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Surprising European nation rivalling Elon Musk in moon and Mars space race
PLD Space pitched its long term plans to be a leading spaceflight company at its new rocket manufacturing facility. The first manned mission is slated to take place in 2030
A surprising European nation has emerged as a competitor to Elon Musk in its bid to send a spacecraft to Mars and people to the moon by 2030.
PLD Space pitched its long term plans to be a leading spaceflight company, not just on the continent but globally. The Spanish start up outlined its ambitions for space travel after unveiling the Lynx Project last week.
Its ambitious announcement came a year after the company's successful launch of its first suborbital rocket. The presentation took place during the inauguration of the new rocket manufacturing facility located at the Elche Business Park, and was attended by Spain's Minister of Science, Diana Morant.
The company's announcement marks the beginning of Europe’s first private initiative for human spaceflight.
Ezequiel Sanchez, the executive president of PLD, hinted at the announcement by saying, "We don’t like to point to the moon and stare at our fingers."
He then revealed a lunar capsule and showed a brief video of a man getting into an astronaut suit.
The rockets for the flight will be known as Miura Next, using the Lynx capsule, marking the first spacecraft for space travellers produced in Europe.
Raul Torres, co-founder of PLD Space, stated that the goal of the Lynx Project is to transport cargo and people into orbit and return them safely.
The company is working on a launcher that can be recovered and reused. By using multiple units together, it will have the power needed for these missions.
Miura 5, the first rocket designed to carry commercial cargo, is set to conduct its test flight by late next year or early 2026.
In 2028 there will be a real launch test but without a crew and then once everything is secure in regard to technology and safety, the first manned mission is slated for 2030.
Sanchez and Torres insisted that they want to be Europe’s aerospace industry leaders, a mantle they were encouraged to take up on a recent visit to Elche by the director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher.
The Miura Next Heavy, Torres said in the interview, “is the most commercially attractive for big GTO satellites,” with a capacity of 7,160 kilograms to GTO when the side boosters are recovered. The Super Heavy version, he said, is intended more for interplanetary missions.
“We are bringing a huge quantity of payload to the moon and Mars,” he said.
The company is projecting a first launch of Miura Next in 2030, with the larger versions to follow by 2033.
However, if successful the Spanish company may have company on Mars as Elon Musk reckons he’ll start launching rockets to colonise the planet in just four years.
The SpaceX owner, 53, has repeated his vow to send “uncrewed” Starships to the Red Planet in 2026. If the uncrewed flights “go well” then they can be filled with astronauts and colonists by 2028, he claims.
Daily Star Sunday
PLD Space pitched its long term plans to be a leading spaceflight company at its new rocket manufacturing facility. The first manned mission is slated to take place in 2030
A surprising European nation has emerged as a competitor to Elon Musk in its bid to send a spacecraft to Mars and people to the moon by 2030.
PLD Space pitched its long term plans to be a leading spaceflight company, not just on the continent but globally. The Spanish start up outlined its ambitions for space travel after unveiling the Lynx Project last week.
Its ambitious announcement came a year after the company's successful launch of its first suborbital rocket. The presentation took place during the inauguration of the new rocket manufacturing facility located at the Elche Business Park, and was attended by Spain's Minister of Science, Diana Morant.
The company's announcement marks the beginning of Europe’s first private initiative for human spaceflight.
Ezequiel Sanchez, the executive president of PLD, hinted at the announcement by saying, "We don’t like to point to the moon and stare at our fingers."
He then revealed a lunar capsule and showed a brief video of a man getting into an astronaut suit.
The rockets for the flight will be known as Miura Next, using the Lynx capsule, marking the first spacecraft for space travellers produced in Europe.
Raul Torres, co-founder of PLD Space, stated that the goal of the Lynx Project is to transport cargo and people into orbit and return them safely.
The company is working on a launcher that can be recovered and reused. By using multiple units together, it will have the power needed for these missions.
Miura 5, the first rocket designed to carry commercial cargo, is set to conduct its test flight by late next year or early 2026.
In 2028 there will be a real launch test but without a crew and then once everything is secure in regard to technology and safety, the first manned mission is slated for 2030.
Sanchez and Torres insisted that they want to be Europe’s aerospace industry leaders, a mantle they were encouraged to take up on a recent visit to Elche by the director general of the European Space Agency, Josef Aschbacher.
The Miura Next Heavy, Torres said in the interview, “is the most commercially attractive for big GTO satellites,” with a capacity of 7,160 kilograms to GTO when the side boosters are recovered. The Super Heavy version, he said, is intended more for interplanetary missions.
“We are bringing a huge quantity of payload to the moon and Mars,” he said.
The company is projecting a first launch of Miura Next in 2030, with the larger versions to follow by 2033.
However, if successful the Spanish company may have company on Mars as Elon Musk reckons he’ll start launching rockets to colonise the planet in just four years.
The SpaceX owner, 53, has repeated his vow to send “uncrewed” Starships to the Red Planet in 2026. If the uncrewed flights “go well” then they can be filled with astronauts and colonists by 2028, he claims.
Daily Star Sunday