Spanish launch startup PLD Space has announced plans to hire 150 new employees by 2024 to support the development of MIURA 5.
PLD Space is currently working towards a maiden flight of its suborbital MIURA 1 rocket, which it hopes to conduct in a matter of weeks. The rocket will serve as a technology demonstrator for its larger MIURA 5 vehicle which will be capable of delivering 540 kilograms to low Earth orbit. According to the company, “70% of the design and technology” from MIURA 1 will be utilized aboard MIURA 5.
The company’s planned hiring blitz was shared along with the announcement of the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with WISeSat.Space to launch the company’s IoT communication satellites aboard MIURA 5. It plans to fill 50 new positions by the end of the year and another 100 by the end of 2024. The 150 new employees will represent a 100% staff increase for PLD Space.
In addition to expanding the size of its workforce, PLD Space is also planning an expansion of its equipment and industrial capacity in Elche, Spain. The company’s current facilities encompass 2,600 square metres of space. PLD Space expects to expand this to more than 12,000 square metres.
Although the company’s immediate focus is the maiden launch of MIURA 1, the WISeSat.Space MOU press release explained that “90% of PLD Space” is focused on the design and development of MIURA 5. The vehicle is expected to make its debut from the Guiana Space Centre in 2025.
€40.5 million in new funding
PLD Space is currently awaiting a decision from the Spanish government on the status of a €40.5 million award.
The country’s Ministry of Science and Innovation announced in March 2023 that it would make €45 million available for the development of a domestic microlauncher. The announcement was made during an event to celebrate the creation of Spain’s own space agency, the Agencia Espacial Español. The funding for the microlauncher is part of Spain’s €4.5B Strategic Project for Aerospace Economic Recovery and Transformation (PERTE) initiative. The initiative is an element of the country’s Recovery, Transformation, and Resilience Plan (RRTP), which is financed through the EU’s Recovery and Resilience Mechanism.
PLD Space and a consortium led by Pangea Aerospace were selected to progress to the next round of the selection process. The pair received €1.5 million each while a decision on which bid to award the rest of the funding is reached.
