate failure.

While Mission Possible was initially expected to be the final subscale demonstrator, The Exploration Company now appears to be planning an additional flight of a Mission Possible-scale vehicle before fully transitioning to Nyx. The company stated that it intends to launch this new subscale mission “as soon as possible.” It has previously shared that the first Mission Possible capsule took three years to develop at a cost of €35 million.