The Exploration Company

Market position

TEC is described as a leading European space technology company and the first European company to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA. Its February 2023 raise was reported as the largest Series A in the European space industry and its November 2024 Series B as Europe's largest space Series B. It ranked first in the European space capsule competition when it won its first major ESA contract, and it was one of four companies awarded ESA future-spacecraft study contracts alongside ArianeGroup, Avio and SENER. The company frames its role as providing European sovereign transportation capability in a field where capabilities are concentrated in the US, China and Russia, and estimates the addressable LEO and lunar space logistics market at over $300 billion over the next decade.

TEC positions Nyx as launcher-agnostic — compatible with any heavy launcher worldwide rather than tied to a single rocket — and as offering the largest down-mass available worldwide at up to 3,000 kg, with service costs stated as 25% to 50% below other vehicles. Other stated differentiators are reusability and in-orbit refuelling, modular configurations for different destinations, open interfaces and an open-source vehicle operating system, in-house development of thermal protection, avionics, flight software and GNC, and a European sovereign identity (98% European shareholders at the time of the Series B; first European company to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASA). The company also cites development speed, citing nine months from sketch to flight-ready for the Bikini demonstrator and 24 months for Mission Possible.

Technology

Nyx uses a carbon-based, low-density thermal protection system for re-entry, reusable orbital propulsion thrusters, and in-house avionics, flight software and guidance, navigation and control for autonomous docking. Avionics are modular and COTS-based, comprising an on-board computer, payload interface unit, power control and distribution unit, propulsion drive electronics and thermal control unit, supported by an internally developed digital platform with APIs managing a vehicle digital twin. The vehicle's operating system is open-source and its interfaces are open. Propellants include high-test peroxide for attitude control and docking and cryogenic bio-methane and oxygen for lunar missions; initial Nyx Earth missions use DS250 hypergolic bipropellant thrusters supplied by Agile Space, while the Nyx Moon lander uses in-house GOX/GCH4 Breeze thrusters. The Storm engine is a reusable staged-combustion design rated at up to 180 tonnes of thrust.

Go-to-market

Sales are made directly through advance mission bookings, including early-bird pricing for maiden flights, and through pre-contracts and service agreements with space station operators and space agencies. Institutional competitions and programs (ESA studies and cargo return contracts, French 'France 2030' funding) provide both revenue and technical validation, while commercial demand comes from operators of planned private space stations. Published indicative pricing has included from EUR 20,000 per kg for Earth-orbit missions and from EUR 150,000 per kg for lunar missions.

Commercial space station operators (Axiom Space, Starlab Space, Vast, and other planned stations such as Orbital Reef), space agencies including ESA, CNES, DLR and NASA, and companies and researchers seeking microgravity experiments, in-orbit technology demonstration, re-entry services and lunar cargo delivery.

Geography

The company is headquartered in Munich, Germany, with additional main sites in Bordeaux (France) and Oberpfaffenhofen, and offices in Italy (Turin), France, Houston in the United States, and the MENA region. Company materials also list operations in Luxembourg and Spain and an office in the United Arab Emirates.

History

Founded in July 2021, the company raised 5 million euros in November 2021 and was selected in October 2022 for financing under the French 'France 2030' plan for its liquid methane rocket engine, followed by further French state financing in July 2023 for the DEMARLUS project. A 40 million euro round announced in February 2023 was described as the largest Series A in the European space industry. In May 2023 it was one of four companies (with ArianeGroup, Avio and SENER) awarded ESA contracts to study future European single-use and reusable spacecraft under Vision 2030+. Commercial agreements followed with Axiom Space (September 2023) and Starlab Space (May 2024, three cargo missions), and in May 2024 ESA awarded a 25 million euro ($26.4 million) cargo vehicle design contract. A $160 million Series B co-led by Balderton Capital and Plural was announced in November 2024, bringing total funding to nearly $230 million. The Bikini demonstrator flew on the maiden Ariane 6 flight in 2024, and the larger Mission Possible demonstrator flew on Falcon 9's Transporter-14 mission in June 2025. Headcount grew from about 200 at the time of the Series B to 450+ by 2025 and 400 reported for 2026.

Risks & controversies

The Bikini demonstrator did not perform re-entry because the Ariane 6 upper stage failed to deorbit, and communication with the Mission Possible capsule was lost before its expected splashdown in June 2025, requiring a re-flight. Development timelines have shifted: an initial demonstration originally planned with Ariane 6 in 2023 was moved to India's PSLV due to launcher delays, the Nyx Earth maiden flight has been variously stated as 2026 and 2028, and the full-scale demonstration mission by 2028 is conditional on ESA funding decided at the November 2025 ministerial council. Several commercial agreements, including the Axiom Space arrangement, are pre-contracts contingent on the company meeting technical milestones.