Recently, Spanish private space company PLD Space announced an impressive new range of next-generation rockets.
However, the firm left the most surprising reveal for last during its annual BEYOND event: the first private European crew capsule, called LINCE.
While PLD Space has a long way to go before it flies astronauts to orbit, the Spanish firm laid out an ambitious roadmap. The message is clear: PLD Space aims to eventually take on SpaceX and bring Europe roaring into Space Race 2.0 alongside the US and China.
It’s an incredibly ambitious goal for a company that has only flown one rocket to suborbital space. Let’s look at the rocket PLD Space has flown and the new line of spacecraft it aims to launch in the not-too-distant future.
Miura 1
Miura 1 at launch from El Arenosillo, Huelva. Source: PLD Space / YouTube
PLD Space has named all of its rockets after a famous breed of fighting bull called “Miura”. In October last year, the company flew the suborbital Miura 1 rocket to an altitude of 28 miles (46 km).
The rocket then descended and splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean. A parachute slowed its descent, much like Rocket Lab’s Electron boosters.
In a press release after the launch of Miura 1, PLD Space said the flight marked “the launch of the first private European rocket.” It also noted that the launch was a resounding success and “just the start of our journey.”
Miura 1 used a single, in-house-designed TEPREL-B engine that ran on Kerosene and Oxygen. The suborbital rocket was 41 ft (12.5 meters) tall.
PLD Space also described Miura 1 as Europe’s first reusable rocket. However, it’s worth noting it was never reused. Instead of flying Miura 1 again, PLD Space focused on developing its first orbital rocket, Miura 5.
Miura 5
Miura 5 is PLD Space’s in-development two-stage orbital rocket. It is called Miura 5 because it will feature five TEPREL-C engines. These will use bio-kerosene and liquid oxygen, reducing the rocket’s carbon footprint.
Miura 5 will be 24 ft (38 meters) tall and, depending on the orbit, capable of carrying payloads of up to 2,381 lb (1,080 kg).
PLD Space hopes to fly Miura 5 for the first time in the second half of 2025. Unlike Miura 1, which flew from the Arenosillo facility in southern Spain, Miura 5 will launch from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, northeast South America.
In June, PLD Space announced its SPARK program, which will see it perform free payload deliveries for educational purposes during Miura 5’s maiden launch. Later in the summer, the company announced it had secured a €31.2 syndicated loan from Banco Santander, EBN Banco, and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial.
A lot depends on Miura 5’s success, but PLD Space has already set out its vision for what comes next.
Miura Next
PLD Space held its annual BEYOND event at its new rocket facility in Elche, Spain, on October 7. During the event, the company announced a range of next-generation rockets that it aims to develop after Miura 5.
The first of these was Miura Next. The next-generation rocket will be 196 ft tall (60 meters), just 33 ft (10 meters) shorter than SpaceX’s Falcon 9. The two-stage Miura Next will have a diameter of 3.5 meters and be powered by five engines at launch. It will use a new closed-cycle oxygen-rich staged combustion engine that utilizes Biokerosene and liquid oxygen.
With Miura Next, PLD Space aims to tap the same market as SpaceX. Ultimately, it aims to provide Europe more access to low Earth orbit, ending its overreliance on SpaceX. Crucially, Miura Next will be capable of vertical landings and will have a payload capacity of 29,939 lb (13,580 kg) to low Earth orbit. During the BEYOND presentation, the company said it aims to fly the rocket by 2030.
Miura Next Heavy
Like SpaceX’s Falcon line of rockets, the Miura Next variations use the same booster architecture as Miura Next. For larger rocket types, more boosters are strapped together. This enables more power at liftoff, higher payloads, and launches to higher orbits.
Miura Next Heavy will have two boosters attached to the central core booster. This means it will fire up a total of 15 engines at launch. It will also be slightly taller, standing at 67 meters on the launch pad.
Miura Next Heavy will be capable of launching roughly 36,000 kg to LEO. According to PLD Space, the Miura Next boosters will be reusable more than 20 times.
Miura Next Super Heavy
Miura Next Super Heavy will have four boosters attached, allowing it to compete with the most powerful rockets ever. At launch, it will fire up 25 of PLD Space’s new engines. While Miura Next could fly by 2030, Miura Next Super Heavy is expected to hit the launch pad by around 2033.
Miura Next Super Heavy will carry 116,845 lb (53,000 kg) to LEO and 50,706 lb (23,000 kg) to geostationary transfer orbit (GTO). It will also be capable of sending large payloads to the Moon and Mars. This is crucial as the world’s big space powers increasingly look to build permanent bases on the Moon and have their sights set on sending humans to Mars.
During the BEYOND event, PLD Space CEO and co-founder Raúl Torres said, “MIURA Next Super Heavy will be one of the most powerful rockets in the world. [It will be] capable of delivering more than 16 tonnes to the Moon and 13 tonnes to Mars in its expendable version, and 3.6 tonnes to the Moon and 2.4 tonnes to Mars in its recoverable version.”
Miura Next Super Heavy will produce 6,238,450 lbf (27,750 kN) of thrust at launch. As a point of reference, SpaceX’s Falcon Heavy produces 5,130,000 lbf (22,819 kN), while its next-generation Starship rocket produces 16,700,000 lbf (74,400 kN).
LINCE
Surprisingly, PLD Space also announced the LINCE crew capsule during the company’s annual event. LINCE, which means lynx in Spanish, will be the first European private crew capsule.
LINCE can fly in crew and cargo configurations, much like SpaceX’s Dragon. It will be able to carry 4-5 astronauts to the International Space Station (ISS) and, according to PLD Space, transfer astronauts to the Moon.
PLD Space aims to perform a drop test of the crew capsule in 2025. The private space firm will then look to perform in-flight abort tests by 2028. In 2030, during one of Miura Next’s first flights, PLD Space will look to perform the first uncrewed orbital test flight of LINCE.
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Publish date : 2024-10-14 00:51:00
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