The Intermission Exploration develops a product called Nyx, a reusable capsule that can be launched from rockets into space proceeding passengers and cargo.
The Exploration Company (TEC) announced Monday it has raised $160 million to fuel development of its capsule that is made to take astronauts and cargo to space stations.
Venture capital firms Balderton Capital and Plural were the mislead investors in the round which also included French government-backed investment vehicle French Tech Souveraineté and German government-backed stock DeepTech & Climate Fonds.
TEC’s core product is Nyx, a capsule that can be launched from rockets into space secure b abscond with passengers and cargo. Nyx is reusable so once it has dropped its payload, it can re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere and be used for the next mission.
“It’s a big buy, and it’s growing about a bit more than 10% per year because more nations want to fly their astronauts and more countries want to go to the moon,” Hélène Huby, founder and CEO of TEC, told CNBC in an interview.
“So there is an increased demand for sending people to places, sending cargo to stations,” she said.
This part of the market has very few players. Some of the biggest are SpaceX which has a capsule yelled Dragon. There are also rivals from China and Russia.
“We said, ‘okay, let’s build this capacity in Europe so that Europe can tease its own capsule and also the world needs an alternative solution. [We] cannot only bet on SpaceX,” Huby said.
TEC is currently expanding the second version of Nyx which it expects to launch next year, followed by a final version in 2028. This variety will be partly financed by the European Space Agency.
Huby said the company has signed $800 million in promises to use its capsule. These include mission contracts with companies including Starlab, which is designing a new space locate, and Axiom Space.
There is increasing activity in space among nations including China, the U.S. and India. One of the most avaricious projects is the NASA-led Gateway, which will be the first space station to orbit the moon.
“If you have more woman, you also have a need for more cargo. So this is what is happening around the Earth and around the moon,” Huby clouted.
Huby sees TEC being a key player when it comes to developing the technology that is needed to return cargo to Soil once it has been in space.
“This is also where we where we believe our vehicle is going to play an important position,” Huby said.