The Exploration Company

The Structural Test Model (#STM) has successfully completed its pressure tests. For this campaign, the pressurised compartment was tested in a minimal configuration, instrumented with displacement sensors and strain gauges to capture how the structure responds under load. The objective is model correlation. By comparing measured data with our predictions, we validate our understanding of the structure and improve it before flight. This milestone confirms that the pressurised compartment behaves as expected and clears the path toward the next phase of testing. Huge thanks to the AIT team involved, Michael Davey, João Rego, Crescenzio Amendola, Atin Aggarwal, Karlo Alviz, Raphael Lezius, Carl Spichal, Sabrina Barrios De Aguiar, Pujan Dubey, Bulent Tutuncu, Harry Oman, Robin Lieberwirth, Kallista Pijnaker, Roberta Di Napoli, Vivek Selvaraju, William Evans and the great support from Matteo Colombo and Yari Sbardella in the VDT team. Next step: vibration testing. #TestLikeYouFly #SpaceEngineering #MadeInEurope #NewSpace #SpaceTech

To further improve the #LiDAR approach and docking operations to the International Space Station (#ISS), we fully characterised the Peripheral Docking Target (PDT) used during close-in appraoch. Understanding the optical properties of the PDT at a set of angles and ranges is key to properly configure the LiDAR and carry out a succcessful approach.   Special thanks to NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration and European Space Agency - ESA for providing us this prototype PDT in the scope of LCRS phase 1. Huge thanks to everyone involved, especially from the TEC team Antoine Pallois, Johannes Kaufmann, and Michael Krasnyk.   Stay close for future updates. #LiDARDocking #RelativeNavigation #ProximityOps #GNC #SpaceTech #Nyx

Frontier Space has been awarded funding from the UK Space Agency’s International Bilateral Fund (IBF) to lead Project BRIDGE (Biopharma R&D In Developing Global Ecosystems), an international collaboration with The Exploration Company (Germany) and a US-based global biopharmaceutical partner.   Project BRIDGE will develop a modular Cargo Handling System (CHS) to enable secure, controlled transport and handling of biological materials in orbit and their safe return to Earth, alongside a Microgravity Innovation Strategy potential space-enabled R&D and biomanufacturing for biopharmaceuticals.   The programme will be guided by expert input from Paul Reichert, Principal Consultant for Space Biologics Rx LLC and former MSD Biologics crystallisation specialist, whose leadership in microgravity-enabled protein crystallisation will help shape the project’s scientific direction. By integrating CHS with next-generation spacecraft such as the Nyx capsule, Project BRIDGE aims to create reliable workflows for pharmaceutical partners and support the UK’s role in shaping post-ISS space research infrastructure at the intersection of space and life sciences.   This initiative strengthens the UK’s role in shaping post-ISS space research infrastructure and advancing international collaboration at the intersection of space and life sciences.   Read More: https://lnkd.in/eJqJzPc6 #UKSpaceAgency #IBF #SpaceBiotech #Microgravity #InSpaceBiomanufacturing

While we wait for the full data set from the #Huracan Development Model 1 (DM1) hot-fire campaign at Airborne Engineering Ltd, here is a manufacturing breakthrough we can already share. For the first time, The Exploration Company (TEC) has produced the injector head, combustion chamber, and ignition system for the Huracan engine entirely in house, from additive build to final machining. Controlling the whole workflow compresses design iterations, puts engineers and machinists side by side, and supports our current work under the European Space Agency - ESA Huracan Step-2 contract. Congratulations to Florian Le Merdi, Aurelien Gauvrit, Hugo Crépieux, EL BANNAY Mustapha, Pierre Vinet, Julian Matt, Tomás Cruz and Matteo Crachi from the Huracan team, and to the Additive Manufacturing colleagues Dimitrios Vogiatzief, Tom Luca Reinhardt, Boris S. and Jacob Rindler. More results soon. #Huracan #AdditiveManufacturing #Propulsion #RocketEngineering #SpaceEngineering #MadeInEurope #FuturePropulsion

The Exploration Company is proud to be named one of Europe’s Top 100 Rising Startups 2026 by VivaTech for our impact in the space sector. Discover the full list here https://lnkd.in/dc9r_sTC Huge thanks to Accel, Eurazeo, HV Capital, Northzone, Partech for supporting this initiative that celebrates and accelerates Europe’s most promising startups. If you’re looking for a new role and the opportunity to make a real impact, we’re hiring. All opens roles here https://lnkd.in/gqGiR7Wu #Top100RisingEuropeanStartups #startups2026 #EUStartups #VivaTech

