The Exploration Company has announced that its reentry capsule, Mission Possible, encountered an issue during a recent test flight and lost contact with Earth about 30 minutes before splashing down in the north Pacific Ocean.
Launched on SpaceX’s Transporter-14 rideshare mission on June 23, Mission Possible was designed to test reentry technologies for The Exploration Company’s Nyx spacecraft, which aims to transport cargo and potentially crews to low Earth orbit. The capsule was carrying 300 kilograms of cargo, including experiments in cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, and even alcohol.
According to the company, the initial phases of the mission went well, with the capsule powering up payloads and stabilizing itself after separation from the Falcon 9 upper stage. However, it encountered an issue afterwards, resulting in lost communication and ultimately the loss of the spacecraft.
The Exploration Company stated that they are still investigating the root cause of the issue and will share more information soon. The company has plans to fly another mission similar to Mission Possible, with a demonstration flight of their Nyx spacecraft to the International Space Station scheduled for 2028.
Other payloads on Transporter-14 included satellites from companies such as Iceye, Capella Space, GHGSat, Plan-S, Argotec, Starfish Space, and York Space Systems. The mission marked the latest in a series of rideshare missions flown by SpaceX, with a diverse range of technologies being tested.
Source: https://spacenews.com/the-exploration-company-claims-partial-success-of-mission-possible-reentry-spacecraft