The Exploration Company nabs $450 million to challenge SpaceX

The queue to send objects into orbit is growing, but space infrastructure isn’t keeping up with demand. As the realization sinks in that Elon Musk’s SpaceX can’t be the sole answer, other companies are raising their hand — and money.

These include The Exploration Company (TEC), which operates out of Germany, France, Luxembourg, Spain and Italy, and which has raised $450 million in what it describes as “the largest-ever Series C by a European space company.” But the race is global, with U.S-based rival Stoke Space currently raising a $1 billion Series E round.

Rivalry aside, these rounds show that investors on both sides of the Atlantic are willing to back companies seeking to build reusable spacecraft. That’s a category pioneered by SpaceX, but that many players, both public and private, now believe it shouldn’t solely control as space gains strategic importance.

These sovereignty-related concerns create extra tailwinds...

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