PLD Space is developing two fully reusable rocket models, expected to launch in 2022 and 2024.
The first prototype, named Miura 1, is currently on display in Madrid, Spain, until the end of this week, after which it will be returned to PLD Space’s base at Teruel Airport for quality testing (which will take about 4 to 5 months). The company aims to conduct a test launch of the rocket in the second half of 2022.
The fully reusable rocket prototype Miura 1 on display in Madrid. (Photo: Reuters)
If everything goes according to plan, Miura 1 will become the first fully reusable space rocket in Europe. It is equipped with a landing system that uses both engines and parachutes, allowing it to land intact in the ocean.
Miura 1 features a single-stage design, standing 12.7 meters tall and weighing 2,550 kg. The vehicle can carry a payload of 200 to 250 kg into suborbital space, but for its first mission, it will only carry 100 kg to an altitude of 150 km above sea level, PLD Space revealed.
The Spanish company is also developing a larger rocket model with a payload capacity of up to 450 kg. The vehicle, named Miura 5, will be 25 meters long, weigh 32,000 kg, and have two stages, with the first stage being recoverable and reusable like Miura 1. Miura 5 is designed to deliver payloads to a Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) at an altitude of 500 km above sea level. The rocket is expected to launch in 2024.
PLD Space plans to conduct a funding round of approximately 100 million euros in the near future to finance the Miura 5 orbital vehicle, marking the beginning of the company’s commercial satellite launches.
“Successfully launching both rockets will make Spain the 14th country in the world capable of accessing space,” emphasized PLD Space co-founder Raúl Torres.
