An illustration of The Exploration Company's Nyx spacecraft entering Earth's atmosphere. (Image credit: The Exploration Company/ESA)
Since the launch of the first satellite (Sputnik 1) on October 4, 1957, we have sent many interesting payloads into space. As access to space has increased, thanks in large part to the commercial sector, so have the types of payloads we send.
Consider the Nyx capsule, developed by German aerospace startup The Exploration Company, which launched on June 23 from Vandenberg Air Force Base on a Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-14 mission. The payload on that flight, called “Mission Possible,” included the ashes and DNA of more than 166 deceased people, provided by Celestis, a Texas-based space memorial organization.
Although the mission successfully reached orbit and performed a controlled re-entry into the atmosphere, the capsule's landing parachutes failed to open before landing. This caused the Nyx capsule to crash into the Pacific Ocean on June 24, causing the loss of its entire cargo at sea. This was the first time The Exploration Company had sent customer payloads into space, equivalent to about 300 kilograms (660 pounds) of cargo. In a statement posted on LinkedIn, the company described the flight as a “partial success (partial failure).” As they stated:
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