Spain’s PLD Space prepares for liftoff with $28 million in new funding

Spain’s PLD Space has announced the close of its Series B funding round at $28 million. The company develops and offers commercial orbital and suborbital launch services of small payloads and satellites. The new funding will be used to support upcoming launch plans, primarily through the expansion of production capabilities and a tripling of the team size. To date, PLD Space has raised just shy of €52 million.

Hailing from Elche, located in the south-east of Spain, PLD Space is giving the field of space research (suborbital), and the small satellite (orbital) industry a boost with its reusable space launch vehicles.

Targeting scientific research and technology development projects, PLD Spaces' suborbital offer, the MIURA1 is designed to carry payloads of up to 100 kilograms into space and bring them back safely. With a total flight time of 12 minutes, MIURA 1 achieves an apogee of 153 km above the earth’s surface and provides clients with 3 minutes of microgravity time.

As the name might imply, the company’s second offer, MIURA 5 is a larger launch vehicle, capable of a 300 kg payload, and used primarily to launch small satellites.

PLD Space’s all-equity $28 million Series B raise is comprised of two tranches, and oversubscribed, according to the company. The round was led by Arcano Partners, aerospace component manufacturer Aciturri, and the Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology (CDTI) through the co-investment initiative of the INNVIERTE programme. While not named specifically, PLD Space cites, “current partners” following on, as well as, “the entry of different financial partners.”

"This new financing round allows us to consolidate our position as a reference industrial partner of the PLD Space project, one of the main lines in our positioning strategy in the Aerospace & Defence segment," commented Aciturri’s general director Álvaro Fernández Baragaño. "After our incorporation in 2018, we renew our support for the development of PLD Space, a project that will involve the development of different technologies nationwide. We are completely confident that PLD Space team has the necessary capabilities to make this project a major player in this market globally”