Lisbon, March 5, 2026 (Lusa) - Portugal has granted ATMOS Space Cargo the first commercial licence for the atmospheric re-entry and recovery of a space vehicle, which is expected to take place in the second half of this year off the Azorean island of Santa Maria.
"The licence covers the return operation of the PHOENIX 2.1 vehicle, including atmospheric re-entry, water landing and maritime recovery operations conducted by ATMOS within a designated area in the North Atlantic, off the coast of the island of Santa Maria in the Azores," the Portuguese Space Agency (AEP) said on Thursday.
In a statement, the agency, which is based in Santa Maria, said that the licence was granted at the end of February by the National Communications Authority (ANACOM), which is responsible for regulating, supervising and monitoring space activities.
This single licence, granted under Portuguese space legislation, authorises the return (re-entry) phase of the PHOENIX 2.1 mission, "with the launch window scheduled for the second half of 2026," the Portuguese agency said.
PHOENIX is a reusable orbital transfer and return vehicle (OTRV) for autonomous cargo operations.
"This is the first commercial space re-entry licence granted in Portugal for the controlled return and recovery of a commercial space vehicle on European territory, under a national regulatory framework," the statement added.
The final launch date, flight profile and recovery parameters remain subject to operational and regulatory coordination, the AEP added, noting that specific mission schedules and recovery coordinates will be confirmed closer to the flight, in accordance with applicable maritime and aviation notifications.
For the president of the Portuguese agency, support for re-entry operations licensed under Portuguese jurisdiction reinforces Portugal's role in promoting a two-way European space economy, including research, manufacturing, and other high-value applications that depend on reliable return logistics.
"With this licence, Portugal becomes the European gateway for return from space," said Ricardo Conde, quoted in the statement.
For Marta Oliveira, co-founder of ATMOS Space Cargo, obtaining a European re-entry licence within a national framework is an "important step towards establishing an independent and commercially viable return capability".
"This licence represents a substantial step towards a space infrastructure," she said.
ATMOS Space Cargo is a European space company with facilities in Germany and France, which develops lightweight, reusable space capsules to transport, operate and return cargo from low Earth orbit.
According to the licence consulted by Lusa, ANACOM imposes on the holder the duties to report incidents and serious accidents and to provide entities, within the scope of National Defence, with real-time access to operational data of the vehicle, including telemetry, during phases of the mission with potential impact on national security, as well as to submit, up to 30 days before the operation, updated trajectory simulations.
Santa Maria, an island with around 5,500 inhabitants that is part of the Eastern Group of the Azores archipelago, has, over several years, received various infrastructure related to the space sector, including a satellite launcher tracking station, and has also been home to the headquarters of the Portuguese Space Agency since November 2024.
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