Miura 5 by PLD Space: status and timeline

Milestones

Next · Inaugural orbital flight from Kourou

Miura 5 development initiated2011Complete.
ESA Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP) support begins2015Complete.
Series C funding closedMar 2026Complete.
ESA Launcher Challenge contract signedAug 2026Complete.
Series C extension of €108M closedSep 2026Complete.
Inaugural orbital flight from KourouTarget 2026Current milestone.
Commercial operations beginTarget 2027Not yet reached.

Most important updates

PLD Space secures additional €108M in Series C funding extension, bringing total Series C to €288M1 Sep 2026
ESA signs first major European Launcher Challenge contract with PLD Space: €158.9M for Miura 5 launches and orbital services27 Aug 2026
PLD Space raises €180M (Spain's biggest space funding round) to scale Miura 5 production toward 30+ annual launches by 20305 Mar 2026

Upcoming

2026Inaugural orbital flight from Kourou (next)
2027Commercial operations begin

Current obstacles

First-stage recovery and reuseSurviving launch, controlled descent, and rapid refurbishment are technically challenging.
Affordable Kourou accessSharing Kourou with Ariane 6 and other ESA missions requires negotiating launch slots and infrastructure access while keeping costs competitive.
Supply-chain disruptionsEuropean manufacturing faces geopolitical constraints on advanced components (semiconductors, materials) that could bottleneck production scaling.

Physics limits

Payload-to-cost trade-offAt 1,000 kg to LEO, Miura 5 is smaller than Falcon 9 (~22 tons) but still requires investment in engines, avionics and infrastructure. Lower payload means higher per-kg costs unless flight rate is very high (30+/yr).
Reusability benefits diminish at low flight ratesRecovery, inspection and refurbishment add time and cost; unless the rocket flies frequently (every few days), turnaround overhead erodes savings vs. a simpler expendable design.

How it works

4 parts

Two-stage design

First stage recoverable, second stage expendable

First stage liftoff + lands for reuse. Second stage reaches LEO and is expended. Lower per-flight cost.

Payload bay

Modular small-satellite adapter

1,000 kg ideal for small satellites, CubeSats, or constellation segments. Modular adapter aids quick integration.

Launch operations

Kourou launch infrastructure

Equatorial Kourou access optimizes sun-synchronous/low-inclination orbits. Uses ESA ground infrastructure.

Production scale

Rapid manufacturing for high flight rates

Modular design and streamlined assembly support 30+ launches/year by 2030.

Spec sheet

Spec	Miura 5
Rocket length	34 m^R (reported)
Payload to LEO	1,080 kg^R (reported)
Reusable stages	First stage recoverable^R (reported)
Primary launch site	Kourou, French Guiana^R (reported)
Target launch rate by 2030	30+ launches/year^R (reported)

^R reported by the company

Update log

3 updates

About PLD Space

The team behind Miura 5

PLD Space

Miura 5 reusable launcher, European small satellite launch

Spanish launcher developer. Miura 5 is a partially reusable orbital vehicle for small satellites. Raised €488M total, backed by ESA Launcher Challenge. Debut planned 2026 from Kourou.

Founded 2011 by Torres, Verdú, Martínez to address Europe's small-satellite launch gap.
Series C €180M (Mar 2026) led by Mitsubishi Electric + Spain backing; extended €108M (Sep 2026). Total raised €488M.
ESA signed €158.9M Launcher Challenge contract (Aug 2026) for Miura 5 launch services.

pld.space (opens pld.space)Company profile →

Founded: 201115 yrs
Headquarters: Spain
Status: Private
Valuation: private
Raised: $209M1 round
Last round: Series C · $209MMar 2026
Works in: SpaceflightLaunch
Coverage: 1 program · 3 updateslatest 1 Sep 2026checked 11 Oct
Lead investors: Mitsubishi Electric
Customers: European Space Agency (ESA) (opens esa.int)
Investors: Mitsubishi Electric (opens mitsubishielectric.com)Spanish Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities (opens ciencia.gob.es)COFIDES (opens cofides.es)Nazca Capital (opens nazca.vc)
People: Raúl Torres (opens crunchbase.com)CEO & Co-founder

Spec

Miura 5

Rocket length

34 m^R (reported)

Payload to LEO

1,080 kg^R (reported)

Reusable stages

First stage recoverable^R (reported)

Primary launch site

Kourou, French Guiana^R (reported)

Target launch rate by 2030

30+ launches/year^R (reported)

Miura 5

Milestones

Most important updates

Upcoming

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

First stage recoverable, second stage expendable

Modular small-satellite adapter

Kourou launch infrastructure

Rapid manufacturing for high flight rates

Spec sheet

Update log

Tue 1 Sep

Thu 27 Aug

Thu 5 Mar

About PLD Space

Current obstacles

Physics limits

How it works

First stage recoverable, second stage expendable

Modular small-satellite adapter

Kourou launch infrastructure

Rapid manufacturing for high flight rates

Spec sheet

Update log

Tue 1 Sep

Thu 27 Aug

Thu 5 Mar

About PLD Space