Three years after its creation, in 2021, the Franco-German company The Exploration Company (TEC) has just completed the largest fundraising in the “European newspace”, the ecosystem where space startups operate. Announced on Monday, November 18, this financing of 150 million euros will accelerate the development of its reusable vessel, called Nyx, in reference to the Greek goddess of the creation of the cosmos.
This operation carried out jointly by Balderton Capital and Plural was subscribed by private funds and also, for the first time, by two sovereign funds, one French, French Tech Souveraineté, linked to the France 2030 plan, the other German, DeepTech & Climate. Fund (DTCF). A strategic investment made in equal parts, because this capsule is a missing link in the European space chain, since the Americans have Dragon, manufactured by SpaceX, the Russians Soyuz and the Chinese Shenzhou.
“Each of the States will be invited to the board of directors of the companyspecifies Hélène Huby, founder of TEC. From the beginning I wanted the company to be binational, establishing it in Bordeaux and Munich, because to carry out such an ambitious project it is necessary to involve other countries. This is what we just did when we settled in Italy. » At the end of this fundraising, 98% of the shareholders remain European. “Unheard of with this level of funding”the leader values.
Thanks to this stroke of luck, the company will launch, in 2028, its first Nyx ground capsule, which will transport cargo to the International Space Station (ISS) at the request of the European Space Agency (ESA). To reach this vessel that is four meters wide, weighs thirteen tons and is capable of transporting four tons of cargo uphill and three tons downhill, the progression is done in stages. It started with a small model, “Bikini”. This demonstrator, which measured 60 x 80 centimeters and weighed 35 kilograms, was one of the passengers on the first Ariane-6 flight in July.
Arrival of new countries
“Bikini” follows “Mission possible”, a capsule 2.50 meters in diameter, much larger (1.6 tons), which will transport 300 kg of cargo entrusted by seventeen clients to carry out tests in space. During the summer of 2025, an American SpaceX rocket will launch the ship into orbit, which will operate there for three hours before returning to Earth.
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