The Spanish company in the aerospace sector PLD Spacewhich has so far aroused commercial interest of more than 596 million euros, has presented its plans for access to space in the short and medium term at an event held on the occasion of the first anniversary of the successful launch of Miura 1. Among them, it has confirmed that the Miura 5 program is in a sufficiently advanced state to start its launch campaign at the end of 2025.
At the event their programs have also seen the light Miura Nexta family of large reusable launchers; and Lince, which will be the first private manned capsule in Europe, with a capacity of 8 square meters. With it, Europe will be able to send astronauts into space and then return them to Earth. As for Miura Next, it is made up of the Miura Next, Miura Next Heavy and Next Super Heavy launcher models, with the capacity to place a maximum of 53 tons into orbit.
According to the CEO and founder of PLD Space, Raúl Torres«Miura Next Super Heavy will be one of the most powerful rockets in the world, capable of launching more than 16 tons to the Moon and 13 tons to Mars in its non-recoverable version, as well as 3.6 tons to the Moon and 2.4 tons to Mars in its recoverable version«.
After the successful launch of Miura 1 on October 7, 2023, PLD Space has continued to advance in technological and industrial capacity. For example, in the design and manufacturing of structures and propulsion technology, improvements that will be seen in the Miura 5 launcher.
Among these novelties, the Teprel-C engine stands out, the fourth of the company’s own design, and which was tested during the flight of the Miura 1. In addition, it also has a new reentry and recovery system that it will carry on the Miura 5 1, 2, a version of the launcher with greater orbit performance and a notable increase in payload. The system, which allows the rocket to land, will improve the operating costs and flight rate of the launcher.
The event was held in the new TLD Space production plant, which occupies an area of 12,500 square meters and is located in Elche. It combines the latest techniques in production and automation with advanced industrial processes, and has the capacity to manufacture six complete Miura 5 launchers and 60 Teprel-C engines by 2025.
The first tests with Lince will begin in 2025, and its first unmanned test flight with Miura 5 will be in 2028. This test will be carried out from the European spaceport CSG, in French Guiana, and its final objective will be to achieve its first flight. orbital will occur in 2030. As for the first commercial flights of Miura 5, they will take place in 2026.
The company has also made public the initial results of its program Spark, which will offer free launch services to scientific and technological projects developed by students and research centers. After closing the registration period for commercial and research entities, the program has received 98 applications from 24 countries. Of course, the call is still open for schools, institutes and vocational training centers until next November 15.