FINO MORNASCO, Italy, May 25, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- D-Orbit, the space logistics and orbital transportation company in the process of going public through a transaction with Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: BREZ), today launched Infinite Blue aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-5 mission. Infinite Blue is the sixth commercial mission for D-Orbit’s proprietary orbital transfer vehicle (OTV), ION Satellite Carrier (ION).

The Falcon 9 rocket lifted off today, May 25, 2022, at 14:35 EDT from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station (CCSFS), Florida. ION, a versatile and cost-effective OTV designed both to precisely deploy satellites and perform technology demonstrations of third-party payloads in orbit, was successfully deployed 1h 9m 22s after lift-off into a 525-kilometer Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO).

“We are thrilled to have successfully launched our sixth commercial ION mission,” said Renato Panesi, Ph.D., D-Orbit’s Chief Commercial Officer. “We are continuing to ramp up our launch schedule and expand our client base while steadily progressing along our roadmap. I’m proud of our proven technology, our team, and the amazing milestones we are achieving together, mission after mission.”

With the launch successfully completed, D-Orbit’s mission control team is executing the mission’s  Launch and Early Orbit phase ( LEOP), performing a series of health check procedures in preparation for the operational phase.

Partnering with Valued Customers

During the mission, ION SCV006 will deploy:

• Guardian, a 6U CubeSat developed by Aistech carrying a multispectral telescope equipped with visible (RGB), near infrared (NIR), and thermal infrared (TIR) sensors. The imaging payload is focused on commercial services addressing markets linked to environmental sustainability.
• SBUDNIC, a 3U CubeSat developed by Brown University in collaboration with the Institute on Atmospheric Pollution of the National Research Council of Italy (CNR-IIA). Through its fish-eye cameras, the spacecraft will collect and transmit panoramic views of space to Earth from the satellite to be promoted through social media, sponsorship campaigns, and school partnerships. Following an Open Architecture philosophy, the project’s goal is to inspire future engineers to advance space exploration in universities, research, and industry and contribute to ongoing efforts proving the accessibility of space. After its mission is complete, SBUDNIC will deploy a drag sail to deorbit itself.

This mission will also include the in-orbit demonstration of two third-party hosted payloads:

• A prototype nanosatellite developed by Cryptosat for secure cryptographic applications such as electronic voting, trusted random beacon, and verifiable delay enforcement for smart contracts.
• Gen-01 a new type of space propulsion system developed by Genergo to further push the boundaries of what is possible in space travel.

Infinite Blue is ION’s sixth mission in less than two years and the third in 2022. D-Orbit launched its first ION in September 2020 aboard an Arianespace VEGA launcher, then four further missions aboard SpaceX Transporter missions. With this launch, the Company will have transported to space more than 80 payloads collectively.

The Company has three more ION launches scheduled for the remainder of 2022.

About D-Orbit and Its Proposed Business Combination with Breeze Holdings

D-Orbit is a market leader in the space logistics and transportation services industry with a track record of space-proven technologies and successful missions.

Founded in 2011, before the dawn of the New Space market, D-Orbit is the first company addressing the logistics needs of the space market. ION Satellite Carrier, for example, is a space vehicle that can transport satellites in orbit and release them individually into distinct orbital slots, reducing the time from launch to operations by up to 85% and the launch costs of an entire satellite constellation by up to 40%. ION can also accommodate multiple third-party payloads like innovative technologies developed by startups, experiments from research entities, and instruments from traditional space companies requiring a test in orbit.

D-Orbit is a space infrastructure pioneer with offices in Italy, Portugal, the UK, and the US; its commitment to pursuing business models that are profitable, friendly for the environment, and socially beneficial, led to D-Orbit S.p.A. becoming the first certified B-Corp space company in the world.

As previously announced on January 27, 2022, D-Orbit has entered into a business combination agreement among Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp. (“Breeze Holdings”) (NASDAQ: BREZ), a publicly traded special purpose acquisition company, D-Orbit and a newly formed joint stock company (société anonyme) governed by the laws of the Grand Duchy of Luxembourg (“Holdco”) pursuant to which Holdco will become the publicly traded parent company of Breeze Holdings and D-Orbit upon the closing of the transactions. The transaction is expected to close in the second or third quarter of 2022, subject to the satisfaction of customary closing conditions, including certain governmental approvals and the approval of the shareholders of Breeze Holdings and the contribution of the D-Orbit shares by the D-Orbit shareholders.

About Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp.

Breeze Holdings is a blank check company organized for the purpose of effecting a merger, share exchange, asset acquisition, stock purchase, recapitalization, reorganization, or other similar business combination with one or more businesses or entities.

Additional Information About the Business Combination and Where to Find It

In connection with the proposed business combination transaction, Holdco intends to file with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) a registration statement on Form F-4 that will include a proxy statement of Breeze Holdings and that also will constitute a prospectus of Holdco with respect to the ordinary shares of Holdco to be issued in the proposed transaction (the “proxy statement/prospectus”). The definitive proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) will be delivered to Breeze Holdings’ and D-Orbit’s stockholders. Each of Holdco and Breeze Holdings may also file other relevant documents regarding the proposed transaction with the SEC. BEFORE MAKING ANY VOTING OR INVESTMENT DECISION, INVESTORS AND SECURITY HOLDERS OF BREEZE HOLDINGS AND D-ORBIT ARE URGED TO READ THE REGISTRATION STATEMENT, PROXY STATEMENT/PROSPECTUS AND ALL OTHER RELEVANT DOCUMENTS THAT ARE FILED WITH THE SEC IN CONNECTION WITH THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION, INCLUDING ANY AMENDMENTS OR SUPPLEMENTS TO THESE DOCUMENTS, CAREFULLY AND IN THEIR ENTIRETY BECAUSE THEY WILL CONTAIN IMPORTANT INFORMATION ABOUT THE PROPOSED TRANSACTION.

Investors and security holders may obtain free copies of the proxy statement/prospectus (if and when available) and other documents that are filed or will be filed with the SEC by Breeze Holdings or Holdco through the website maintained by the SEC at www.sec.gov. Copies of the documents filed with the SEC by Breeze Holdings or Holdco will be available free of charge at Breeze Holdings Acquisition Corp., 955 W. John Carpenter Fwy., Suite 100-929, Irving, TX 75039, attention: J. Douglas Ramsey.

Participants in the Solicitation

Breeze Holdings and its directors and executive officers are participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Breeze Holdings in respect of the proposed transaction. Information about Breeze Holdings’ directors and executive officers and their ownership of Breeze Holdings common stock is set forth in Breeze Holdings’ Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2021 filed with the SEC on March 11, 2022. D-Orbit and Holdco may also be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies from the stockholders of Breeze Holdings. Other information regarding the participants in the proxy solicitation and a description of their direct and indirect interests, by security holdings or otherwise, will be contained in the proxy statement/prospectus and other relevant materials to be filed with the SEC in respect of the proposed transaction when they become available. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.