Spain-based
PLD Space, a leader in the launch business for small satellites in Europe, has successfully completed the first qualification campaign of its suborbital vehicle, MIURA 1, at its facility in Teruel, to ensure that all of the rocket’s subsystems are working correctly — the first time this has been done in Europe.
The rocket is now ready for its first launch, scheduled for the end of 2022 from El Arenosillo (Huelva, Spain). Although PLD Space had already tested and validated each of the subsystems that configure the launch vehicle, this is the first time an integrated test has been carried out — a definitive test for further progress on the planned MIURA 1 programme.
The test campaign consisted of several wet tests and three hot tests: 5, 20 and 110 (reduced from 122 to 110 to ensure safe engine shutdown, allowing for fuel margin on board). The last one, known as full mission test, is key to the future of the vehicle because it simulates all the conditions of a real launch, without actually flying. PLD space co-founder, CEO and launch director, Raúl Torres, said: “We make the rocket truly think it’s on its way to space.”
This 110sec test corresponds to the time of the ignition in an actual launch. Its main purpose is to check the correct operation of all subsystems during a simulated flight. With the information obtained in the different tests, the PLD Space team has been able to verify that each part of the rocket is working as planned or, if not, to take advantage of this data to optimise all the parameters of the first flight unit.
Mr Torres said: “We have collected a list of small modifications that require programmatic management, such as changing a component or updating some design that we need to improve; but nothing critical. With each test, we manage to evolve and improve the flight of the rocket.”
High levels of quality and certaintyAt the business level, the success of this qualification campaign also represents a very important value milestone for the company. Raúl Verdú, co-founder and business development director, said: “We are achieving very high levels of quality and certainty. Every time the team plans a complex operation, it executes it on time and on budget. This is something our customers will value in the future. If it had been a flight operation, the rocket would have taken off on time without causing delays.”
This test campaign is not only a milestone for PLD Space, but also for Spain and Europe. On the one hand, it is the first time that a full mission test of an integrated launcher has been carried out. PLD Space executive president, Ezequiel Sánchez, said: “We are the first private company in the history of Europe to have achieved this.”
On the other hand, this success of a Spanish player helps to place Europe in a ‘position of strength’ in the global space business. Mr Sánchez added: “We have demonstrated that PLD Space is the most promising company to improve European competitiveness in the microlaunchers race to space. This fact makes our project strategic not only for Spain but with a European perspective and a reference to show the profitability of reinforcing investment in new players.”
PLD Space’s progress follows the planned technical schedule. The launch team will now analyse all the data obtained from the qualification campaign and check what changes need to be incorporated into the MIURA 1 flight unit.
Simultaneously, the operations team has already started the manufacturing of the launch unit, which will fly from El Arenosillo (Huelva) at the end of 2022. This vehicle, which will incorporate the lessons learned during the fire tests, will be completed in October. After undergoing some final tests at the company's own test bench at Teruel Airport, it will be sent to Huelva for its maiden flight.
At the same time, PLD Space's engineering team is already working on the final design of its orbital vehicle, MIURA 5, taking advantage of the information gathered in this MIURA 1 test campaign. The objective is to launch the first unit in mid-2024 from the European spaceport in Kourou, French Guiana.
PLD Space is a pioneering Spanish company in the aerospace sector and a reference within Europe in the development of reusable rockets, with a recognised prestige in the sector and a solid project that has become a reality through its launch vehicles: the MIURA 1 suborbital and MIURA 5 orbital rockets, which will place Spain among the few countries with the capacity to successfully send small satellites to space.