PLD Space Lands Record €180M
Spanish startup PLD Space raised €180 million ($209 million) to ramp up production of its Miura 5 launch vehicle, marking the largest European space tech funding round to date. The funding will shift the company into serial rocket production as Europe pushes for launch independence.
The funding round was led by Japanese industrial giant Mitsubishi Electric, which is also a strategic launch customer. The Spanish government provided significant backing through the CDTI (Centre for the Development of Technology and Innovation) and the public funds management company COFIDES. This investment builds on the success of PLD Space's suborbital technology demonstrator, the Miura 1 rocket. On October 7, 2023, Miura 1 completed a successful test flight, making PLD Space the first private European company to launch a rocket. The flight validated approximately 70% of the technology that will be used in the larger Miura 5. The Miura 5 is a two-stage, partially reusable orbital rocket designed to launch small satellites, with a planned payload capacity of up to 1,080 kg to low Earth orbit. The company is developing the vehicle and its TEPREL liquid-propellant engines in-house at its facilities in Elche, Spain. With the new capital, PLD Space aims to produce four Miura 5 rockets this year and six in the next, targeting a launch cadence of more than 30 flights per year by 2030. The company is transitioning to semi-serial manufacturing before scaling to full production in 2027. The first orbital launch of Miura 5 is planned for later this year from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. PLD Space is the first private company to secure a dedicated launch site at the historic European spaceport.
