On Monday, October 19, 2026, Spanish launch service provider PLD Space announced the start of system-level testing for its orbital launch vehicle, MIURA 5, having completed manufacturing on its first three vehicles.
Announced from Elche, Spain, the milestone initiates qualification campaigns for the vehicle’s integrated second stage while scaling parallel manufacturing lines ahead of its inaugural orbital demonstration flight scheduled for the first half of 2027.
Vertical Integration and Industrial Decoupling Strategy
PLD Space is executing an in-house vertical integration model designed to decouple serial vehicle manufacturing from launch campaigns. Producing two qualification units and the first flight vehicle concurrently across its 17,000-square-meter facility in Elche allows the company to feed qualification test data directly into flight hardware assembly.
The industrial ramp-up is supported by PLD Space’s €288 million Series C funding round and selection under the ESA European Launcher Challenge for MIURA 5 scaling. The programme leverages a domestic industrial network spanning 493 suppliers and €42.7 million in local contracts.
Second-Stage Subsystems and Propulsion Test Benchmarks
Testing is centered at the company’s Teruel facility across 10 in-house test benches, including a 10.2-meter vertical stand equipped with an eight-meter flame duct. Key technical milestones include:
- Integrated Second Stage: Fully assembled structures, avionics, feed lines, and propulsion installed vertically for Wet Dress Rehearsals (WDR) and static hot-fire testing.
- Engine and Component Production: Initial flight units of the TEPREL-C and vacuum-optimized TEPREL-C Vac engines have begun test campaigns, supported by the fabrication of seven assembled engines, 35 combustion chambers, 40 gas generators, and 15 turbopumps.
- Tankage and Avionics: Completion of 13 propellant tanks, including liquid oxygen tanks for both stages, alongside flight avionics sets completed for four rockets.
- Separation and Fairing Tests: Validation of stage-separation sequences and completion of test campaigns across two fairing qualification models.
Launch Pad Deployment and Orbital Flight Roadmap
At the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou, French Guiana, ground site preparations are progressing under PLD Space’s infrastructure partnership with CNES. The company has received approximately 60 containers of ground equipment in Kourou to validate pad strongbacks, hold-down clamps, and umbilical interfaces ahead of the maiden flight in early 2027.
