A Spanish company launched the country’s first private rocket on Saturday in a step towards bringing Spain into the exclusive club of space-faring nations. It is one of very few countries in the world where private companies have achieved a successful rocket launch.
The launch of the small MIURA1 rocket took place at 2.19 am from El Arenosillo, a coastal military base in the southwestern province of Huelva (Andalusia), according to the company, PLD Space.
The company hailed the launch as ‘successful’ and said it had achieved all its ‘technical objectives’.
Spain’s acting Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez wrote on X (formerly Twitter): ‘The launch of the Miura 1, the first rocket with 100% Spanish technology, has been a success. A milestone that positions Spain’s research and development at the forefront of space transportation.’
The ‘re-usable’ rocket rose to 46 kilometres above the Gulf of Cadiz. After five minutes of flight, the spacecraft landed in the Atlantic Ocean, where the company said it would send a team to recover it.
The launch of the 12-metre rocket was first suspended in May because of strong wind, and then a second time in June because some of its umbilical cables — which provide power and fuel to the rocket — did not release in time. ALSO READ: Spain’s first rocket launch delayed again, this time over the risk of forest fires.
The rocket is the first step in the development of MIURA5, a 35-metre-high, two-stage mini-launch vehicle designed to place satellites weighing less than 500 kg into orbit from 2025.
According to PLD Space, 70% of the components developed for MIURA1 will be used for MIURA5.
Under a deal signed with the French National Centre for Space Studies, the mini-launcher will take off from the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana.
Founded in 2011 by two Spanish academics, PLD Space is one of several European start-ups to have embarked on the development of a mini-satellite launcher in response to the fast-growing market for launching micro-satellites into orbit.
Compared with large launchers such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 or ArianeGroup’s Ariane 6, small rockets offer a number of uses, including the ability to carry a single satellite, and they can be launched more quickly.
Lo conseguimos! – we made it! @intaespana
— PLD Space (@PLD_Space) October 7, 2023
Per aspera, ad astra! #VamosMIURA
(📷@manumazzanti) pic.twitter.com/H4vxrgmkpA
El lanzamiento del Miura 1, primer cohete 100% tecnología española, ha sido un éxito.
— Pedro Sánchez (@sanchezcastejon) October 7, 2023
Un hito que posiciona la I+D+i de España a la vanguardia del transporte espacial.
Enhorabuena, @PLD_Space, por contribuir a construir la mejor España. pic.twitter.com/HuXmjlp3Sk
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