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The Exploration Company

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The Exploration Company
IndustryAerospace
FoundedJuly 2021; 3 years ago (2021-07)
Headquarters
Munich
,
Germany
Key people
Hélène Huby (CEO)
ProductsNyx
Number of employees
200
Websitewww.exploration.space

The Exploration Company (TEC) is a Franco-German spacecraft manufacturer.[1] Founded in 2021, the company operates out of Munich and Bordeaux, with additional offices in Italy, the United States (in Houston) and the MENA. TEC develops, manufactures and operates the Nyx space capsule for various clients, such as space agencies, other aerospace companies or businesses operating in other industries.[2] Although its first missions will be cargo missions, Nyx is designed to ultimately also be able to carry humans.[3]

History

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The Exploration Company was founded in July 2021 by Hélène Huby (CEO) with a group of space engineers who had worked together on European space programs at Airbus and ArianeGroup, including Orion-ESM and ATV.[4][5][6]

In November 2021, the company raised 5 million euros.[7][8]

In February 2023, the company announced a fundraising of 40 million euros to develop its Nyx capsule, successfully completed,[6] making it the largest series A in the space industry in Europe.[9]

On May 29, 2023, the Exploration Company was awarded a contract by the European Space Agency (ESA) to study solutions for future European single-use and reusable spacecraft, covering micro-mini, medium, heavy and crewed applications. In total, ESA awarded four contracts on this topic. The other three went to the companies ArianeGroup, Avio and SENER. These four contracts are intended to contribute to the realization of ESA's Vision 2030+, which was initiated in 2021. It aims to create small, medium, and heavy support vessels based on a common set of reusable, standardized modules.[10]

In October 2022, The Exploration Company was among the space firms selected to be financed by the France 2030 investment plan for its work on its liquid methane rocket engine.[11] The company was once again, in July 2023, one of the space companies that secured financing from the same French state investment plan; it did so this time for its DEMARLUS project.[12]

In September 2023, the company announced an agreement with Axiom Space for the cargo supply of its station in the form of a pre-contract subject to validation of technological milestones during the development of its spacecraft.[13]

The company was selected, along with Thales Alenia Space in May 2024, for ESA's Commercial Cargo program.[14] In June 2024, it signed a contract with Vast Space for cargo missions.[15]


Hardware: Nyx spacecraft

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Design

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The Nyx vehicle is composed of a cylindrical service module and a conical space capsule. It measures 4 meters in diameter with a total mass of 8 tonnes.[6] It will be capable of carrying 4,000 kg of payload into low Earth orbit for a maximum of 6 months, with up to 2,500 kg of pressurized cargo and 100 kg of unpressurized cargo being onboard the vehicle. The service module of the vehicle will be able to transport 1,400 kg of unpressurized cargo.[8] Nyx will be able to fly freely for up to six months, and will be capable of docking to space station in LEO.

Although the company's first missions are cargo missions, Nyx is designed to eventually be able to transport humans.[16]

Nyx's interfaces are open, and its operating system is open-source software, which contributes to other space exploration projects whose technologies can inter-operate.[17][18][19] The Nyx capsule is modular in nature, with several configuration options for different mission objectives and destinations, while also being capable of launching on multiple vehicles.[20][21][22] Nyx can be reused five times,[23] and will be capable of in-orbit refueling. Nyx and uses green propellants for altitude control and docking (high-test peroxide), as well as cryogenic bio-methane & oxygen for reaching lunar destinations.[24][25][26]

Development

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The Exploration Company plans to develop two smaller-scale demonstrators. The first, nicknamed Bikini, is a capsule 60 centimeters in diameter weighing approximately 40 kilograms.[6][27] It was launched on the inaugural flight of Ariane 6 to validate the general profile of the capsule and thermal protection but it never reentered as the upper stase failed to deorbit. The second demonstrator, named Mission Possible, is a larger capsule measuring 2.5 m in diameter and weighing 1,600 kg, capable of carrying 300 kg of payload (already reserved by the European Space Agency, the French CNES and German DLR). It will be launched by a Falcon 9 in 2024, and validate a more controlled reentry with propulsion and landing via parachute.[6][27] The full-scale version, named Mission Odyssey, is planned to fly in 2026.[28]

Purpose

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The company's target customers include space agencies, space stations as well as other space companies and non-space ones in other industries.[28][29]

References

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  1. ^ International Astronautical Federation. "IAF : The Exploration Company GmbH". www.iafastro.org. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  2. ^ "Hogan Lovells advises various investors in the €40 million fundraising of The Exploration Company". www.hoganlovells.com. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  3. ^ "The Exploration Company". EU-Startups. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  4. ^ Alamalhodaei, Aria (2022-07-28). "The Exploration Company is developing a brand new reusable orbital spacecraft". TechCrunch. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  5. ^ Root, Al. "SpaceX Isn't the Only Space Company That Can Raise Money". Barron's. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  6. ^ a b c d e Rainbow, Jason (2023-02-02). "European startup gets $44 million for space station transportation vehicles". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  7. ^ Damien Copitet (19 March 2023). "The Exploration Company lève 40 millions d'euros". www.planetegrandesecoles.com (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2023..
  8. ^ a b Parsonson, Andrew (2022-02-23). "The Exploration Company aims to offer Europe independent access to space". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  9. ^ Vincent Lamigeon (1 February 2023). "Nyx, la capsule spatiale européenne qui veut concurrencer SpaceX". Challenges (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2023..
  10. ^ "Signature of industrial contracts for the consolidation of the common building blocks for future European reusable launch systems". ESA. 2023-05-29. Retrieved 2023-06-11.
  11. ^ "France 2030 : Présentation des premiers résultats du volet spatial" (PDF). www.gouvernement.fr (in French). 6 October 2022. Retrieved 13 September 2023..
  12. ^ "Présentation des résultats du volet spatial de France 2030" (PDF). www.gouvernement.fr (in French). 5 July 2023. Retrieved 13 September 2023..
  13. ^ Michel Cabirol (12 September 2023). "Spatial : Et le jour de gloire est arrivé pour The Exploration Company". La Tribune (in French). Retrieved 13 September 2023..
  14. ^ Foust, Jeff (2024-05-22). "ESA selects Thales Alenia Space and The Exploration Company for commercial cargo program". SpaceNews. Retrieved 2024-05-23.
  15. ^ Parsonson, Andrew (2024-06-11). "Vast Contracts The Exploration Company for Cargo Mission". European Spaceflight. Retrieved 2024-06-14.
  16. ^ Hassan Meddah (1 February 2023). "The Exploration Company, la start-up franco-allemande qui veut révolutionner la logistique spatiale". L'Usine nouvelle (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2023.
  17. ^ FinSMEs (2023-02-01). "The Exploration Company Raises €40M in Series A Funding". FinSMEs. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  18. ^ Kulu, Erik. "The Exploration Company - Factories in Space". www.factoriesinspace.com. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  19. ^ "Germany-based The Exploration Company bags €40.5M from EQT Ventures, others to advance space democratisation efforts | Silicon Canals". 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  20. ^ "NYX | The Exploration Company". BSGN. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  21. ^ "The Exploration Company". Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  22. ^ "SpaceX challenger raises €40m to build Europe's first reusable rocket". Sifted. 2023-02-01. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  23. ^ Neuhauser, Alan (2023-02-01). "The Exploration Company raises €40M for green space capsule". Axios. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  24. ^ "The Exploration Company | Space Impulse". app.spaceimpulse.com. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  25. ^ Garrett Reim. "The Exploration Company Raises €40m For Reusable Space Capsule | Aviation Week Network". Aviation Week & Space Technology. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  26. ^ "The Exploration Company Selects Benchmark Space Systems Propulsion System To Power its 'Mission Possible' Demonstrator Flight in 2024". www.benchmarkspacesystems.com. 14 October 2022. Retrieved 2023-04-09.
  27. ^ a b Alexandre Laurent (20 January 2023). "Espace : The Exploration Company veut diviser par 4 le prix de la logistique spatiale". www.placeco.fr (in French). Retrieved 7 August 2023..
  28. ^ a b "The Exploration Company Secures €40 Million Funding". Spacewatch Global. 2 February 2023. Retrieved 24 June 2023.
  29. ^ Larissa Holzki (1 February 2023). "Raumfahrt: Raumschiff-Start-up sammelt 40 Millionen Euro ein". Handelsblatt (in German). Retrieved 2023-04-09.
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