PLD Space plans to send manned flights to the Moon within an estimated 10 years

The company PLD SPACE, based at Teruel Airport, announced yesterday that it plans to launch manned trips to the Moon. At an event held at its new facilities in Elche, where it unveiled its roadmap for the next decade, it presented the prototype of its Lince capsule, with a capacity of 8 cubic metres and the possibility of housing up to five crew seats, which would become the first cabin of its kind manufactured in Europe and which would be used to send cargo and astronauts to the Moon. The aim is for it to begin operating around 2030. This is a milestone that had never been considered in Europe, and which has already received the green light from the European Space Agency (ESA).

Another of the projects presented yesterday is the Miura Next, which involves several heavy-lift launchers, propelled by several recoverable and reusable rockets, which could transport up to 36 tons of cargo to the orbit of the International Space Station (ISS), and whose first flight is scheduled for 2030.

The idea is to take advantage of the first launch of a Miura Next to test the first capsule, which will carry three mannequins and will remain in orbit for three days before we bring it back to Earth.

The company's current work is on the Miura 5, which is a small satellite launcher, structured in two stages and a fairing. The first stage has five propulsion engines while the second has a Teprel-C, the fourth evolution of the engine with which it began its journey, and the fairing houses the devices that are intended to be put into orbit. Its first flight is scheduled to take place in early 2026 from French Guiana. The company's goal is to manufacture 60 engines per year and be able to launch 30 rockets per year at the start of its commercial career.

All these projects have led PLD Space to move its facilities to a new 12,500 square metre warehouse, located in the Elche Industrial Park (Alicante). The current workforce consists of 254 employees, growing by an average of 15 people each month.

All components are tested at PLD's facilities at Teruel airport, which are currently being expanded. For all this, they have received funding of 155 million euros, including 78 million invested by the Centre for Technological Development and Innovation (CDTI). They also obtained 42 million from an aerospace PERTE for the development of the Miura 5 launcher, in addition to a contract with the ESA for 1.5 million.

The objective of the Elche company is to launch any type of cargo that may be useful in the market, offering space transport solutions to meet all demands. The evolution of the Miura Next and the Lince capsule are part of the objective of leading the space race from Europe. That is why they are going to try to be the first aerospace transport companies to have a manned capsule in Europe.