A Spanish startup, UARX Space, is addressing technical anomalies that emerged during the first flight of its orbital transfer vehicle, OSSIE-D, launched on October 1 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-18 mission. At least ten PocketQube payloads have been released into orbit.

Shortly after liftoff, the company lost contact with the spacecraft, according to Andrés Villa Granata, UARX co-founder and chief technology officer, who spoke with SpaceNews via email. To manage the situation, UARX transmitted a backup command to the OTV designed to activate fault detection, isolation and recovery systems, enabling payload deployment without requiring real-time ground station input.

The command was sent two days after launch, but due to the ongoing communications blackout, UARX could not confirm whether it had been received. Villa Granata explained that the decision to proceed was driven by the need to prioritize customer missions and by awareness of the spacecraft’s limited battery life.

The root cause of the communication failure was later traced to a configuration error in the ground station interface being used. Once corrected, contact with OSSIE was re-established. Since then, all systems have operated as expected, and telemetry confirms that the commands issued two days post-launch were received correctly and that all planned deployments occurred as intended.

With communications restored, UARX successfully awakened the vehicle’s sequencer from low-power mode and downloaded deployment data. The telemetry also verified that all payloads were released properly.

OSSIE-D, a 200-kilogram-class orbital transfer vehicle developed by UARX, carried a mix of hosted payloads and dedicated satellites. These included PocketQubes from AMSAT-Deutschland, the Libre Space Foundation, Orion Space of Nepal, Argentina’s National Technological University – Haedo Regional Faculty, and others. Argentine firm DIYSatellite provided deployment dispensers and coordinated customer flights.

While some customers had planned for deployments 7 to 30 days after launch, AMSAT-Deutschland announced on October 4 that it had initiated an earlier deployment sequence, beginning on October 2 at 1:48:09.950 p.m. CEST. The group noted that their signals were initially undetected, as they had not been monitoring the expected frequencies.

Of the three ERMINAZ-2 PocketQubes deployed, two are operational and undergoing commissioning, while the status of the third remains unconfirmed due to lack of signal acquisition.

UARX has not disclosed details about other satellites aboard OSSIE-D, and co-founders have declined to comment on their current status.

The mission also marked the first use of UARX’s deployment rings SAU&RON 24 inch and SAU&RON 15 inch, representing a milestone in its orbital delivery capabilities.

Ethereal Space, which contributed two three-unit cubesats integrated into UARX’s RAMI deployment system, emphasized that while space missions often face unforeseen challenges, its focus remains on building reliable space-weather observation infrastructure. The company continues to rely on its technology and team to support long-term operational goals.