Less than a month after opening its new headquarters in Germany, in-space logistics startup The Exploration Company has opened a new facility in Le Haillan, France.
The Exploration Company is developing a modular, multi-role capsule called Nyx that will initially be tasked with ferrying cargo to and from the International Space Station. Future developments will include variants to carry cargo to the surface of the Moon and transport crews to and from low Earth orbit.
In a 22 November update, The Exploration Company announced that it had officially inaugurated its new facility in France on 20 November, calling it “a new permanent home for building Europe’s cargo return capability.”
The new facility features 5,000 m² of production and storage space and 2,500 m² of office space, and will host the company’s propulsion, thermal protection, and systems engineering teams. It will also house the company’s mission control centre, which will manage all future Nyx spacecraft missions.
In addition to its facility in Le Haillan, the company is building a propulsion test facility in Mérignac, just a short distance from its newly inaugurated site. In its 22 November update, The Exploration Company stated that the Mérignac test facility would be fully operational by the end of next year.
The Le Haillan inauguration marks the company’s second facility opening in less than a month. On 27 October, it officially opened its new headquarters in Oberpfaffenhofen, near Munich, which includes a 3,394 m² integration hall and 1,596 m² of office space.
Speaking to European Spaceflight, CEO Hélène Huby said The Exploration Company is now fully focused on the first test flight of its Nyx Earth spacecraft in 2028. However, achieving that goal will depend on the outcome of this week’s ESA Ministerial Council in Bremen, where Member States are set to decide on funding for Phase 2 of the agency’s LEO Cargo Return Services initiative.
“Our plan is to receive from ESA the co-financing [for] the development of Nyx after the Ministerial Conference, and this shall be enough to bring Nyx’s demo flight to the ISS,” explained Huby.
The Exploration Company and Thales Alenia Space were the only two companies to receive Phase 1 contracts for the LEO Cargo Return Services initiative, with each awarded €25 million. Consideration for Phase 2 contracts will, however, not be restricted to Phase 1 awardees.
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