ATMOS Space Cargo, a European company developing orbital transport and re-entry vehicles, has closed a €25.7 million Series A financing round led by Balnord and Expansion Ventures.
- Founded in 2022 by Sebastian Klaus, Marta Oliveira, Jeffrey Hendrikse, and Christian Grimm, the company builds reusable spacecraft and orbital return systems designed to carry payloads into low Earth orbit and return them to Earth within a continuous logistics cycle.
- Its core platform, the PHOENIX orbital transfer and return vehicle, transports payloads to orbit, supports autonomous in-orbit operations, and enables controlled re-entry and recovery using an inflatable atmospheric decelerator system. The approach is intended to make spaceflight more repeatable, operational, and service-based rather than mission-specific.
- ATMOS integrates the full mission chain, including spacecraft development, payload integration, launch coordination, orbital operations, and recovery services for research, industrial, and in-orbit demonstration missions.
- The company employs more than 70 people and operates from Lichtenau, Germany, and Strasbourg, France, reflecting its dual European footprint.
Details of the deal
- The Series A round was supported by Keen Defence and Security and the European Innovation Council (EIC), alongside investors including OTB Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds (HTGF), APEX Ventures, Seraphim, and other European venture capital firms.
“ATMOS is building a capability Europe critically lacks: a sovereign, repeatable ability to return payloads from orbit. This investment supports the emergence of orbital return as essential infrastructure for Europe’s commercial, institutional, and security needs," explains Aleksander Dobrzyniecki, General Partner at Balnord.
- The new funding will allow ATMOS to move from demonstration to operational deployment by financing a three-vehicle PHOENIX 2 fleet and its initial return missions.
- It will also support the launch of ATMOS WORKS, a division focused on government and defence customers, while accelerating development of PHOENIX 3, a larger next-generation return vehicle designed for higher payload capacity and more advanced mission requirements.
