Following a recent update to its website, The Exploration Company has revealed that it is developing a reusable heavy-lift rocket powered by its Storm engines. Beyond a brief mention on its updated homepage, the company has not made any public statements about the project.
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.”
Around the same time the invitation was sent, The Exploration Company published an update to its website that included a new rocket called Yrene, which it describes as an “affordable and reusable heavy launcher.” While very little additional information is provided, the company states that Yrene will be powered by its soon-to-be-unveiled Storm engine. An image included on the company’s new website appears to show the rocket’s first stage powered by nine Storm engines, which are described as being capable of producing 180 tonnes of thrust each.
The company’s Storm engine appears to be an evolution of its Huracán rocket engine project. All mention of the engine, which was designed to produce up to 250 tonnes of thrust, has been removed from its website.
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