The Exploration Company Secures $160M in Funding for Europe's First Reusable Space Capsule

The European-based company, The Exploration Company, has closed a $160 million Series B round to support the development of Europe’s first reusable space capsule, Nyx. This spacecraft is designed to transport up to 3,000 kilograms of cargo to and from the International Space Station (ISS). Founded by aerospace engineers Hélène Huby, Sebastien Reichstat, and Pierre Vine three years ago, the company aims to conduct Nyx’s maiden flight to and from the ISS in 2028. 

The funding, led by Balderton Capital and Plural, has raised the startup’s total funding to over $208 million, with participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, and two sovereign European funds. The Exploration Company has also secured a significant study contract worth around €25 million from the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop cargo return services, with additional contract opportunities expected to follow through 2026. The company has gained traction with ESA, which seeks to foster native space launch and transportation capabilities and aims to have at least one capsule launching to the ISS in 2028.

The company has also secured contracts from private station developers Vast, Axiom Space, and Starlab, amounting to around 90% of its $770 million contract backlog. The Exploration Company's first demonstrator vehicle launched on the maiden flight of Ariane 6, while the second sub-scale demonstrator mission, Mission Possible, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 next year.