The Exploration Company (TEC) is a European aerospace company[1] developing reusablespacecraft.[2] TEC is headquartered inMunich,Bordeaux, andOberpfaffenhofen with additional offices inItaly,France,Houston (US), and theMENA region.[3][4][5] The company embraces a pan-European identity.[6] The Exploration Company was founded in July 2021 byHélène Huby (CEO) with a group of space engineers who had worked together on European space programs atAirbus andArianeGroup, includingOrion-ESM andATV.[7][8][9] TEC's main project is developingNyx, a family of modular, reusable spacecraft designed for missions toLow Earth Orbit (LEO), lunar orbit, and the Moon.[10] Its vehicles aim to serve cargo transport, re-entry missions, and future human spaceflight needs.[1]
The Nyx Earth vehicle is composed of a cylindricalservice module and a conicalspace capsule. It measures 4 meters in diameter and 7 meters[11] in height with a total mass of 8 tonnes.[9] It will be capable of carrying 4,000 kg of payload intolow 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.[12] Nyx Earth will be able to fly freely for up to six months, and will be capable of docking to a space station inLEO.[13]
Although the company's first missions are cargo-only, Nyx Earth is designed to eventually be able to transport humans.[14] The crewed version, capable of transporting 4 to 5 people toLEO, is expected to be available in the mid-2030s.[15][16]
Nyx Earth's interfaces are open, and itsoperating system isopen-source software, which contributes to other space exploration projects whose technologies can inter-operate.[17][18][19] 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.[20][21][22] Nyx Earth can be reused five times,[23] and will be capable ofin-orbit refueling.[24]
Nyx Earth uses green propellants for altitude control and docking (high-test peroxide), as well as cryogenic bio-methane & oxygen for reaching lunar destinations.[25][26][27] The Nyx Earth spacecraft's initial missions will use the DS250hypergolic bipropellant thrusters provided by Agile Space.[28]
The Exploration Company developed two smaller-scale demonstrators. The first, nicknamedBikini, is a capsule 60 centimeters in diameter weighing approximately 40 kilograms.[9][29] It was launched on the inaugural flight ofAriane 6 to validate the general profile of the capsule and thermal protection but it never reentered as the upper stage failed todeorbit.[30]
The second demonstrator, namedMission Possible, was a larger capsule measuring 2.5 m in diameter and weighing 1,600 kg, capable of carrying 300 kg of payload (reserved by theEuropean Space Agency, the FrenchCNES, and GermanDLR). Intended to validate a more controlled reentry with propulsion and landing via parachute,[31][9][29] it was launched by theFalcon 9 rideshare missionTransporter-14 in June 2025,[32] operated nominally in orbit, re-entered the atmosphere, and re-established communication after the expectedreentry blackout. However, communication with the capsule was lost before expected splash down. The company plans to re-fly the mission.[33][34]
As of 2023, the full-scale version, namedMission Odyssey, was planned to fly in 2026.[35] In November 2025, just before theESA ministerial council expected to make a decision about further funding for theLEO Cargo Return Service (LCRS) initiative, TEC's CEOHélène Huby said that with ESA funding, the company can perform the full-scale demonstration mission by 2028.[4]
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.[36][37]
The Nyx Moonlunar lander, of simple cylindrical design without the re-entry capsule, is proposed to deliver cargo to lunar surface.[37] It will use the company's GOX/GCH4-powered Breeze thrusters. This engine was test fired for the first time in July 2025.[10] As of 2024, the maiden flight of Nyx Moon was expected to take place in 2028.[38]
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 (InSPoC) initiative, part ofFuture Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). Its first launch is planned for 2028.[39][40]
November 2021 – TEC raised 5 million euros.[41][12]
October 2022 – TEC was among the space firms selected to be financed by the "France 2030" investment plan for its work on itsliquid methane rocket engine.[42]
February 2023 – TEC announced a fundraising of 40 million euros to develop its Nyx capsule, successfully completed,[9] making it the largestseries A in the space industry in Europe.[43]
29 May2023 – TEC was awarded a contract by theEuropean 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 companiesArianeGroup,Avio andSENER. 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.[44]
July 2023 – TEC 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.[45]
September 2023 – TEC announced an agreement withAxiom 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.[46]
February 2025 – The German aerospace agencyDLR announced that it had signed a contract with TEC to serve as an anchor customer for its microgravity research service using the Nyx vehicle.[52]
June 2025 – TEC launched its second demonstration mission, named Mission Possible, onFalcon 9.[53]
July 2025 – TES test fired the Nyx Moon's Breeze thrusters for the first time at the company's testing facility inBordeaux.[10]
TEC concluded an extensivewind-tunnel testing campaign, validating the Nyx Earth's behaviour across the entire flight regime from subsonic to hypersonic conditions, at theDLR's facilities inCologne.[55]
TEC inaugurated a new facility inLe Haillan, France, hosting the company's propulsion, thermal protection, and systems engineering teams, as well as the mission control centre.[4]
TEC concluded the first test campaign of an innovative resonanceigniter for rocket engines that uses interacting pressure waves to start an engine. This work was supported byESA's Thrust! initiative.[57]
TEC started negotiating about a possible acquisition of the UK-based rocket companyOrbex[59] but the takeover fell through and in February 2026, Orbex begun insolvency proceedings.[60][61]
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