France finally has its private company to compete with SpaceX. A historic fundraising

News JVTech France finally has its private company to compete with SpaceX. A historic fundraising

Do you know The Exploration Company? It is a Franco-European company which was founded in 2021 and which aims to offer the first reusable European space capsulelike what SpaceX is doing with Dragon in the United States. Significant ambitions, which appeal to investors.

Indeed, on November 18, TEC announced that it had raised 150 million euros in funds. A colossal sum which includes private investments, but also those of two sovereign funds : French Tech Sovereignty, linked to the France 2030 plan, and DeepTech & Climate Fund (DTCF). The first is French, and the second is German.

Important issues for the European space conquest

The Russians have Soyuz, the Chinese have Shenzhou and the Americans have Dragon. But Europe, for the moment, does not have its own capsule, which is moreover reusable. With Nyx, its own creation, TEC hopes to change the situation from 2028.

Indeed, its first capsule, Nyx Earth, should be launched in 2028 to the International Space Station. It will contain cargo sent by the European Space Agency: its capacity will be 4 tons uphill and 3 tonnes downhill.

With Nyx, its reusable capsule, The Exploration Company hopes to halve the price of space transportation. The ambitions are therefore very important and the ESA, like all European countries, is obviously very interested in this project.

A new experience in 2025

By 2028, TEC will launch its second prototype into space in 2025 : named Mission Possible, it will take place within a Falcon 9 rocket and it will carry out a test mission with 300 kg of cargo on board. After a short trip to low Earth orbit, the capsule will return to Earth successfully, its designers hope.

And after? TEC sees even further: the Franco-German company has the Moon in its sights. Nyx Moon, another project, should be attached to the Lunar Gateway space station, the first module of which should be put into orbit in November 2025. There will still be a long way to go before then, but one thing is certain: the plans for the The ESA should effectively take advantage of the potential of The Exploration Company’s Nyx capsules.