#Huracan Development Model 1 (DM1) was successfully integrated at Airborne Engineering Ltd test facility, officially kicking off the test campaign conducted under the European Space Agency - ESA Huracan Step-2 contract. We began with cold-flow testing, leading up to the first hot-fire, a key milestone for the Huracan propulsion program and an important step toward validating the engine architecture. Huge congratulations to the teams who made this integration possible Julian Matt, Mario Hernández Méndez, Lucas Alléhaut, Pierre Morin, Robin PIEBAC, Alicia Dufresne, Andrea Paterniti, Antoine Montuzet, Thomas Huet, Jérôme BONVOISIN, Alexandre CLOAREC And a big thank you to Airborne Engineering Ltd for hosting and supporting the campaign at their UK test facility. #Propulsion #RocketEngineering #SpaceEngineering #RocketTesting #FuturePropulsion

Our Guidance, Navigation, and Control (#GNC) team is running end-to-end six-degrees-of-freedom (6DoF) simulations across the mission, connecting the full software chain from sensor readings all the way to thruster firing. What matters here is not just the software itself, but the realism of the environment around it. These simulations bring together spacecraft dynamics, sensor behavior, propulsion, gravity, atmosphere, Global Navigation Satellite System constellations, International Space Station motion and navigation, propellant depletion, and system reconfiguration into one integrated picture. The infographic below focuses on the Uphill phase, from Separation to Contact, and shows how we model this part of the mission in detail. A huge thank you to the whole team behind this work: Antonio Figueroa González, Lukas Hewing, Elise Fournier-Bidoz, Thomas Barbier, Davide Rosato, Antonio López Rivera, Thibault Wartel, Nicola Zappacosta, Johannes Kaufmann, Patrik Lamoš, Matthieu Paris, Cristina Roche Arroyos, Robin Kalderen, Léo Renaut. Stay close to see the next phase mapped out. #SpacecraftEngineering #RendezvousAndDocking

This week our CEO Hélène Huby joined Jérémy Chevalier and Pierre Baroux for a hands-on bonding session on Micrometeoroid and Orbital Debris (MMOD) protection samples for Nyx. Thermal Protection System (TPS) bonding is a critical process: it ensures that protective tiles and layers remain perfectly attached to the structure through the extreme thermal and mechanical loads of re-entry. A huge thank you to our CEO for spending time with the teams on the shop floor and and even bigger one to Jérémy and Pierre for the training session, one more pair of certified hands for Nyx. #SpaceEngineering #TPS #Nyx #SpaceTech #HardwareFirst #JoinUs #WeAreHiring

Last week we received the pressurised compartment for our Structural Test Model (#STM) from CNIM Systèmes Industriels. The pressurised compartment is the capsule’s pressure boundary. It is the leak-tight structural shell that holds an internal atmosphere and protects the inside from the vacuum of space. Structurally, it is also one of the most demanding parts of the vehicle because internal pressure loads try to “inflate” the structure and continuously stress welds, interfaces, hatches, and feedthroughs. That is why pressurised hardware is verified with dedicated proof and leak testing to demonstrate structural integrity and workmanship quality under maximum expected operating pressure. We are now moving into STM preparation and upcoming pressure tests. Huge thanks to the AIT team involved, Michael Davey, João Rego, Crescenzio Amendola, Atin Aggarwal, Karlo Alviz, Raphael Lezius, Carl Spichal, Sabrina Barrios De Aguiar, Pujan Dubey, Bulent Tutuncu, Harry Oman, Robin Lieberwirth, Kallista Pijnaker, Roberta Di Napoli, Vivek Selvaraju, William Evans and the great support from VDT Matteo Colombo Yari Sbardella. Stay close for the next updates. #SpaceEngineering #SpaceIndustry #SpaceSystems #StructuralTesting #FutureOfSpaceflight

The Thrustworks Additive Manufacturing GmbH , now part of #TEC, just installed an additional TRUMPF #TruPrint3000 at #Mönchengladbach facility. This increases production throughput for TEC programs and for external customers who need high-performance, flight-relevant metal AM. Materials we run today:  • Niobium alloy (#C103) for high-temperature space and hypersonic hardware  • Inconel718 (#IN718) for demanding aerospace and defense components  • #TitaniumGrade5 (Ti-6Al-4V) for lightweight, high-strength structures A huge thank you to the team Jacob Rindler, Dimitrios Vogiatzief, Christopher Mihm and Alexander Albrecht. If you have requirements in refractory metals, nickel superalloys, or titanium, our team is ready to support. Send us your needs and we will set up a technical discussion. https://lnkd.in/dDAGUfGs #AdditiveManufacturing #MetalAM #SpaceTech #Propulsion #TRUMPF #TruPrint3000 #Thrustworks #C103 #Inconel718 #Ti64 #Aerospace #Defense #Hypersonics #TheExplorationCompany