Karman+ Mission 1 (High Frontier, Corvus spacecraft)
Turn Apophis in 3D: a preliminary radar shape of a mission target
Karman+'s first spacecraft mission, a technology demonstration that the company's February 2025 funding release calls High Frontier and its 2026 pages call Mission 1. Karman+'s High Frontier page gives the primary objective as rendezvousing with an uncharacterized near-Earth asteroid and showcasing capturing regolith at kilogram scale, with zero-g excavation among its listed focus areas. On 21 July 2026 the company said the original early-2027 launch slipped because its propulsion vendor could not deliver on time, that it found a mid-2028 launch slot, and that its first mission is going to asteroid (99942) Apophis, whose close approach to Earth on 13 April 2029 falls near the spacecraft's Earth escape. Its missions page names the spacecraft Corvus (about 700 kg and about 10 kW of power), shows rendezvous in 2030 and a 'Building & Testing' status, and describes the plan as rendezvousing with Apophis and deploying tests to the surface. The company says this first mission is a technology demonstration, not a mining mission for customers. No launch provider has been named.
Objective. Rendezvous with a near-Earth asteroid and demonstrate capture of regolith at kilogram scale through zero-g excavation, as stated on the company's High Frontier page; after retargeting to Apophis, the company describes the plan as rendezvousing with the asteroid and deploying its tests to the surface, which it says will let it test its mining technology. The company calls the mission a technology demonstration, not a mining mission with customers waiting for water.
Facts
- Kind
- Spacecraft
- Mission type
- Technology demonstration
- Target
- Near-Earth asteroidAsteroid (99942) Apophis (operator's target since July 2026; the earlier High Frontier description named an uncharacterized near-Earth asteroid)What NASA/JPL lists for 99942 Apophis (2004 MN4)
- Launch
- Planned 2028 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-30.
- Phase
- In developmentKarman+ missions page (undated, copyright 2026, accessed 2026-10-30) labels the Corvus spacecraft 'Building & Testing' with launch in mid-2028 and rendezvous in 2030. The company post of 21 July 2026 reports that the early-2027 launch slipped after a propulsion-vendor delay and that a mid-2028 slot was found. The February 2025 funding release says the funds will be used to develop the first technology demonstration mission. No launch provider, vehicle or manifest is named, so the phase is in_development, not manifested. Not launched.
- Outcome
- Not applicable
- Why it is included
- Stated resource objective
How this launch date changed
Recorded change: the plan before → the plan after, oldest first.
- 2026-07-21: early 2027 → mid 2028Schedule slip [7]
Only changes recorded here are listed. The oldest date shown may not be the first plan ever announced, and a date with no recorded change may still have moved. A plan is not a launch.
What comes next
Next recorded dates are plans, not results.
Launch: Planned 2028 (target)Announcement date not recorded. Record checked 2026-10-30.
Participants
Operators, payload owners, carriers and customers are recorded separately.
| Organization | Role |
|---|---|
| Karman+ | Operator |
Resources and evidence
| Resource | Evidence |
|---|---|
| Regolith | Targeted |
Dated events
- 2026-07-21
Karman+ first mission slips to mid-2028 and retargets to Apophis
Karman+ said its first mission's early-2027 launch slipped because its propulsion vendor could not deliver on time, that the new launch slot is mid-2028, and that asteroid 99942 Apophis became its target. In October 2025 the company had said it would launch on SpaceX Transporter-19 in about 15 months.
Company statements only. No independent or government source is recorded here.
Sources (4) and evidence gaps
our original launch in early 2027 slipped because our propulsion vendor could not deliver on time
We had to scramble to find a new slot, which ended up being a mid 2028 launch.
We're launching in ~15 months on Transporter 19.
To rendezvous with an uncharacterized near-Earth Asteroid and showcase capturing regolith at kilogram scale, minimizing mission duration and cost.
- Launch provider and vehicle for the mid-2028 slot.
Open evidence gaps
- No launch provider, launch vehicle or manifest is named for the mid-2028 launch slot; the propulsion vendor is not named.
- The identification of High Frontier with Mission 1 (Corvus, Apophis) is inferred: both are described as Karman+'s first demonstration mission, and the High Frontier page's February 2027 launch matches the 'original launch in early 2027' of the July 2026 post. The 2026 mission pages do not use the name High Frontier in their text, although the High Frontier page shows an image labelled 'K+ Mission 1 -> 99942 Apophis' (seen through the web tool, not quote-checkable).
- The High Frontier page is undated and still says launch in February 2027, contradicting the company's July 2026 post (mid-2028).
- The kilogram-scale regolith-capture objective comes from the undated High Frontier page written for the earlier target (an uncharacterized near-Earth asteroid). The 2026 Apophis pages speak only of deploying tests to the surface and do not restate a regolith quantity or say whether regolith will be captured at Apophis.
- The company describes Apophis as an S-type 'dry ball of dirt' and says the mission is not for water, so water is not recorded as a target of this mission.
- The 'Building & Testing' hardware status and the 2030 rendezvous date are company labels; no independent evidence of hardware tests was found. The rendezvous date is not recorded as a landing date because no landing of the spacecraft is stated.
Record history
changes to this record's facts, newest first
| Changed | Field | Was | Now | Reason | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026-07-21 | launch date | early 2027 | mid 2028 | Schedule slip | [7] |
Sources
16 excerpts from 4 publicationsOne web address counts as one publication.
To rendezvous with an uncharacterized near-Earth Asteroid and showcase capturing regolith at kilogram scale
Zero-g excavation
Our first mission to a near Earth asteroid launches in February 2027.
High Frontier, Karman+'s first technical demonstration mission, is set to prove the approach the company is taking
will be used to develop its first technology demonstration mission and customer missions, expected in 2027.
our original launch in early 2027 slipped because our propulsion vendor could not deliver on time.
We had to scramble to find a new slot, which ended up being a mid 2028 launch.
Our first mission is going to asteroid Apophis.
It received the permanent number 99942 on 24 June 2005
But this first mission is a technology demonstration, not a mining mission with customers waiting for water.
it will allow us to test our mining tech.
- [12]Missions
When our launch moved to mid-2028 we re-ran our leaderboard and Apophis came out on top, because its close approach lands almost exactly when we reach Earth escape.
- [13]Missions
Corvus weighs 700kg and has ~10kW of power.
- [14]Missions
Rendezvous with Apophis, then deploy our tests to the surface.
- [15]Missions
Building & Testing
- [16]Missions
It is an S-type: a dry ball of dirt.
Cite this record
SpaceMiningData, “Karman+ Mission 1 (High Frontier, Corvus spacecraft)”, dataset version a00fa2c68a45, built 2026-11-11, https://spaceminingdata.com/missions/karman-plus-mission-1.html. Record checked 2026-10-30.