BREMEN, Germany — French launch vehicle startup Latitude has signed a multi-launch contract with Atmos Space Cargo, a company developing commercial reentry vehicles.
In a deal announced at Space Tech Expo Europe here Nov. 19, Atmos will buy a minimum of five launches a year of Latitude’s Zephyr rocket between 2028 and 2032. Terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Each launch will place a Phoenix spacecraft into very low Earth orbit, or VLEO. The spacecraft are designed to accommodate payloads for microgravity research in fields like pharmaceuticals and manufacturing, returning them to Earth.
“We’re proud to have earned the trust of a unique operator in the European space industry,” Adeline Pitrois, head of sales at Latitude, said in a statement. “This demonstrates also that Zephyr is particularly well adapted to the growing LEO and VLEO markets.”
“The enormous progress that Latitude has made gives us confidence they will become a premier European launch provider and a great partner for Atmos,” said Sebastian Klaus, chief executive of Atmos, in the same statement.
Both companies are still in the development phases of their vehicles. Atmos raised 1.3 million euros ($1.4 million) in February in the extension of a seed round that initial generated 4 million euros for the company in 2023. Atmos bid on, but was not selected for, the European Space Agency’s commercial cargo initiative earlier this year.
Latitude raised $30 million in January to continue development of Zephyr, a rocket capable of placing up to 200 kilograms into low Earth orbit. The company has a goal of performing as many as 50 launches annually by 2029.
Aurélie Bressollette, who became chief executive of Latitude Nov. 5, said during a panel at Space Tech Expo Europe Nov. 19 that the company remains on schedule for a first launch by the end of 2025, with tests of an engine turbopump assembly planned for late this year followed by full-scale engine tests early next year. “We are completely on our way,” she said.