Spanish aerospace company PLD Space has secured 108 million euros in new funding, expanding its Series C round to 288 million euros.
The announcement on September 1 comes five days after the European Space Agency awarded the company 158.9 million euros under the European Launcher Challenge. Together, the public and private commitments provide PLD Space with nearly 267 million euros raised in less than a week, a record sum for a Spanish space enterprise.
The company originally opened its Series C round in March 2026 with an initial 180 million euros. Total capital raised by the firm since its founding in 2011 now stands at 488 million euros.
Founded by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, the business aims to move its Miura 5 orbital rocket from test benches to a full production line. PLD Space previously launched its Miura 1 suborbital rocket from Huelva, a coastal city in southwestern Spain, in October 2023, which remains its only completed flight to date.
Investors and Capital Allocation
Japanese technology conglomerate Mitsubishi Electric led the new financial tranche, repeating its role from the March round. Mitsubishi Electric is both an investor and a commercial customer for the Miura 5 rocket.
Spanish state-owned development finance institution Cofides also joined the tranche, alongside new investors Endeavor Catalyst and the Spain Oman Private Equity Fund. MCH Private Equity manages the Spanish-Omani fund using capital supplied by the sovereign wealth fund of Oman.
Financial advice for the transaction was provided by Banco Santander, while Deloitte handled legal counsel. The inclusion of Omani capital aligns with PLD Space operating footprints in Duqm, on the coast of Oman, alongside facilities in Elche, Teruel, and Kourou.
PLD Space stated that the capital will accelerate the industrial manufacture of Miura 5, expand testing capacity, and build launch infrastructure. Although SpaceX recently announced up to 100 billion dollars for Starship production, PLD Space follows the same serial manufacturing logic on a smaller scale.
PLD Space executive president Ezequiel Sánchez said the funding round marked a milestone that strengthens the firm's ability to transition into a global provider of commercial launch services. The company is shifting from an engineering project dependent on grants to a commercial business charging per launch, while competing against Chinese reusable rocket developers and half a dozen European startups.
Miura 5 Specifications and Launch Schedule
The Miura 5 is a two-stage launcher engineered to place payloads of up to 540 kilograms into sun-synchronous orbit. Sun-synchronous orbit is a polar altitude band frequently used by small Earth observation and telecommunications satellites.
PLD Space has invested 35 million euros in its launch pad at the Kourou Space Centre in French Guiana. Headquartered in Elche, a city in southeastern Spain, the firm employs more than 500 workers across facilities exceeding 188,000 square meters.
According to industry publication Infodefensa, pre-commercial flights are planned for the first half of 2027, with the potential to advance the first launch to late 2026. Every month of delay consumes resources from the 288 million euro funding pool.
European Space Agency Contract and Competitors
The European Space Agency contract forms part of the 543.6 million euro European Launcher Challenge. The contract pays out upon reaching specific milestones and requires PLD Space to demonstrate orbital launch capability before 2028.
Two German companies, Isar Aerospace and Rocket Factory Augsburg, share the European Launcher Challenge program. Both firms are competing directly with PLD Space to launch the first private European rocket into orbit.
In early August 2026, PLD Space shipped the second stage of the Miura 5 to the United States to test its flight termination system. The test represents one of the final technical requirements before starting the launch campaign. Rocket reusability will be developed at a later phase, following small-scale tests by Honda and setbacks experienced by China's Zhuque-3 project.
Commercial Contracts and Future Targets
Commercial customers are already waiting for launch capacity. Barcelona-based satellite operator Sateliot has committed two communications satellites for launch aboard the Miura 5 in 2027.
PLD Space aims to reach a production capacity of 32 Miura 5 rockets annually by 2030. If the company meets its targets, Spain will operate its first domestic rocket capable of selling commercial slots into Earth orbit.
