Credit: HyPrSpace
German space logistics company ATMOS Space Cargo has signed a memorandum of understanding with French launch services provider HyPrSpace to carry out a demonstration mission aboard its Baguette One rocket.
Founded in 2019, HyPrSpace is developing a suborbital demonstration rocket called Baguette One, slated for launch in 2026. The rocket will serve as a technology demonstrator to validate the company’s hybrid rocket engine for its OB1 (Orbital Baguette One) rocket, which will be capable of delivering payloads of up to 235 kilograms to low Earth orbit. Following the completion of its Baguette One demonstration, HyPrSpace plans to move forward with preparations for the inaugural flight of its OB1 rocket in 2027.
On 7 November, ATMOS Space Cargo announced that it had signed a memorandum of understanding with HyPrSpace, confirming its intention to secure a place aboard the Baguette One test flight. According to a June 2025 HyPrSpace announcement, the mission will be launched from a DGA Essais de Missiles (DGA Missile Testing) site in the south of France.
ATMOS launched its PHOENIX-1 test mission aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rideshare mission in April 2025. According to the company, the mission successfully achieved its primary objectives, which included the activation of a novel inflatable heat shield. However, due to a last-minute adjustment to the mission trajectory by SpaceX, the capsule was ultimately not recovered.
According to the company’s 7 November press release, the Baguette One demonstration mission will also be used to validate additional technologies for its PHOENIX-2 re-entry capsule.
In February, the company was awarded €13.1 million in funding from the European Commission’s EIC Accelerator Programme to continue development of its PHOENIX-2 capsule. While it will retain its approximate 100-kilogram payload capacity, the primary difference between PHOENIX-2 and its predecessor lies in the addition of an onboard propulsion system. PHOENIX-1 relied on the Falcon 9 upper stage to perform the deorbit burn, meaning the company could not control the re-entry trajectory. In contrast, PHOENIX-2 will be deployed into orbit independently and execute its own deorbit burn, allowing ATMOS to determine the capsule’s return path and splashdown zone.
In addition to securing capacity aboard the Baguette One test flight, the agreement also outlines plans to establish a European re-entry logistics capability aboard future OB-1 orbital missions. Th non-binding agreement is valid for three years.
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