Spain’s SpaceX? Europe to challenge Elon Musk with new reusable rockets, crew capsule

Spain’s PLD Space, the first private company to successfully launch a suborbital rocket from mainland Europe, has announced its ambitious plans for the future.

Those plans, announced at its annual BEYOND event in Elche, Spain, take a heavy dose of inspiration from SpaceX.

The company’s new line of rockets is clearly inspired by Elon Musk’s private space company. What’s more, PLD Space has revealed its own commercial crew capsule program. The Spanish firm has its sights set on the Moon with LINCE.

Firstly, it will have to reach orbit from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana with its MIURA 5 rocket. It will be no easy feat.

First thing’s first: MIURA 1 to MIURA 5

Before PLD Space gets anywhere near competing with SpaceX, the company will have to successfully reach orbit with MIURA 5.

So far, the company has one rocket launch under its belt. In October last year, PLD Space flew the suborbital MIURA 1 rocket from a facility in Arenosillo near Huelva in the south of Spain.

MIURA 1 reached an altitude of 46 km (28 miles). The rocket, named after a breed of fighting bull, then descended and splashed down into the Atlantic Ocean with the aid of a parachute.

While MIURA 1 didn’t quite reach its target altitude, PLD Space representatives at the time stated it was a resounding success and “just the start of our journey.”

Now, PLD Space aims to launch MIURA 5 to orbit by the end of 2025. Unlike MIURA 1, the rocket will fly from Europe’s spaceport in French Guiana, on the northeastern coast of South America.

In June, PLD Space announced its SPARK program. With SPARK, it will perform free payload deliveries for educational purposes during the inaugural flight of MIURA 5.

In July, the firm announced it had secured a €31.2 syndicated loan from Banco Santander, EBN Banco, and the Instituto de Crédito Oficial. Its total funding sits at around €155 million.

MIURA 5 will stand roughly 38 meters (124 ft) tall, allowing it to carry small satellites to orbit. Its second stage will use five in-house designed TEPREL-C engines, enabling payloads of up to 1,080 Kg (2,381 Lb), depending on the orbit.

What’s next? MIURA Next, MIURA Next Heavy, and MIURA Next Super Heavy

PLD Space held its annual BEYOND event at its new facility in Elche, Spain on October 7. The company announced a range of next-generation rockets that will come after MIURA 5.

These were the MIURA Next, MIURA Next Heavy, and MIURA Next Super Heavy. Much like SpaceX’s Falcon 9 and Falcon Heavy rockets, the MIURA Next variations are made using the same booster type. For larger rocket types, more boosters are strapped together, allowing for more power at liftoff, higher payloads, and higher orbit capabilities.

So while MIURA Next will use a single booster, MIURA Next Heavy will feature two boosters and MIURA Next Super Heavy will feature four. MIURA Next will stand 60 meters tall, making it just 10 meters shorter than SpaceX’s highly successful Falcon 9.

The similarities to SpaceX’s workhorse rocket don’t end there. The MIURA Next boosters will be capable of vertical landings, meaning the range of MIURA Next rockets will be partly reusable.

MIURA Next will have a payload capacity of 13,580 Kg to low Earth orbit, while MIURA Next Super Heavy will deliver up 53,000 Kg to LEO. PLD Space aims to fly MIURA Next by 2030, with the maiden flights for the variations following over the next three years.

LINCE: Europe’s first commercial crew capsule

Lastly, PLD Space also announced its LINCE crew capsule. LINCE, which means lynx in Spanish, will launch atop MIURA Next. If all goes to plan, it will be Europe’s first commercial crew spacecraft and it will be able to fly 4-5 astronauts to the International Space Station. It will also be Moon transfer capable, according to PLD Space.

PLD Space will perform the first drop tests of the capsule in 2025. The company will then aim to carry out in-flight abort tests by 2028, with a view to performing an uncrewed orbital test flight during one of MIURA Next’s first missions. The company estimates it will fly astronauts within a 10-year timeframe.

All of this may seem like a tall order, especially in a year plagued by mass layoffs in the space and tech industries. Still, PLD Space seems to have a robust roadmap in place. The company claims it has been working on LINCE’s spacecraft architecture and technological requirements for roughly a year now. The European Space Agency will hope PLD Space helps the continent catch up with the US and China – as both have been leaving Europe in the dust for some time now.