Engineering:The Exploration Company

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Short description: European spacecraft manufacturer

The Exploration Company is a European spacecraft manufacturer.[1] Based in Munich, Germany and Bordeaux, France, the company develops, manufactures and operates the Nyx space capsule for space agencies and space stations as well as both space and non-space companies in other industries.[2] Although the company's first missions will be cargo missions, Nyx is designed to ultimately also be able to carry humans.[3]

History

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 raises 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 is one of the winners of the space component of the France 2030 investment plan for future for its work on its liquid methane rocket engine.[11] The company is once again one of the winners of the space component in July 2023 for its DEMARLUS project.[12]

In September 2023, the company announces 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]

Hardware: Nyx spacecraft

Design

The Nyx vehicle is a classic model, composed of a cylindrical service module and a conical space capsule, the only one capable of returning to Earth. It measures 4 meters in diameter with a total mass of 8 tonnes.[6] It must be capable of carrying 4,000 kg of payload into low Earth orbit for a maximum of 6 months, divided into 2,500 kg of pressurized cargo and 100 kg of unpressurized cargo on board the capsule which will be returned to Earth, the service module of the vehicle which must be capable of transporting 1,400 kg of unpressurized cargo.[8] Nyx must be able to fly freely for up to six months, in order to carry experiments, and must be able to dock with space stations in order to deliver cargo.

In the future, Nyx must be able to deliver up to 5,000 kg of cargo to lunar orbit (Lunar Gateway station) and even deposit cargo on the surface of the Moon and perform surface-to-surface flights on the Moon.

Although the company's first missions are cargo missions, Nyx is designed to eventually be able to transport humans.[14]

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.[15][16][17] The Nyx capsule is modular in nature with several configuration options for different mission objectives and destinations, while being launcher-agnostic.[18][19][20] The Exploration Company is also pioneering sustainable space exploration: Nyx is reusable (up to five times[21]), can be refueled in orbit, and uses green propellants for altitude control and docking (high-test peroxide), as well as cryogenic bio-methane & oxygen for reaching lunar destinations.[22][23][24][25] Liquid methane must power the Huracan engine currently under development, which must be able to be produced more than 80% by 3D printing.[26]

Development

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 must be launched on the inaugural flight of Ariane 6 and validate the general profile of the capsule and thermal protection. However, the company is also talking about an Indian rocket, the Polar Satellite Launch Vehicle, for a launch that would be less subject to Ariane 6 development delays.[28][13][29] 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 German space agency and French space agency). It must be launched by a Falcon 9 in 2024 and validate a more controlled reentry with propulsion and a parachute.[6][27] The full-scale version, named Mission Odyssey, is planned to fly in 2026.[30]

Purpose

The company's target customers include space agencies and space stations as well as both space and non-space companies in other industries.[30][31]

