The Exploration Company
Helene Huby
Data verified as of Sep 23, 2026
Summary
The Exploration Company (TEC) is a Franco-German space-transport startup founded in July 2021 by Helene Huby and Airbus/ArianeGroup veterans who had worked on ATV and the Orion European Service Module. It is building Nyx, a launcher-agnostic reusable cargo capsule meant to dock with the ISS and future commercial stations and return cargo to Earth, plus Storm, a full-flow staged-combustion methalox engine of up to 180 tonnes of thrust intended as the core of a future European heavy launcher. Dual headquarters sit in the Munich area and around Bordeaux (Le Haillan/Merignac), with sites in Turin, Houston, Luxembourg, and the UAE; the legal parent is The Exploration Company GmbH in Gauting. Two subscale demonstrators have already flown: Bikini on Ariane 6's maiden flight in July 2024 (the upper stage never deorbited, so the capsule stayed in orbit) and Mission Possible on SpaceX Transporter-14 in June 2025, which reached orbit and reentered but lost communications before splashdown. Nyx itself is in structural testing and ISS safety review. The company closed a $450 million Series C on September 8, 2026 - the largest Series C yet by a European space company - co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico, and EQT's Scaleup Europe Fund, bringing total funding to about $680 million. Two days later at the International Space Summit in Paris, ESA awarded TEC a EUR 760 million ALADDIN Phase 2 service contract (EUR 310 million for an ISS cargo demonstration plus EUR 450 million in options for two more flights to the ISS or a future commercial station), and TEC booked Ariane 6 with Arianespace for the demo. ESA will cover 60% of the demonstration; TEC says it has secured the other 40% from private investors. The company reports more than 550 employees, 10 missions booked, and more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments with ESA plus pre-bookings from Axiom, Vast, and Starlab. A crewed Nyx is described as a mid-2030s follow-on. Series C talks in July 2026 had pointed at a valuation above $2 billion; the close itself did not disclose a post-money figure.
Main Products
A reusable, launcher-agnostic cargo capsule designed to dock with the ISS and future commercial stations and return cargo to Earth. The Nyx Earth stack is a conical capsule plus cylindrical service module, about 4 m in diameter and 7 m tall with a total mass of 8 tonnes, able to carry several tonnes to LEO and return up to 3,000 kg. Company pages say it is reusable for up to 10 missions. A crewed version for 4-5 people is described as a mid-2030s follow-on. The first full-scale flight is the ESA ALADDIN ISS cargo demonstration on Ariane 6, company-targeted for 2028, with ISS docking reported no later than Q2 2029.
Structural test model, parachute drop test, and Phase 1 ISS safety review complete. First full-scale flight is the ALADDIN ISS demo, targeted 2028 (docking NLT Q2 2029).
TEC's reusable high-thrust rocket engine program, using a full-flow staged-combustion cycle on liquid oxygen and biomethane. Designed for up to 180 tonnes of sea-level thrust and intended as the propulsion foundation for a future European reusable heavy launcher (the company briefly showed a nine-engine Yrene concept in 2026, then described it as long-term). Hardware work covers turbomachinery, preburners, and additive manufacturing, with subscale tests at DLR Lampoldshausen under ESA's THRUST! framework.
Publicly unveiled June 2026 at ILA Berlin. Subscale preburner tests underway; Series C funds a path through power-pack and workhorse engine tests over the next several years.
A proposed cylindrical lunar cargo lander, without the Nyx Earth reentry capsule, intended to deliver cargo to the lunar surface using TEC's GOX/GCH4 Breeze thrusters and the 15 kN methalox Huracan engine. Breeze was test-fired in July 2025; Huracan completed a first prototype hot-fire campaign in May 2026. Maiden flight had been discussed for 2028 in older materials; it remains a later-stage product behind Nyx Earth.
Thruster and Huracan engine tests in 2025-2026; no firm public landing date as of September 2026.
An in-orbit servicing spacecraft designed to dock with and refuel satellites, supported by ESA's In-Space Proof-of-Concepts (InSPoC) effort inside the Future Launchers Preparatory Programme. First launch has been discussed for 2028.
ESA InSPoC-1 Phase B2 awarded; first flight discussed for 2028.
