How The Exploration Company is connecting engineering disciplines with Teamcenter
Reusable spacecraft programs push engineering teams to manage significant complexity across multiple disciplines. Mechanical systems, electrical architectures, simulation models and manufacturing processes all need to remain aligned as designs evolve. For emerging aerospace companies focused on rapid innovation, creating a connected engineering environment can be just as important as developing the spacecraft itself.
That challenge is one reason The Exploration Company adopted Teamcenter as part of its engineering environment. The company is bringing together Teamcenter with Designcenter, Simcenter, Capital software and the broader Siemens Xcelerator portfolio to help connect engineering disciplines and support scalable development of reusable space systems.
Using this connected engineering environment, The Exploration Company reports that its orbital demonstration capsule progressed from initial concept to flight hardware in just nine months.
Developing reusable space systems for the next era of exploration
Founded in 2021, The Exploration Company develops reusable, launcher-agnostic space systems, including the Nyx spacecraft family and rocket propulsion technologies designed to transport cargo and, eventually, crew to destinations in Earth orbit and beyond.
As the company continues to grow, maintaining consistency across engineering disciplines becomes increasingly important. Mechanical design decisions, electrical system architectures and simulation data all influence one another. Managing those relationships efficiently can help development teams make informed decisions while supporting the demanding requirements of aerospace programs.
Connecting mechanical, electrical, and simulation disciplines across the lifecycle
The Exploration Company adopted Siemens software to help establish a connected engineering environment that integrates mechanical, electrical and simulation workflows.
At the center of that environment is Teamcenter, which serves as the backbone for engineering collaboration and product data management. By creating a consistent source of information across disciplines, the company is working to strengthen visibility and coordination throughout its product development processes.
This type of lifecycle-connected approach helps establish a stronger digital thread across engineering activities, enabling teams to maintain alignment as products evolve through development and validation.
Teamcenter as the digital foundation for The Exploration Company
Teamcenter plays an important role in connecting engineering information across multiple domains and creating a common foundation for collaboration. The Exploration Company is using Designcenter for mechanical design, Simcenter for engineering simulation, Capital software for electrical systems engineering and Teamcenter to connect people, processes and product information through product lifecycle management (PLM).
Together, these technologies support an environment where information can be shared across disciplines rather than remaining isolated in separate tools. The company stated that this approach helps harmonize engineering data, improve traceability and support the development of a comprehensive digital twin for earlier validation activities.
That connected environment is especially relevant in aerospace programs, where certification requirements, configuration control and engineering consistency play critical roles throughout the product lifecycle.
Building for growth and future missions
One of the strongest indicators of The Exploration Company’s engineering ambitions is the pace of development:
Working with Siemens and adopting its best-in-class industrial software is helping us connect our engineering processes, reduce rework, accelerate development and streamline manufacturing as we scale our operations. For Mission Bikini, our orbital demonstration capsule, we progressed from initial concept to flight hardware in just nine months, demonstrating the speed at which our integrated engineering approach enables rapid development.”
Daniel Prudente Martins, principal EWIS & electrical interfaces, Nyx Avionics, The Exploration Company.
This highlights why establishing a connected development environment is important for organizations pursuing ambitious aerospace programs. As aerospace innovators continue to push the boundaries of reusable space systems, a connected engineering foundation can help create the consistency, traceability and collaboration needed to support future missions.
📖 Read the original Siemens press release: Siemens Xcelerator powers next-generation reusable spacecraft development at The Exploration Company
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