New reusable heavy-lift rocket by The Exploration Company

[Titus K]

The Franco-German company The Exploration Company develops its own heavy-lift rocket to “master the whole chain of space transportation”.

1st stage powered by 9 Storm Engines of 180 tons of thrust for a total of ~17,000 kN, roughly equivalent of a New Glenn (7x2 version) or a little over double an F9 Block V

https://europeanspaceflight.com/the-exploration-company-is-developing-a-reusable-heavy-lift-rocket/

 

[BlueAbyssal]

Just as I posted about in the European Space News thread. When TEC announced they were building a large engine I wondered if they would ever build their own rocket, there aren’t too many possible European customers for an engine with about 200 tons of thrust. Turns out it’s their own. I hope they can pull it off and make it profitable, that will spur growth in Europe’s space sector.

 

[Sferrin]

Just as I posted about in the European Space News thread. When TEC announced they were building a large engine I wondered if they would ever build their own rocket, there aren’t too many possible European customers for an engine with about 200 tons of thrust. Turns out it’s their own. I hope they can pull it off and make it profitable, that will spur growth in Europe’s space sector.

And competition is always good.

 

[BlueAbyssal]

It appears they’ve scrubbed the website of any references to it for now, so hopefully it really will be revealed soon.

 

[Titus K]

https://arstechnica.com/space/2026/...-space-a-rising-french-star-may-show-the-way/

Not just spacecraft​

As if a cargo and crew spacecraft were not ambitious enough, The Exploration Company also recently announced development work on “Storm,” a full-flow staged combustion engine fueled by liquid oxygen and methane with approximately 400,000 pounds of thrust.

This would be used to power a reusable rocket intended to launch 40 metric tons in reusable mode, and 60 tons in expendable mode. An aggressive timeline for the rocket’s development, she said, is 2033.

“If Europe wants to stay relevant—we will not be relevant without a massive rocket at a massive cadence,” Huby said during a teleconference with reporters on Tuesday. “And to do that we need a massive engine, and right now this is something we just do not have in Europe.”

The Ariane 6 rocket, by contrast, has a maximum lift capacity of about 20 tons. European officials, of course, are talking about a successor to Ariane 6. It may be reusable. It may be more powerful, but largely, it is all talk. Huby’s company is attempting to take tangible steps toward that goal. She is pushing to test-fire a prototype of the Storm engine by late 2028.

Huby is cognizant of reality and recognizes there could be delays in these timelines. Money will always be an issue. The funding round announced this week is a down payment on development for a crewed spacecraft and a large rocket, but the cost of each of these programs will run into the billions of dollars.