Agile Space Industries to provide propulsion for The Exploration Company’s Nyx mission to the ISS

August 18, 2025

https://news.satnews.com/2025/08/18/agile-space-industries-to-provide-propulsion-for-the-exploration-companys-nyx-mission-to-the-iss/

Agile Space Industries has been contacted by The Exploration Company (TEC) to deliver flight thrusters for Nyx, a European modular space capsule that will dock with the International Space Station (ISS) targeting 2028—this contract marks a new international partnership for Agile and expands its growing role in global civil space missions.

Agile will supply its DS250 thrusters, a 250-Newton, bipropellant rocket thruster optimized for high-reliability in-space maneuvering. The thrusters will be integrated into TEC’s Nyx vehicle, a modular and reusable capsule developed to support a variety of orbital missions, including cargo transport to LEO, and a rendezvous docking to the ISS.

Unlike most in-space thrusters that radiate heat into free space, the DS250s will be encapsulated within the outer mold line of the Nyx capsule. This poses a significant thermal management challenge for both the vehicle and propulsion system. Meeting this design requirement demanded close collaboration between TEC’s spacecraft team and Agile’s propulsion engineers.

To validate this integration approach, TEC tasked Agile with an aggressive schedule: design, manufacture, and hot-fire test a first iteration of the Nyx thruster meeting key performance parameters within just three months.

Within 10 weeks, Agile had designed, 3D-printed, assembled, and hot-fire tested the DS250 thruster at its Sunshine hypergolic test stand in Durango, Colorado. The demo campaign validated key performance metrics including thrust, pulse-mode operation, longevity, and encapsulated thermal operation.

The DS250 thruster uses monomethylhydrazine (MMH) and NTO (MON3) propellants. The radiatively cooled thruster operates in steady-state and pulse-mode, controlled by direct-acting solenoid valves. Agile leverages metal 3D printing for multiple components of the thruster, speeding development and time to delivery.

The thruster integrates Agile’s proprietary technologies in injector design and 3D printing and will be qualified in-house at Agile’s vacuum hot fire test facilities in Durango, Colorado.

The Exploration Company’s Nyx capsule aims to expand access to space for government and commercial customers by offering reusable, scalable transportation to and from LEOand beyond. The upcoming ISS docking mission marks a critical milestone in that roadmap.

This partnership further strengthens Agile’s position as a leading U.S. provider of in-space propulsion, with systems flying across both commercial and civil space programs.

The Exploration Company, headquartered in Europe, is developing Nyx as a reusable capsule capable of transporting payloads to LEO and beyond. The upcoming ISS mission is a key step toward that goal, enabling greater access to space for government and commercial users.

This partnership further strengthens Agile’s rapidly growing portfolio of propulsion systems being delivered for civil, defense and commercial missions, reinforcing the company’s position as a leading U.S. provider of in-space mobility solutions.

“We’re proud to support The Exploration Company’s vision for scalable space exploration,” said Chris Pearson, CEO of Agile Space Industries. “The Nyx mission to the ISS represents the kind of international collaboration and uncompromising rapid delivery that Agile is built for. Our DS250 thruster offers a reliable, high-performance solution tailored to TEC’s unique requirements—and we’re excited to see it fly.”

“When we asked Agile to develop and prove out a brand-new thruster in 3 months, and they delivered beautiful performance on the test stand in 10 weeks, we knew we had the right propulsion partner,” said Hélène Huby, CEO of The Exploration Company.