The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company
Description: The Exploration Company (TEC) is a Franco-German aerospace manufacturer specializing in developing reusable and refillable spacecraft. The company's flagship project, Nyx, is designed to serve space stations and support missions between Earth and lunar stations. TEC aims to make space exploration more affordable, modular, and sustainable.
Vision:
To create affordable, modular, and sustainable space transportation solutions that facilitate human expansion into the solar system.
Mission:
To build a globally collaborative future in space by developing reusable and refillable spacecraft that serve the logistical needs of space stations and exploration missions.
Contact:
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Investors:
Funding:
  • Pre-Seed Funding: Oct 5, 2021, €1.5 million
  • Seed Funding: Nov 18, 2021, €5.3 million
  • Series A Funding: Feb 1, 2023, €40 million
  • Series B Funding: Nov 17, 2024, €150 million
Total Funding: €196.8 million
Key Milestones:
  • 2021: The Exploration Company was founded by aerospace engineers, including CEO Hélène Huby.
  • 2023: Secured €40 million in funding to develop the Nyx spacecraft, marking one of the largest Series A rounds in the European space sector.
  • 2024: Raised $160 million in a Series B funding round co-led by Balderton Capital and Plural, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, French Tech Souveraineté, DeepTech & Climate Fonds (DTCF), and Bayern Kapital. This round represents the largest-ever Series B funding in the European space sector.
  • 2024: Signed preliminary contracts with Axiom Space, ESA, and Starlab Space for cargo services to the ISS and other commercial space stations
Key People:
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Products & Services:
  • Nyx Spacecraft: escription: A modular, reusable orbital vehicle capable of carrying up to 3,000 kg of cargo to and from space stations, with future versions designed for crewed missions.Technical Features:In-orbit refuellableCompatible with multiple launch vehiclesOpen interfaces for payload integrationDesigned for reusability with carbon-based thermal protectionApplications:Cargo delivery to LEO and lunar orbitMicrogravity researchTechnology demonstrationsFuture crewed missionsDifferentiators:First European company to sign a Space Act Agreement with NASACombines modular design with in-orbit refueling capabilitiesAims to reduce costs to €15,000 per kg, approximately 15% of current ISS rates
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