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Rendering of the ATMOS PHOENIX return capsule with its cargo tanks on top of a white inflatable heat shield
Image: ATMOS Space Cargo

PHOENIX

by ATMOS Space Cargo · Return capsules

Also found in Low Earth orbit.

Reusable capsule that carries payloads in orbit and brings them back to Earth, slowed by a heat shield that inflates before reentry.

Visit atmos-space-cargo.com

Why it matters

Researchers and manufacturers working in orbit need a way to get samples and products back quickly. ATMOS and its investors say Europe lacks its own repeatable way to return payloads from orbit.

How the technology works

PHOENIX 1 rode a SpaceX rideshare to orbit. PHOENIX 2 is a free-flying vehicle with its own propulsion and power that can operate payloads for hours to months, then deorbits and inflates a large flexible heat shield that slows it through the atmosphere before splashdown.

ATMOS plans a three-vehicle PHOENIX 2 fleet with recovery near the Azores.

Sources

  1. ATMOS Space CargoMar 5, 2026
  2. ATMOS Space CargoApr 23, 2025

Updated Oct 22, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction