The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company is a European aerospace company developing reusable spacecraft. Founded in 2021, TEC is headquartered in Munich and Bordeaux, with additional offices in Italy, the United States and the MENA region. The company embraces a pan-European identity.
TEC’s main project is developing Nyx, a family of modular, reusable spacecraft designed for missions to Low Earth Orbit, lunar orbit, and the Moon. Its vehicles aim to serve cargo transport, re-entry missions, and future human spaceflight needs.

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Nyx Earth spacecraft

Design

The Nyx Earth 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. It will be capable of carrying 4,000 kg of payload into low Earth orbit (LEO) 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. Nyx Earth will be able to fly freely for up to six months, and will be capable of docking to a space station in LEO.
Although the company's first missions are cargo-only, Nyx Earth is designed to eventually be able to transport humans. The crewed version, capable of transporting 4 to 5 people to LEO, is expected to be available in the mid-2030s.
Nyx Earth's interfaces are open, and its operating system is open-source software, which contributes to other space exploration projects whose technologies can inter-operate. 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. Nyx Earth can be reused five times, and will be capable of in-orbit refueling.
Nyx Earth uses green propellants for altitude control and docking, as well as cryogenic bio-methane & oxygen for reaching lunar destinations. The Nyx Earth spacecraft's initial missions will use the DS250 hypergolic bipropellant thrusters provided by Agile Space.

Developmental flights

The Exploration Company developed two smaller-scale demonstrators. The first, nicknamed Bikini, is a capsule 60 centimeters in diameter weighing approximately 40 kilograms. 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 stage failed to deorbit.
The second demonstrator, named Mission Possible, was a larger capsule measuring 2.5 m in diameter and weighing 1,600 kg, capable of carrying 300 kg of payload. Intended to validate a more controlled reentry with propulsion and landing via parachute, it was launched by the Falcon 9 rideshare mission Transporter-14 in June 2025, operated nominally in orbit, re-entered the atmosphere, and re-established communication after the expected re-entry blackout. However, communication with the capsule was lost before expected splash down. The company plans to re-fly the mission.
As of 2023, the full-scale version, named Mission Odyssey, was planned to fly in 2026. In November 2025, just before the ESA ministerial council expected to make a decision about further funding for the LEO Cargo Return Service (LCRS) initiative, TEC's CEO Hélène Huby said that with ESA funding, the company can perform the full-scale demonstration mission by 2028.

Nyx Cislunar spacecraft

The Nyx Cislunar vehicle, of similar design to Nyx Earth, is proposed to deliver up to 5,000 kg to lunar orbit and up to 2,000 kg back to Earth.

Nyx Moon spacecraft

The Nyx Moon lunar lander, of simple cylindrical design without the re-entry capsule, is proposed to deliver cargo to lunar surface. It will use the company's GOX/GCH₄-powered Breeze thrusters. This engine was test fired for the first time in July 2025. As of 2024, the maiden flight of Nyx Moon was expected to take place in 2028.

Oura spacecraft

TEC is developing the Oura spacecraft designed to dock with and refuel satellites in orbit. The project is supported by ESA's In-Space Proof-of-Concepts initiative, part of Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). Its first launch is planned for 2028.

History

The Exploration Company was founded in July 2021 by Hélène Huby with a group of space engineers who had worked together on European space programs at Airbus and ArianeGroup, including Orion-ESM and ATV. In November 2021, the company raised 5 million euros. 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.

2023

In February 2023, the company announced a fundraising of 40 million euros to develop its Nyx capsule, successfully completed, making it the largest series A in the space industry in Europe.
On May 29, 2023, the Exploration Company was awarded a contract by the European Space Agency 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.
In July 2023, the company was once again one of the space companies that secured financing from the same French state investment plan; it did so this time for its DEMARLUS project.
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.

2024

In January 2024, the company began working on a reusable rocket engine, Typhoon.
In May 2024, the company was selected, along with Thales Alenia Space, for ESA's LEO Cargo Return Service (LCRS).
In June 2024, the company signed a contract with Vast Space for cargo missions.
In July 2024, TEC launched its first demonstration mission, nicknamed Bikini, on Ariane 6's first flight.
In November 2024, the company raised $160 million in Series B funding for the development of its Nyx cargo vehicle.

2025

In February 2025, the German aerospace agency DLR announced that it had signed a contract with TEC to serve as an anchor customer for its microgravity research service using the Nyx vehicle.
In June 2025, TEC launched its second demonstration mission, named Mission Possible, on Falcon 9.
In July 2025, TES has test fired the Nyx Moon's Breeze thrusters for the first time at the company's testing facility in Bordeaux.
In August 2025, the Nyx Earth spacecraft has passed Phase 1 of the International Space Station Safety Review.
In October 2025, TEC has opened its new headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen, Germany.
In late October 2025, TEC has concluded an extensive wind-tunnel testing campaign, validating the Nyx Earth's behaviour across the entire flight regime from subsonic to hypersonic conditions, at the DLR's facilities in Cologne.
In November 2025, TEC has completed an initial test campaign of the Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris shield of Nyx at the German Institute for High-Speed Dynamics.
Later in November 2025, TEC has acquired German metal additive manufacturing company Thrustworks and inaugurated a new facility in Le Haillan, France, hosting the company's propulsion, thermal protection, and systems engineering teams, as well as the mission control centre.
In December 2025, TEC awarded a contract to Redwire to build two IDSS-compliant International Berthing and Docking Mechanisms (IBDMs) for the Nyx spacecraft.

2026

In January 2026, TEC started negotiating about a possible acquisition of the UK-based rocket company Orbex.