German startup’s donut-shaped spacecraft reentry a ‘success’, despite difficult reentry

Atmos Space Cargo, a German startup, tested its donut-shaped Phoenix spacecraft. Despite SpaceX altering the mission trajectory, Atmos deemed the test successful. The change led to a steeper reentry and splashdown off Brazil's coast, preventing recovery. Nonetheless, Atmos gathered crucial flight data and achieved most key goals, including payload operation and heat shield data collection. This information will be used to enhance the second Phoenix vehicle, set for launch next year.