The Exploration Company has successfully completed the System Requirement Review for Nyx Earth, the company’s low Earth orbit cargo vehicle.
Nyx Earth will be part of The Exploration Company’s proposal to deliver on the European Space Agency’s LEO Cargo Return Service initiative. Originally announced in May, the initiative aims to support the development of commercial cargo transportation services that could be used to resupply the International Space Station and future commercial space stations. ESA published a call for submissions for the first phase of the initiative on 15 December.
The Exploration Company was founded in 2021 with the aim of developing a modular, reusable spacecraft called Nyx. While the vehicle would initially be utilized to host experiments in low Earth orbit, the company always envisioned extending its capabilities to include cargo, crew, and even lunar surface transportation services. With the announcement of ESA’s call for commercial LEO cargo return services, the company has accelerated these plans somewhat and is now working on its free-flying and LEO cargo vehicles at the same time.
The company has called its LEO cargo vehicle Nyx Earth. While it has not yet published any details about the vehicle, it has shared an image of the vehicle that shows a reusable capsule with an expendable service module that features an integrated solar array. To comply with the requirements of the ESA LEO Cargo Return Service call, the vehicle will need to be capable of delivering at least four tonnes of cargo to low Earth orbit and returning with two tonnes.
In a key milestone in the development of Nyx Earth, The Exploration Company announced last week that it had successfully passed the System Requirement Review. This review is conducted to ensure that the vehicle’s design delivers on the requirements of its intended application and that it is consistent with cost, schedule, risk, and technology readiness constraints. With its successful completion, initial systems development can begin.
