Hélène continues: “This mission is a first step that paves the way for a European reusable space capsule. We are receiving countless messages from people from different backgrounds and countries in Europe, thanking us for inspiring them, because our company embodies that Europe can be bold and pioneer technologies beneficial for the world.”

“This first launch with Ariane 6 will be a special time for all of us, at The Exploration Company, as we will also be going to space, for the first time. Our team will be experiencing it together, and our emotions will be intense”, says Hélène, “Whatever the outcome of the mission, I am grateful for the relentless work of our team and of our partners who all contributed to build and qualify our Bikini capsule at unprecedented high speed and low costs. This also means that we have accepted some risks of mission failure. It reflects our DNA: for our first missions, we prioritise learning and iterating fast (which means more risks, but also faster learning), versus building the perfect capsule.”

And the name?

“The name was chosen jokingly, because the capsule might be almost ‘naked’ when it splashes down, and the bikini swimwear when it was invented in the 1960s, was quite innovative,” concludes Helene.