The Exploration Company

The Exploration Company develops modular and reusable space vehicles. As its first product, as of September 2023, the company was developing the Nyx space capsule–that uses green propellants and an open-source operating system–for purposes such as payload carrying, resupply missions, and eventually space transportation for humans. According to the company, Nyx was slated to be the first privately funded space capsule. It was also slated to operate its first demonstration mission in 2024, with a full-sized launch planned for 2026. The full sized version is able to transport up to 4,000 kg to space, spend 6 months in orbit, and bring back payloads of up to 2,000 kg at EUR 20,000 (~USD 22,000) per kg. In June 2024, The Exploration Company completed the development of a Nyx Moon variant prototype for lunar missions. This could transport up to 5,000 kg to the Gateway space station and return payloads of up to 2,000 kg at a cost of USD 400 million per mission.

Key customers and partnerships

The company booked a slot with the SpaceX Falcon 9 mission to launch in 2023, carrying a 1,600 kg demonstration capsule that would showcase propulsion and parachute-aided re-entry while carrying payloads for clients including the ESA. The company also signed agreements with Axiom Space, Starlab Space, and Vast in September 2023 and May and June 2024, respectively, for three Starlab and one Vast cargo service mission for launch in 2028.