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.
In a statement provided to European Spaceflight, a spokesperson for the company clarified that Yrene is a “long-term concpet” and that the company’s short- and medium-term focus is on the development of its capsule and propulsion technologies. The spokesperson also added that its International Aerospace Exhibition presence would focus on introducing the company’s Storm initiative and exhibiting a mockup of the planned rocket engine.
Since publication, references to Yrene appear to have been removed from The Exploration Company’s website.
Update: This article was updated on 5 June 2026 to include the clarification from The Exploration Company’s spokesperson. The update also removed mention of Storm replacing Huracán rocket engine, which is not the case.
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