References

  1. ↑ International Astronautical Federation. "IAF : The Exploration Company GmbH" (in en). https://www.iafastro.org/membership/all-members/the-exploration-company-gmbh.html. 
  2. ↑ "Hogan Lovells advises various investors in the €40 million fundraising of The Exploration Company" (in en). https://www.hoganlovells.com/en/news/hogan-lovells-beraet-investoren-bei-40-mio-euro-finanzierungsrunde-von-the-exploration-company. 
  3. ↑ "The Exploration Company" (in en-US). https://www.eu-startups.com/directory/the-exploration-company-2/. 
  4. ↑ Alamalhodaei, Aria (2022-07-28). "The Exploration Company is developing a brand new reusable orbital spacecraft" (in en-US). https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/28/the-exploration-company-is-developing-a-brand-new-reusable-orbital-spacecraft/. 
  5. ↑ Root, Al. "SpaceX Isn't the Only Space Company That Can Raise Money" (in en-US). https://www.barrons.com/articles/exploration-company-space-capital-raising-51675264456. 
  6. ↑ 6.0 6.1 6.2 6.3 6.4 Rainbow, Jason (2023-02-02). "European startup gets $44 million for space station transportation vehicles" (in en-US). https://spacenews.com/european-startup-gets-44-million-for-space-station-transportation-vehicles/. 
  7. ↑ Damien Copitet (19 March 2023). "The Exploration Company lève 40 millions d’euros". https://www.planetegrandesecoles.com/the-exploration-company-levee-de-fonds-vaisseaux. .
  8. ↑ 8.0 8.1 Parsonson, Andrew (2022-02-23). "The Exploration Company aims to offer Europe independent access to space" (in en-US). https://europeanspaceflight.com/the-exploration-company-aims-to-offer-europe-independent-access-to-space/. 
  9. ↑ Vincent Lamigeon (1 February 2023). "Nyx, la capsule spatiale européenne qui veut concurrencer SpaceX". https://www.challenges.fr/entreprise/nyx-la-future-capsule-spatiale-europeenne-qui-veut-concurrencer-spacex_844024. .
  10. ↑ "Signature of industrial contracts for the consolidation of the common building blocks for future European reusable launch systems" (in en). 2023-05-29. https://www.esa.int/Enabling_Support/Space_Transportation/Signature_of_industrial_contracts_for_the_consolidation_of_the_common_building_blocks_for_future_European_reusable_launch_systems. 
  11. ↑ "France 2030 : Présentation des premiers résultats du volet spatial" (PDF). 6 October 2022. https://www.gouvernement.fr/sites/default/files/contenu/piece-jointe/2022/10/200_-_dp_-_presentation_des_laureats_de_lappel_a_projets_de_france_2030_spatial.pdf. .
  12. ↑ "Présentation des résultats du volet spatial de France 2030" (PDF). 5 July 2023. https://www.economie.gouv.fr/files/files/2023/PRESENTATION%20DES%20RESULTATS%20DU%20VOLET%20SPATIAL%20DE%20FRANCE%202030.pdf. .
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 Michel Cabirol (12 September 2023). "Spatial : Et le jour de gloire est arrivé pour The Exploration Company". https://www.latribune.fr/entreprises-finance/industrie/aeronautique-defense/spatial-et-le-jour-de-gloire-est-arrive-pour-the-exploration-company-975740.html. .
  14. ↑ Hassan Meddah (1 February 2023). "The Exploration Company, la start-up franco-allemande qui veut révolutionner la logistique spatiale". https://www.usinenouvelle.com/article/the-exploration-company-la-start-up-franco-allemande-qui-veut-revolutionner-la-logistique-spatiale.N2095456. 
  15. ↑ FinSMEs (2023-02-01). "The Exploration Company Raises €40M in Series A Funding" (in en-US). https://www.finsmes.com/2023/02/the-exploration-company-raises-e40m-in-series-a-funding.html. 
  16. ↑ Kulu, Erik. "The Exploration Company - Factories in Space" (in en). https://www.factoriesinspace.com/the-exploration-company. 
  17. ↑ "Germany-based The Exploration Company bags €40.5M from EQT Ventures, others to advance space democratisation efforts | Silicon Canals" (in en-US). 2023-02-01. https://siliconcanals.com/news/startups/the-exploration-company-bags-40-5m/. 
  18. ↑ "NYX | The Exploration Company" (in en-GB). https://bsgn.esa.int/service/nyx-the-exploration-company/. 
  19. ↑ "The Exploration Company" (in en). https://vsquared.vc/portfolio/the-exploration-company/. 
  20. ↑ "SpaceX challenger raises €40m to build Europe's first reusable rocket" (in en-US). 2023-02-01. https://sifted.eu/articles/spacex-challenger-europe-rocket-exploration/. 
  21. ↑ Neuhauser, Alan (2023-02-01). "The Exploration Company raises €40M for green space capsule" (in en). https://www.axios.com/pro/climate-deals/2023/02/01/exploration-company-40m-green-space-capsule. 
  22. ↑ "The Exploration Company | Space Impulse" (in en). https://app.spaceimpulse.com/o/the-exploration-company. 
  23. ↑ Garrett Reim. "The Exploration Company Raises €40m For Reusable Space Capsule | Aviation Week Network". https://aviationweek.com/aerospace/commercial-space/exploration-company-raises-eu40m-reusable-space-capsule. 
  24. ↑ "The Exploration Company Selects Benchmark Space Systems Propulsion System To Power its 'Mission Possible' Demonstrator Flight in 2024" (in en). 14 October 2022. https://www.benchmarkspacesystems.com/news/post/the-exploration-company. 
  25. ↑ The Exploration Company (4 August 2023). "Our reusable & throttable orbital bio-methane & oxygen engine has reached another successful milestone!". https://www.linkedin.com/posts/exploration-company_our-reusable-throttable-orbital-bio-methane-activity-7093559922969194497-27OM. .
  26. ↑ Tristan Carballeda (28 July 2023). "Qui est The Exploration Company, la start-up qui veut conquérir la Lune ?". https://www.journaldugeek.com/2023/07/28/qui-est-the-exploration-company-la-start-up-qui-veut-conquerir-la-lune/. .
  27. ↑ 27.0 27.1 Alexandre Laurent (20 January 2023). "Espace : The Exploration Company veut diviser par 4 le prix de la logistique spatiale". https://www.placeco.fr/gironde/demain/article/espace-the-exploration-company-veut-diviser-par-4-le-prix-de-la-logistique-spatiale-2202. .
  28. ↑ Thomas Coignac (21 June 2023). "Basée à Mérignac, The Exploration Company va envoyer une capsule dans l'espace en octobre". https://www.francebleu.fr/emissions/la-nouvelle-eco-en-gironde/basee-a-merignac-the-exploration-company-va-envoyer-une-capsule-dans-l-espace-en-octobre-2404020. .
  29. ↑ Aria Alamalhodaei (13 September 2023). "The Exploration Company signs agreements with Axiom, Indian Space Research Organization". https://techcrunch.com/2023/09/13/the-european-company-signs-agreements-with-axiom-indian-space-research-organization/. .
  30. ↑ 30.0 30.1 "The Exploration Company Secures €40 Million Funding". 2 February 2023. https://spacewatch.global/2023/02/the-exploration-company-secures-e40-million-funding/. 
  31. ↑ Larissa Holzki (1 February 2023). "Raumfahrt: Raumschiff-Start-up sammelt 40 Millionen Euro ein". https://www.handelsblatt.com/technik/it-internet/raumfahrt-raumschiff-start-up-sammelt-40-millionen-euro-ein/28953226.html. 



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