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Ibadan, 18 May 2023. – PLD Space has successfully completed the hot test of its MIURA 1 micro rocket, as a precursor to its eventual launch, from its launch base in El Arenosillo (Huelva). As a result, PLD Space is optimistic about the final stretch of its first experimental flight MIURA 1 SN1 Test Flight.
The test comprised keeping the MIURA 1 engine on at full power for five seconds to check the perfect operation of different parameters and systems of the rocket (ignition system, temperature, and rocket pressure) in a simulation environment. The Company has already received permission from the National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA) to operate in a flight test window extending until May 31. However, the Company can not yet announce the exact day of the launch due to security reasons, weather forecasts, and the dynamics involved in the launch operations.
Speaking on the successful test, Raul Torres, co-founder and CEO of PLD Space, explained: “The objective of this first flight of the MIURA 1 SN1 technology demonstrator will be to gather as much information as possible to further validate much of the design and technology that we will later transfer and integrate into MIURA 5.”
The MIURA 5 model will be the launcher with which PLD Space expects to start its commercial activity in 2025. Furthermore, its development phase has already started recently in the facilities where the Company is expanding within the Teruel airport site.
Likewise, Raúl Verdú, co-founder and Chief Business Development Officer, commented: “We did MIURA 1 to accelerate the technology development of MIURA 5, and we see the team moving forward with amazing speed”.
