German space travel and space launch provider, The Exploration Company, has raised EUR 40 million (~USD 44 million) in a Series A funding round co-led by EQT Ventures and Red River West with the participation of Promus Ventures, Cherry Ventures, Vsquared, Omnes Capital, July Fund, Partech, Possible Ventures, Habert Dassault Finance, Schlumberger, and Sista Fund.

The funding raised will be used to finance the company’s upcoming demonstration missions and operational costs, as well as to hire more engineers.

Founded in 2021, The Exploration Company develops modular and reusable space vehicles. As its first product, the company is developing the Nyx space capsule and will operate its first demonstration mission in 2023 with a full-sized launch, planned for 2026. According to the company, Nyx is the first privately funded space capsule and will use green propellants and open-source operating systems.