German launch integrator Exolaunch signed an agreement to support customer payloads on a SpaceX Starfall reentry mission scheduled to launch on a Starship NET 2029, the company announced today.
The deal marks Exolaunch’s first time supporting payloads on an Earth-return mission, as well as the company’s first commitment to Starship.
What goes up: Under the agreement, Exolaunch will serve as the payload integrator, filling the vehicle with customer payloads spanning biotech, pharmaceutical, and in-space manufacturing applications.
Exolaunch will help customers manage the technical, logistical, operational, and regulatory requirements under the new reentry program. The company is also considering building or acquiring new hardware to support customer payloads inside the vehicle, according to Chief Marketing Officer Jeanne Allarie.
Exolaunch has its work cut out for it when it comes to filling the Skyfall mission’s 1,000 kg payload capacity. However, Allarie told Payload the company is confident that the relationships it built through SpaceX’s Transporter program will help to drive customers to the new reentry offering.
Exolaunch is also set to be acquired by global investment firm EQT, which can further boost the customer pipeline after the deal closes, which is expected in Q4 2026.
“[EQT has] a very broad portfolio of biotech companies, so we have a very streamlined access to these kinds of customers,” Allarie said. “We already proved that we can make [rideshare] work, we can make it scale—and now with the EQT backing, we are very confident that we can serve this underserved market.”
Must come down: Exolaunch isn’t the only company looking to hitch its wagon to a Starfall.
- Last month, Redwire’s SpaceMD subsidiary announced plans to fly 32 new variants of its PIL-BOXes on Starfall to study drug development in microgravity. The mission is planned for 2028.
- On Tuesday, Space Cargo Unlimited booked all 1,000 kg of space on a Starfall flight in 2028 to host its new in-space manufacturing facility—the company has already sold out one third of the mission.
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The number: A new report from Deloitte, Building the Lunar Economy: How a Sustained Presence on the Moon Could Transform Life, Industry, and Infrastructure on Earth and Beyond, puts the lunar economy’s cumulative economic value through 2050 at $343B under a conservative scenario, rising to $566B under an accelerated one. The estimate covers two things: the infrastructure required to operate on the Moon, and the markets that infrastructure could unlock once it exists.
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