What's Next
ALADDIN Nyx ISS cargo demonstration on Ariane 6
The first full-scale Nyx flight is ESA's ALADDIN cargo demonstration, booked on Ariane 6 from Kourou. TEC's Series C materials say that demonstration includes ISS docking and a return to Earth, targeted for 2028. European Spaceflight reports docking no later than Q2 2029, the last window before planned ISS retirement. EUR 310 million is firm; two extra flights worth EUR 450 million remain options.
Track Record
0 of 3 announced dates hit · 1 slipped · 2 missed
Mission Odyssey / first full-scale Nyx flight (original 2026 target)
Target 2026 · Resolved Nov 1, 2025
Early roadmaps targeted a full-scale Nyx Earth maiden flight (Mission Odyssey) in 2026. By late 2025 Huby said ESA funding would enable a full-scale demonstration by 2028, and 2026 company materials now point to 2028.
Mission Possible controlled reentry and recovery
Target June 2025 · Resolved Jun 24, 2025
The 2.5 m demonstrator reached orbit, reentered, and came out of blackout, then lost communications before splashdown. TEC called it a partial success and said it would re-fly the mission. Customer cargo, including memorial payloads, was not recovered.
Operations & Revenue
As of September 2026 Nyx has completed subscale splashdown tests, a Mojave parachute drop test, structural-test-model pressure and ESTEC vibration campaigns, and Phase 1 ISS safety review. The first full-scale flight is the ESA ALADDIN ISS cargo demonstration on Ariane 6: company materials target 2028 and say that demonstration includes ISS docking and return; European Spaceflight reports docking no later than Q2 2029. Storm is in subscale preburner testing with DLR. Two earlier demonstrators have flown: Bikini (2024, no reentry) and Mission Possible (2025, partial success).
Revenue Streams
ESA cargo transportation (ALADDIN / LCRS)
Phase 2 service contract signed September 10, 2026: EUR 310 million for a Nyx ISS demonstration plus EUR 450 million in options for two more cargo flights to the ISS or a future commercial station. ESA funds 60% of the demo.
Commercial space-station cargo
Pre-booking agreements with Axiom, Vast, and Starlab. TEC says 10 missions are booked in total. These are demand signals ahead of a flying capsule, not yet flown cargo.
DLR signed in February 2025 as an anchor customer for Nyx-based microgravity research services.
Key Metrics
- Employees
- 550+ (as of September 2026)
Timeline
In January 2026 TEC runs 20 splashdown tests of a 1:4 Nyx model in Rome. A structural test model completes pressure tests in March and 69 vibration tests at ESTEC by May. On May 19 a dedicated drop-test vehicle in the Mojave Desert validates drogue-to-main parachute handover from 2.8 km.
In May 2026 TEC completes a first test-fire campaign of the 15 kN methalox Huracan engine for future lunar landers. In June it publicly unveils Storm, a reusable full-flow staged-combustion LOX/biomethane engine of up to 180 tonnes of thrust, at ILA Berlin.
On June 30 TEC acquires UK propulsion-and-fueling specialist European Astrotech at Westcott. On July 8 it opens a Rapid Innovation Lab in Houston near NASA Johnson, including a full-scale Nyx crew mockup, and launches TEC Federal as a US-controlled entity to bid on US government work.
On September 8 TEC closes a $450 million Series C co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico, and the Scaleup Europe Fund managed by EQT, with Balderton, Plural, Cherry, and Red River West returning. Bessemer partner Alex Ferrara joins the board. Total funding reaches about $680 million. The money is earmarked for a Nyx ISS demonstration and Storm engine tests. No post-money valuation is disclosed at close.
On September 10 at the International Space Summit in Paris, ESA signs a EUR 760 million ALADDIN Phase 2 service contract with TEC: EUR 310 million for a Nyx ISS cargo demonstration and EUR 450 million in options for two more flights to the ISS or a future commercial station. ESA covers 60% of the demo; TEC says private investors cover 40%. The same day TEC books Ariane 6 with Arianespace for the first Nyx flight, expected no later than Q2 2029 for ISS docking. TEC says it has 10 missions booked and about $2 billion in total contracts and commitments with Axiom, Starlab, and Vast among the commercial pre-bookings.
On June 23, 2025 a 2.5 m, 1,600 kg Nyx demonstrator launches on SpaceX Transporter-14 with ~300 kg of customer payloads. It reaches orbit, reenters, and re-establishes communications after blackout, then loses contact minutes before splashdown. TEC calls it a partial success and says it will re-fly the mission.
Funding
Cumulative disclosed raise · dated rounds
