PLD Space Announces New Boost Enhancements

ESA Signs Contract with PLD Space for Miura 5 Launch Service Development

The European Space Agency (ESA) has recently signed a Boost! contract with PLD Space, a Spanish aerospace company, to support the development of its Miura 5 launch service. This contract marks an important milestone for PLD Space as it seeks to expand its launch services and offer customers the opportunity to launch small satellites into orbit.

The Miura 1 suborbital mission was successfully launched by PLD Space last year from the El Arenosillo Test Centre in Spain. This rocket is designed to carry payloads of up to 100 kg to heights of 150 km above Earth, providing short periods of weightlessness for researchers and other customers.

Building upon the success of the Miura 1, PLD Space is now focussing on the development of a larger orbital-class launch vehicle, the Miura 5. With a capacity to launch up to 540 kg of hardware to a sun-synchronous orbit, the Miura 5 will be significantly larger than its predecessor. It will have a diameter of 2 m and will consist of two stages to propel payloads into orbit. The first stage will be equipped with parachutes for recuperation and reuse on later flights.

To enhance its launch capabilities and provide maximum flexibility to customers, PLD Space plans to develop a modular and customizable payload accommodation system called MOSPA (Modular Solution for Payload Adapter). This system will enable the release of all types of satellites and accommodate CubeSats, nanosatellites, and microsatellites. The development of MOSPA will be done in collaboration with OCCAM Space, a company with expertise in structures and mechanisms in the space sector.

The Boost! contract, worth €1.3 million, provided by ESA will co-fund the development of the MOSPA system. The goal is to create lightweight hardware that’s adaptable to accommodate more satellites and meet market demands, ultimately increasing PLD Space’s competitiveness in the small launchers market. ESA’s Jorgen Bru expresses confidence in PLD Space’s capabilities and looks forward to witnessing their experience applied to the Miura 5 launch service development.

Raúl Verdú, Chief Business Development Officer at PLD Space, sees the winning of the Boost! contract as a testament to the company’s achievements and a vote of confidence from ESA. He is excited about developing a modular and highly flexible solution that will meet customers’ accommodation needs aboard the Miura 5. Manuel Serrano, CEO of OCCAM Space, is also thrilled about the partnership and believes that their MOSPA design will complement the Miura 5 upper stage, thus contributing to the competitiveness of European small launchers.

The Miura 5 is scheduled for its first flight in 2025 from Europe’s Spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana. With the support from ESA and the development of the MOSPA system, PLD Space is poised to revolutionize the launch services market and provide customers with enhanced opportunities to send their satellites into orbit.