On July 11, a SpaceX Falcon 9 carrying 20 Starlink satellites suffered an upper stage engine failure due to presently unknown causes, automatically triggering a grounding of the vehicle pursuant to FAA findings. Though flights may soon resume on a limited, internal basis, TDP International was pursuing an agreement to ride along as additional late-load cargo on a future private commercial mission to the International Space Station, which depended on SpaceX's Dragon 2 and Falcon 9. It is presently unknown whether or not crewed missions will be significantly impacted by this incident.
As a result of this turn of events, in order to best preserve our obligations to you, TDP International has solicited the assistance of a new launch service provider. This will not change the cost to you as an Artemis Stellar Field Watch buyer! However, we anticipate the delivery window of the Artemis to shift from late 2024 into early 2025 to accommodate our new launch service partner. We look forward to sharing more details with you as that agreement is finalized in the coming weeks. Additionally, look forward to a new TDP International service becoming available starting in late 2024 for space-flown memorabilia.
Space is a challenging environment and we ultimately are dependent on the hard work of many others to make something as small as a space-flown watch a reality. Occasionally, we may get unlucky and have to move things around a bit. Thank you all for your continued support, patience, and excitement about our humble little project!