The Exploration Company Raises $450 Million to Build a Rocket Engine
The Exploration Company has secured $450 million in Series C funding—more than twice what was initially targeted in July, according to the Financial Times. Most of this investment will be allocated to developing "Storm," a methane engine for a reusable heavy launcher that Europe is still considering.
Key Points:
- Funding Focus: Unlike their renowned reusable capsule, Nyx, the company is prioritizing engine development.
- Engine Details: Storm utilizes full-flow staged combustion with oxygen and methane, a challenging propulsion system mimicked by SpaceX's Raptor.
- Purpose: Designed for a future reusable heavy launcher capable of carrying up to 40 tonnes to low Earth orbit.
- Development Timeline: Testing begins later this year and continues through 2028, starting with subscale thrust chamber tests.
- European Landscape: Europe currently has only one heavy-lift vehicle, Ariane 6, developed by Airbus and Safran's ArianeGroup.
- Competition: The company competes directly with ArianeGroup's Prometheus, another reusable engine backed by the European Space Agency (ESA), which aims for deployment by 2030.
- Bet on Future Procurement: TEC's bet relies on an unspecified ESA competition for next-generation designs expected later this decade.
- Funding Advantage: TEC secured substantial capital, outperforming its initial funding goal and potentially surpassing their competitor in terms of resources.