On 10 August 2025, at 20:51 Central European Time, Celestial Space’s Osiris rocket roared back to life from Space Launch Complex 01 at Vlieland Spaceport, Netherlands, successfully delivering the ECHO-1 satellite to geostationary transfer orbit for Expedition Aerospace. It was the company’s first launch in 11 months, following a a period of deep organisational change, upgrades to its vehicle, and an overhaul of how the company exists.

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Following the vehicle’s second flight last year, Celestial Space entered what founder and CEO Kwingo described as a “complete transformation”, not a pause in launches, but a complete reorganisation of the company and its future.

 

Engineering teams took this time to re evaluate every major system on Osiris, refit subsystems, and implemented a more overall testing regime. The company also shifted its operational philosophy to focus heavily on sustainability, leaning on a larger recovery program that will be their key to long term sustainability in the competitive launch market.​

The ECHO-1 mission itself did not start off on the right foot. On the originally planned launch day, 9th of August, the countdown was held at T- 1 hour 30 minutes when a ground power supply failure occurred. Once resolved, the countdown was resumed, but shortly after, an issue in the vehicle's avionics occurred which was traced back to the power fault. While disappointing, the issue was quickly resolved overnight.

 

Teams returned the following evening, and apart from a brief hold at T-5:02 due to a range concern, it was resolved and they set a recycle to T-10 minutes. The countdown proceeded smoothly afterward. At T-0, the upgraded Osiris v1.2 flew off the pad, flying skyward with more thrust than any previous stack.

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A New Rocket in Familiar Skin

Though visually similar to earlier iterations, Block 1.2 is in Celestial Space’s words, “effectively a new rocket”. The first stage’s structural components have been reinforced to withstand higher recovery loads. The pneumatic pusher stage separation system making its first appearance on this mission replaces the older spring design. 

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The second stage is powered by the new Nova-1CV engine, which demonstrated improved performance and burn accuracy during its two burns. “This is the most precise orbital insertion we’ve achieved to date." Along with the upgrade to the propulsion system, the second stage tanks have been stretched, the third stage removed, and improved insulation added for better performance during longer duration missions.

While the second stage continued on its ascent, the first stage began its high altitude coast before atmospheric reentry. Hitting 4,218 km/h at initial descent speed, the booster endured intense heating and dynamic forces.

 

This mission marked the first operational trial of Celestial Space’s Mark 3 parachute system. The drogue deployed without issue, slowing the stage before the main canopy unfurled to full extension. Splashdown occurred at 6 m/s, allowing the booster to be recovered intact. This was Celestial Space's first ever recovery of an orbital rocket.

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Preliminary inspections show the stage suffered higher than predicted structural wear during descent. Modifications are already being implemented for future flights. Despite the wear, the recovery was a major step towards regular reusability.

After a ten-minute coast phase, the second stage relit for a 20 second burn, placing ECHO-1 on its final deployment trajectory. At T+16 minutes 26 seconds, the satellite separated cleanly. Expedition Aerospace confirmed signal acquisition shortly thereafter, marking the mission a complete success.

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The payload itself is a communications satellite designed to serve both experimental and operational customers. While neither Celestial Space nor Expedition Aerospace disclosed its full specifications, this was a strong showcase of Osiris and its capabilities after being in the works for almost a year. 

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A Bigger Future for Osiris

During the livestream, Celestial Space hinted at growth plans. “Osiris Block 1.2 serves as the baseline for all future Osiris builds,” Ella, a launch operator and the second commentator for the webcast. “The improvements are not small, while the vehicle may look familiar, it is effectively a new rocket. As it matures, it will go through many upgrades to hardware and systems.”

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Perhaps most intriguing was the hint at a larger, more powerful variant of Osiris that could significantly increase payload capacity to orbit. While details remain low, this vehicle would position Celestial Space to operate in higher mass markets while their Acheron vehicle is under development.

 

While no official details have been released, we have spotted various pieces of larger rocket hardware entering facilities at the Vlieland Spaceport.

The ECHO-1 mission also proved to be a PR success. The live broadcast drew a peak audience of around 55 concurrent viewers, the highest ever for a Celestial Space mission, and presumably the highest RoSpace has seen in a while. Total views climbed above 500 at the time the livestream was ended. Viewers included some who were not familiar with the community, and some even stuck around to watch.

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For Celestial Space, the flight was more than a mission. After nearly a year away from the launch market, the company returned with a stronger rocket and a new goal to pushing the boundaries of what the company can achieve. If the performance of Osiris on ECHO-1 is any indication, the future of Celestial Space is bright.