GERMANY: ATMOS SPACE CARGO raises €25.7 million as Europe confronts its strategic blind spot in orbital return

While Europe knows how to send payloads into orbit, it has yet to fully master their return. Behind this asymmetry lies a structural dependency within the space value chain. The issue concerns the continent’s ability to control the entire space cycle, not only access to orbit, but also the recovery of what is produced or collected there.

An incomplete form of sovereignty

Over the past decade, European investment has largely focused on access to space: launch vehicles, constellations and orbital infrastructure. This strategy has delivered tangible results, but it remains incomplete. Value no longer lies solely in sending payloads into orbit. It is increasingly shifting towards what comes back: data, materials, experiments and sensitive components.

In this segment, however, Europe remains dependent on non-European operators, foremost among them SpaceX, whose capsules currently perform most operational return missions. This reliance effectively limits European sovereignty over certain critical applications, particularly in the industrial and security sectors.

Orbital return, the new industrial frontier

Orbital return is undergoing a change in status. Long regarded as a secondary technical function, it is becoming infrastructure in its own right.

This shift is being driven by three converging trends:

• the expansion of microgravity research, particularly in biotechnology and advanced materials;
• the emergence of in-orbit manufacturing, with production cycles requiring regular return missions;
• the proliferation of dual-use civilian and military applications involving secure flows of data and equipment.

Against this backdrop, the absence of an autonomous European return capability creates a break in the continuity of the continent’s space logistics chain.

ATMOS, or the attempt to close the loop

Founded in 2021, ATMOS Space Cargo is developing reusable capsules designed to carry payloads into low Earth orbit and return them to Earth. The company reached an initial milestone in 2025 with the PHOENIX 1 demonstration flight, which enabled it to validate its atmospheric re-entry systems under real-world conditions.

With PHOENIX 2, ATMOS is moving to the next stage. The objective is no longer simply to demonstrate the technology, but to operate it. Three vehicles will be deployed as part of a campaign intended to establish an initial operational cadence and lay the foundations for a recurring service offering.

The technological approach lies at the heart of this ambition. The capsules use an inflatable atmospheric decelerator, or IAD, which serves simultaneously as a heat shield and an aerodynamic braking system. According to the company, this architecture can reduce mass, improve reusability and limit environmental impact while maintaining precise control during re-entry.

ATMOS also aims to make orbital return more frequent, flexible and affordable. In other words, to turn it into a service.

Towards a European orbital supply chain

Beyond the technology, a broader industrial strategy is beginning to take shape. ATMOS is positioning itself not merely as a spacecraft supplier, but as an infrastructure operator.

The company is already part of an emerging ecosystem, notably through its partnership with Space Cargo Unlimited. Together, the two companies aim to provide an end-to-end service combining in-orbit operations with the return of payloads to Earth.

An industry still taking shape

One uncertainty remains: the market itself. While potential use cases are multiplying, demand is still at an early stage of development. The viability of the model will depend on ATMOS’s ability to establish a regular cadence, pool payloads across missions and attract customers beyond the public sector.

ATMOS Space Cargo was founded in 2021 by Sebastian Klaus and is based in Lichtenau, Germany, and Strasbourg, France. The company develops reusable orbital transport and return capsules for industrial, scientific and defence applications.

ATMOS has now announced a €25.7 million Series A funding round co-led by Balnord and Expansion, with participation from Keen Defence and Security and a group of European investors including OTB Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, APEX Ventures, Seraphim, Faber, E2MC, Kirch Ventures, Lennertz & Co., Mätch VC, MBG Baden-Württemberg and Tech Horizons.

The European Innovation Council is also supporting the company through its Accelerator programme, which combines grant funding with an equity investment.