Technology and Science09 September, 20263 min read
The Exploration Company Raises $450 Million Series C To Develop Reusable Rocket Engine Nyx And Storm
This article is an automated aggregation of coverage from news outlets. Our editorials offer in-depth analysis curated by the NewsCord team.
The Exploration Company raised $450 million (€387 million) in Series C. Funds will advance Nyx capsule and Storm reusable rocket engine development.
TEC’s $450M Series C
The Exploration Company (TEC), a Paris-based space company founded in 2021 and led by Hélène Huby, raised $450 million in a Series C round described as Europe’s largest space Series C and the largest funding round by an EU-headquartered company led by a female founder and chief executive. TEC said the financing will fund Nyx, its reusable cargo capsule, toward a mission to dock with the International Space Station (ISS) and return to Earth, and will also speed development of Storm, a reusable high-thrust rocket engine. TEC stated that the round brought its total funding since its 2021 founding to about $680 million, and it said the company employs more than 550 people across Europe, the United States and the United Arab Emirates.
In a quote tied to the company’s plan, Huby said, “Everyone on Earth depends on infrastructure in space, yet the ability to reach, supply and return from orbit remains rare.” TEC said the Series C was co-led by Bessemer Venture Partners, Atomico and the Scaleup Europe Fund, managed by EQT, with existing backers including Balderton, Plural, Cherry and Red River West participating.
Nyx and Storm plans
TEC described Nyx as a reusable, launcher-agnostic spacecraft that carries cargo to public and private space stations, with crew capability planned later, and it said Nyx’s first full-scale orbital demonstration will include docking with the ISS and returning safely to Earth. For propulsion, TEC said Storm is Europe’s first reusable high-thrust rocket engine using a full-flow staged combustion cycle burning liquid oxygen and biomethane, and it said the engine is meant to power a future reusable European heavy-lift launcher capable of placing up to 40 metric tons into low Earth orbit in a reusable configuration. TEC said the funding would support a subscale thrust-chamber test of the engine’s pre-burners in the coming months, an oxygen-rich power pack test, and a workhorse engine test within the next few years.
The company also said it has secured more than $2 billion in contracts and commitments from public and private customers, including the European Space Agency and commercial space station operators. TEC said it is the first European space startup to sign a Space Act Agreement with the National Aeronautics and Space Administration, working with the agency on technical and safety qualification and certification for future ISS and commercial-station missions.
Political backing and stakes
The announcement drew comment from French President Emmanuel Macron and European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen, with Macron saying TEC’s ambitions are “an inspiration for the space companies we build together in Europe.” Von der Leyen said the financing “sends an important message about women’s leadership in high technology,” linking the Scaleup Europe Fund-backed round to women-led leadership in high technology. Bessemer Venture Partners partner Alex Ferrara said space sovereignty is increasingly critical to European security as space becomes infrastructure the modern economy runs on, and he added, “Europe cannot rent its way to owning that access.”
Ars Technica reported that The Exploration Company announced the $450 million Series C and described Huby as serving as one of two envoys alongside astronaut Thomas Pesquet at a high-profile International Space Summit convened by French President Emmanuel Macron. Ars Technica also said Huby’s firm is undergoing NASA safety reviews for a cargo mission to the International Space Station as early as November 2028, tying the Series C to near-term ISS work.