HyPrSpace and ATMOS Space Cargo Sign MoU to Advance European Launch and Return Logistics Chain for Defence and Research

Strasbourg, France / Bordeaux, France – September XX, 2025 – ATMOS Space Cargo (ATMOS) and HyPrSpace have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to collaborate on future suborbital and orbital missions that combine French launch capabilities with sovereign European re-entry logistics from space. The partnership addresses strategic needs for civil and defence applications in orbit and for Higher Airspace Operations (HAO).

Partnership Overview & Technology Highlights 

Under the MoU, ATMOS will secure payload capacity on HyPrSpace’s first suborbital test flight of the Baguette-1 launcher, scheduled for late 2026. The mission will allow ATMOS to further validate additional technologies for its next-generation PHOENIX 2  free-flyer re-entry capsule, which uses an innovative inflatable heat shield designed to provide flexible and affordable return logistics for research and industry payloads.

This builds on ATMOS’s first test flight in Low Earth Orbit on 21 April 2025, which delivered customer payload data as well as critical system information for PHOENIX 2’s current development, including the integration of on-board power and propulsion systems to enable extended orbital missions and autonomous return on command. ATMOS is supported by the European Commission through its EIC Accelerator program.

HyPrSpace is finalising its hybrid-propulsion engine, which has passed full-scale hot fire tests at the DGA Essais de missiles centre in Gironde. Its mission roadmap includes launch of its suborbital demonstrator Baguette-1  from a DGA site in mainland France in 2026 and the launch of the Orbital Baguette-1 (OB-1) in 2027. Supported by France-2030, DGA, CNES and regional agencies, HyPrSpace’s partnership with ATMOS advances the integration of launch and return capabilities under European oversight.

Strategic Impact 

The partnership foresees joint orbital and suborbital services by integrating HyPrSpace’s launch systems with ATMOS’s re-entry capsules. Both companies aim to forge a resilient European logistics chain from ground to space and back for suborbital and in-orbit research (e.g. pharmaceuticals), manufacturing (e.g. advanced materials for semiconductors), and flexible in-orbit demonstration and validation (IOD/IOV) missions.  

This expands capacities for advanced in-orbit operations and ensures the safe return of defence payloads to designated European sites. 

Sebastian Klaus, CEO and Co-Founder of ATMOS Space Cargo, said:

“Return capability closes a critical gap, essential for both a scalable and sustainable space economy and for European sovereignty. 

This cooperation strengthens Europe’s strategic autonomy in space operations by building the resilient infrastructure that enables advances in biomedical research, in-space manufacturing, and security-relevant missions.”

Sylvain Bataillard, CSO and Co-Founder of HyPrSpace, said:

“By bringing together our hybrid-propulsion launch vehicles with ATMOS’s return technology, we are creating a complete European logistics chain from ground to orbit and back. But we are also creating together a new suborbital offering to de-risk orbital technologies at a very competitive price and service level compared to what is currently available. This collaboration strengthens our continent’s ability to act independently in space.”

The non-binding MoU, valid for three years, enables both companies to independently develop their technologies while adhering to export control regulations, paving the way for a future service contract.

Source: HyPrSpace