Spanish PLD Space company carried out the first launch of the special Miura 1 rocket, which took off from the military base in the Andalusia region in the south of the country on the night of September 7. This has been officially reported bill PLD Space on the X social network (formerly Twitter).
PLD Space stated that the launch was successful and added that the mission achieved its goals. Miura 1 rose 46 km over the Gulf of Cadiz and landed in the Atlantic Ocean after a five-minute flight. The company sent a team to remove the rocket from the water.
The launch of the 12-meter PLD Space rocket has been postponed twice. The first launch was planned for May 2023 but was canceled due to high winds. The second attempt in June failed due to problems with timely cutting of the hoses and cables supplying fuel and energy to the device.
Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez described PLD Space’s success as an important milestone for the country’s science and space technology.
“The launch of Miura 1, the first rocket produced using 100% Spanish technology, was successful. This is an important milestone that places Spanish research, development and innovation at the forefront of space transportation,” Sanchez said in a publication in X magazine.
Miura 1 was the first step in the development of Miura 5, a 35-meter-long, two-stage launch vehicle designed to launch satellites weighing up to 500 kg into orbit by 2025.
Previously American company Rocket Lab loss An Electron rocket and a satellite on board during a launch failure.