Spanish Rocket Startup Raises €180M

The funding round brings PLD Space's total capital raised to over €350 million. Other significant investors in this Series C round included the Spanish government through the Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation (CDTI) and public funds management company COFIDES, as well as the Spanish fund Nazca Capital. This latest capital injection is earmarked for accelerating the industrial scale-up of its operations. The funds will expand production and testing capacity for its MIURA 5 rocket and finance the buildout of its launch complex at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana, which is expected to be completed by July. The investment from Mitsubishi Electric is also a strategic partnership, securing PLD Space new commercial contracts in Japan and the wider Asian market. In return, Mitsubishi Electric gains priority access to the Miura 5 rocket for launching its own future satellite constellations, addressing a feared long-term shortage of launch capacity. PLD Space, founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, successfully launched its suborbital technology demonstrator, the MIURA 1, on October 7, 2023. This flight made PLD Space the first private company in Europe to launch a rocket into space and positioned Spain as the tenth country with direct space access capability. The company's primary focus is now the MIURA 5, an orbital rocket designed to carry payloads of up to 1,040 kilograms to low Earth orbit. The inaugural test flight of the MIURA 5 is scheduled for 2026, with commercial operations aiming for over 30 launches per year by 2030. This funding round is one of the largest for a European launch startup, comparable to Germany's Isar Aerospace, which previously raised a €155 million Series C. PLD Space is one of five companies selected for the European Space Agency's European Launcher Challenge, a program designed to foster independent European launch capabilities.