Privately-Funded EU Company Raises $160M for SpaceX Dragon-Like Reusable Space Capsule (techcrunch.com) 14
Nyx is a new reusable space capsule that "safely and affordably carries cargo to and from space stations," according to the web page of its European-based manufacturer, The Exploration Company, "launching from any heavy launcher worldwide."
And the company "just closed a large funding round to further its mission of building Europe's first reusable space capsule," reports TechCrunch — pointing out that right now, "Only two companies currently provide cargo delivery to and from the International Space Station, and both are based in the United States." The $160 million Series B round will fund the continued development of the Nyx spacecraft, which will be capable of carrying 3,000 kilograms of cargo to and from Earth. The company, which was founded three years ago by aerospace engineers Hélène Huby, Sebastien Reichstat, and Pierre Vine, is aiming to conduct Nyx's maiden flight to and from the International Space Station in 2028.
"We are the first company in the world where this is for the first time mainly funded by private investors," Huby said in a recent interview. This is in contrast to SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which she said was "mainly funded by NASA." The new funding, which was led by Balderton Capital and Plural, brings the startup's total funding to date to over $208 million. The Series B also included participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, and two sovereign European funds, French Tech Souveraineté and DeepTech & Climate Fonds. "We've been able to deliver on promises in the past three years," Huby said. "We've been able to meet our cash target ever quarter ... The investors, they could see that we basically can deliver on time, on cost, on quality."
The startup has made traction with the European Space Agency, which has recognized the need to foster native space launch and transportation capabilities... It's a promising start, but equally promising is the traction The Exploration Company is seeing on the commercial side. Around 90% of the startup's $770 million contract backlog has come from private station developers Vast, Axiom Space, and Starlab, according to recent reporting...
The second sub-scale demonstrator mission, called Mission Possible, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 next year.
TechCrunch quotes Huby as saying "I highly respect what SpaceX has been able to achieve.We are trying to learn as much as possible from that, we are inspired by what they have achieved."
In a CNBC interview, Huby says "It's a big market, and it's growing about a bit more than 10% per year because more nations want to fly their astronauts and more nations want to go to the moon. So there is an increased demand for sending people to stations, sending cargo to stations."
"Join us on our mission to democratize access to space," says a home-page link to the company's recruiting page — with a link further down titled "Book a mission."
And the company "just closed a large funding round to further its mission of building Europe's first reusable space capsule," reports TechCrunch — pointing out that right now, "Only two companies currently provide cargo delivery to and from the International Space Station, and both are based in the United States." The $160 million Series B round will fund the continued development of the Nyx spacecraft, which will be capable of carrying 3,000 kilograms of cargo to and from Earth. The company, which was founded three years ago by aerospace engineers Hélène Huby, Sebastien Reichstat, and Pierre Vine, is aiming to conduct Nyx's maiden flight to and from the International Space Station in 2028.
"We are the first company in the world where this is for the first time mainly funded by private investors," Huby said in a recent interview. This is in contrast to SpaceX's Dragon capsule, which she said was "mainly funded by NASA." The new funding, which was led by Balderton Capital and Plural, brings the startup's total funding to date to over $208 million. The Series B also included participation from Bessemer Venture Partners, NGP Capital, and two sovereign European funds, French Tech Souveraineté and DeepTech & Climate Fonds. "We've been able to deliver on promises in the past three years," Huby said. "We've been able to meet our cash target ever quarter ... The investors, they could see that we basically can deliver on time, on cost, on quality."
The startup has made traction with the European Space Agency, which has recognized the need to foster native space launch and transportation capabilities... It's a promising start, but equally promising is the traction The Exploration Company is seeing on the commercial side. Around 90% of the startup's $770 million contract backlog has come from private station developers Vast, Axiom Space, and Starlab, according to recent reporting...
The second sub-scale demonstrator mission, called Mission Possible, is scheduled to launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 next year.
TechCrunch quotes Huby as saying "I highly respect what SpaceX has been able to achieve.We are trying to learn as much as possible from that, we are inspired by what they have achieved."
In a CNBC interview, Huby says "It's a big market, and it's growing about a bit more than 10% per year because more nations want to fly their astronauts and more nations want to go to the moon. So there is an increased demand for sending people to stations, sending cargo to stations."
"Join us on our mission to democratize access to space," says a home-page link to the company's recruiting page — with a link further down titled "Book a mission."
Good luck (Score:2)
Much as the US shouldn't be depending on the US for access to space, the EU shouldn't depend on the US. Like China, the EU should be follow in SpaceX's footsteps and build their own complete reusable launch system.
But we're going to have to find some kind of solution to the Starlink issue; we can't have every major political block throwing up 10k little bits of space junk for Internet access any more than any given political block should be comfortable with Musk controlling their feed.
Re:Editing... (Score:2)
Much as the US shouldn't be depending on the Russia for access to space,
Re: Editing... (Score:1)
Re: (Score:2)
I think the main reason Europe doesn't do any of this is they basically don't have any will to do so. This is neither a good thing nor a bad thing, that's just how people choose to live their lives there. They often say about Americans that we work too much and we're always on the go. It's probably true, though that's also why the more ambitious among them end up moving here. Hence you've got people like Elon Musk that have embraced American culture (not European granted, but similar temperament where he's
Everyone's gone silicon valley (Score:2)
"Nyx is a new reusable space capsule..." (Score:2)
That sounds great. Now let's see you do it.
Re: (Score:2)
Often the most important thing to know about a thing is that it is *possible*.
Apollo showed that the conical reentry capsule/cylindrical service module design was practical. SpaceX showed it could be built as a proprietary vehicle. So these guys are copying SpaceX copying NASA. It's all good, because as you're pointing out it's about execution, not proving that this architecture works.
I think it would be cool for someone to build something a lot more like Soyuz or Shenzhou, which include a cargo/living a
Re: (Score:2)
I want to see a rocket that can achieve a high orbit and then make like a sea squirt and dump its innards leaving a usable hab space behind. We send a lot of mass up, and it bothers me knowing a lot of it is just orbiting the Sun if it hasn't come back down to Earth.
Where's my rotating ring station like we were promised back in the 1970s?
Re: (Score:2)
That's what I was saying about Soyuz; it has a command module, a reentry capsule, and an orbital module. Maybe you could bolt the orbital modules together like legos.
Good luck. Developing a new car costs $1bn (Score:2)
I would hazard a guess that aerospace R&D costs quite a bit more than automotive.
Hope they're not delayed (Score:2)
If they wait 2 more years after their 2028 plan to reach the ISS, they could do it with a submarine in 2030 when it's somewhere in the Pacific Ocean.
Hate to say it, (Score:2)