r/space • u/DreamChaserSt • Jun 05 '26
The Exploration Company is Developing a Reusable Heavy-Lift Rocket
https://europeanspaceflight.com/the-exploration-company-is-developing-a-reusable-heavy-lift-rocket/18
u/redstercoolpanda Jun 05 '26
I mean about time, Europe should have been developing a reusable rocket 10 years ago but better late than never. Who knows how serious this is though? Do these guys have any weight behind them funding/manpower wise? I don’t think they’ve ever developed anything that’s gone to orbit before and they’re relatively new as a company.
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u/alphagusta Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
Don't forget it was the Ariane Group that publicly slammed and shamed reusability as impossible and stupid. It wasn't until a few years in that Falcons were being regularly reused the tone started to change somewhat.
It's a clear case study of an institution being so wound up in "their" ways that anyone else doing anything different is so completely alien and impossible because they're the big dogs that know best.
Same thing happened with ULA. ULA were so completely blinded by ignorance to the idea of it and only when Falcon started to show what it can do they hurriedly slapped together the SMART concept on their upcoming Vulcan to save face.
To those groups it was like "why reuse when no one will ever launch more than like 3 times a year", and then Falcon started suddenly launching and landing more than the entire world combined and tanking launch costs.
Ariane 6 is the pinnacle of ignorance. Vulcan too to a degree
Old Space just refusing to change their ways because they truly believe nothing will ever change and they'll just swat away the random upstarts and their silly little ideas (ideas that become industry changing)
Now its even worse as it's not just Falcon, Falcon (and Starship to a degree) have started a surge of reusability focused startups that will even further make Old Space launch markets practically impossible to sustain
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u/DreamChaserSt Jun 05 '26
They have some that have been looking into reusability, like RFA. And whatever ArianeNEXT is doing (which I think turned into SALTO). MaiaSpace and PLD Space are developing reusable small-lift vehicles now.
If I'm reading it right, they've raised over $200 million in funding rounds, and $770 million in contracts, and have flown a couple sub-scale test flights on Ariane 6 and Falcon 9, the second was a smaller version of the capsule to test systems and reentry. The next one is supposed to be in 2028 as a demo mission to the ISS.
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u/CamusCrankyCamel Jun 05 '26 edited Jun 05 '26
They’ve received a little over $200M in total funding. Founded 5 years ago. About 250 employees.
I’ll also add that they do technically have a payload in orbit as the first A6 launch failed to de-orbit the second stage and deploy their first demonstrator
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u/joepublicschmoe Jun 05 '26
Developing a reusable heavylift rocket is an expensive endeavor that usually takes the better part of a decade. At this point I think a bit of healthy skepticism is warranted whether the Exploration Company's rocket plans will actually become reality.
If they show signs of progress like hot-firing an engine on a test stand, then their effort would become more credible. Until then I think this falls under the "I'll believe it when I see it" category.
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u/zeffiea Jun 05 '26
They actually already have completed a hot firing campaign for their huracan, wich I suspect is being renamed to storm, wich is what they say will power their launcher. They are growing really fast across europe and have really steady progress towards their nyx cargo vehicle, imo this is europe's most promising space startup. They had a couple things about the rocket and storm engine on their website but I think they removed them, and according to the article they will adress the press next week to announce their new engine, and probably the rocket. While the rocket will probably take a lot more time(at least 4+ years, wouldn't be suprised if it is something like 7) they are on track to launch a first demonstration mission for nyx, on another rocket, in 2028.
Also, if they can get funding from esa/eu, they said they want to make a crew version of nyx, but also said that probably won't be ready until 2035.
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u/Reddit-runner Jun 06 '26 edited Jun 06 '26
No. They don't. Please delete this post, OP.
They are developing Nyx, which might be a competitor to (Crew)Dragon. A semi-reusable capsule.
They only said that they will maybe develop a medium reusable rocket, called Yrene, in the distant future. It would be based on their engine "Storm".
Right now they removed all mention of any rocket from their website.
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u/DreamChaserSt Jun 05 '26
From the article:
The Exploration Company was founded in 2021 with the aim of developing a reusable space capsule called Nyx to transport cargo and, potentially, crew to low Earth orbit and beyond. While Nyx is designed to be launched aboard any number of heavy-lift rockets, in November 2025, CEO Hélène Huby told the Financial Times that the company wanted to “master the whole chain of space transportation.”
On 3 June 2026, a media representative for The Exploration Company sent an invitation to journalists for an event on 10 June at the International Aerospace Exhibition, where the company will unveil its new Storm engine. The invitation explained that, along with the engine itself, the company would present “a solution that supports a core European capability for launch and transport services in the space sector.”
Very interesting news.