Dispatch targets 2027 flight for a refurbishable orbital return vehicle
The two-person YC startup plans to carry 30 kilograms, replace the heat shield after landing and fly the primary spacecraft again.
By Ryan Merket · Published
Why it matters
Cheaper launch has created demand for a matching return lane. Dispatch's refurbishable design could lower that cost, but rivals already have flight-tested hardware and deeper funding.
Dispatch plans to fly its first autonomous cargo-return spacecraft in 2027, betting that a refurbishable vehicle can cut the cost and scheduling constraints facing companies that want to manufacture materials in orbit and bring them back to Earth.
The San Francisco startup was founded in 2025 by Payton Case (@ngmxyz), its CEO, and Andrew Mello, its CTO. The founders worked together for four years at Astranis, where Case led next-generation geostationary spacecraft design in the Office of the CTO and Mello led avionics work across multiple satellite generations. Mello previously worked on AirPods at Apple, warehouse automation at Amazon Robotics and autonomous vehicle systems at Zoox.