PLD Space

Payload Aerospace S.L. (PLD Space) is a Spanish company developing two partially-reusable launch vehicles called Miura 1 and Miura 5.

Miura 1 is designed as a sounding rocket for sub-orbital flights to perform research or technology development in microgravity environment and/or in the upper atmosphere. Furthermore, Miura 1 is also serving as the technological demonstrator of the orbital launcher Miura 5. Miura 5 will provide orbital launch capabilities for small payloads such as CubeSats, that need a flexible and dedicated launch vehicle and therefore can not fly with traditional launch vehicles. It is being designed to deliver a total payload mass up to 900 kg into low Earth orbit.[1][2]

Recovery of the first stage would be by the use of parachutes and splashdown for re-use.

History

PLD Space was founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres, Raúl Verdú and José E. Martínez in Elche, Spain, and as of 2019 it employed 70 people. In August 2017 the company headquarter moved to new facilities in the Elche Industrial Park, where the assembly facilities for Miura 1 are located.

Funding

The company has been funded through a series of investment rounds from both institutional and private sources, raising a total of €120M by 2024-06.

By 2013, the company, had gathered investments worth approximately US$10M. In 2013 they closed a US$1.6M investment round,[12] including a seed contract with the Spanish Government through the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI).

In December 2015, PLD Space secured its first commercial contract as one of the partners in the Small Innovative Launcher for Europe (SMILE) program with the European Commission and the German Aerospace Center (DLR). The company contracted to test liquid propulsion engines for the DLR at its propulsion test facilities in the airport of Teruel.[13][14] In April 2016, PLD Space secured a further US$1.56M from Spain's TEPREL reusable launcher engine program. TEPREL (Acronym for Spanish Reusable Propulsion Technologies for Launchers) will help PLD Space to continue their liquid rocket engine program,[12][15]\ the first one in Spain dedicated to boost the small satellite industry in Europe. This project will help PLD Space to develop a 35 kN rocket engine qualified for flight.

In October 2016, The European Space Agency (ESA) selected PLD Space as the prime contractor for the "Liquid Propulsion Stage Recovery" project (LPSR) as part of the agency's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP). The goal of this project is to study a strategy to recover the first stage of a launcher, making it partially reusable, with a prospected funding of US$800,000.[16] In a second investment round, closed in January 2017, the company secured US$7.1M, US$3.2M of that contributed by GMV. GMV also took the role to develop the complete avionics of Miura 1 and Miura 5, including guidance, navigation and control (GNC), telemetry and onboard software for both launchers.[17] PLD Space received further €2M in January 2018 through the European Commissions Medium-sized Enterprises (SME) Instrument Phase 2, as part of the European Union's Horizon 2020 program for research and innovation, a grant to support to the development of a pair of launchers designed for small satellites.[18] In February 2018 PLD Space was one of the five companies chosen by ESA to perform a feasibility study proposing an economically viable, commercially self-sustaining microlauncher. For this, the company received a funding of US$368,000.[19][20]

type	Private
fate	Active
foundation	2011
founder	Raúl Torres, Raúl Verdú and José Enrique Martínez
location city	Elche, Spain
key people	Raúl Torres (co-founder & CEO) ; Raúl Verdú (co-founder & COO)
industry	Launch service provider
products	TEPREL rocket engine Miura 1 rocket Miura 5 rocket
services	Suborbital & orbital rocket launch; Rocket engine testing
num employees	400+ (October 2025)
homepage	pldspace.com

History

Funding

Vehicles

Miura 1

Miura 5

Miura Next

Lince

Facilities

PLD Space Propulsion Test Facilities

El Arenosillo Test Centre

Guiana Space Centre

External links

References