PLD Space expands rocket subsystem testing leadership in Europe

by Erica Marchand
Paris, France (SPX) Nov 18, 2025

PLD Space is now operating its Teruel Airport testing facility at maximum capacity, with over 155,000 square meters dedicated to rocket development. The company utilizes ten self-designed test benches for its MIURA 5 launcher, establishing the largest private rocket testing infrastructure in Europe and strengthening its vertical integration strategy.

Subsystem qualification for MIURA 5 proceeds rapidly, with the facilities enabling component manufacture and testing within 24 hours. The company's approach, "Test like you fly," ensures every critical launcher subsystem undergoes assessments that replicate flight conditions. This methodology accelerates learning about subsystem performance, shortens development timelines, and builds reliability. Raul Torres, CEO and co-founder, stated, "Reliability is built through testing. Our Teruel infrastructures provide us with absolute control over each rocket component, shortening timelines and ensuring the highest technical quality. They are an essential part of our vertical integration model."

Knowledge gained from MIURA 1 has informed MIURA 5's testing protocols. Over a decade, PLD Space has constructed its facilities and tailored procedures, setting the foundation for its present testing system.

Currently, eight of ten benches are operational, with the remainder scheduled to finish by year-end. Each bench, designed in-house, focuses on key MIURA 5 subsystems - including engines, propulsion hardware, tanks, second stage, separation mechanisms, valves, and umbilicals. Simultaneous and parallel testing collects live data across systems. Teruel's proximity to the company's Elche headquarters ensures swift coordination between teams, cutting component validation intervals to one day.

This testing capability accelerates technical iteration and reduces MIURA 5's time to market. Ezequiel Sanchez, Executive President, commented, "Thanks to our testing infrastructures, we can design, manufacture, and validate hardware in a single day. This agility has enabled us to develop an orbital launcher in two years, at a speed, efficiency, and reliability unprecedented in Europe."

PLD Space's facilities have been essential for developing and qualifying the TEPREL-C engine, the most powerful privately built in Europe (190 kN), and for testing MIURA 5's tanks and mechanisms. The company is actively qualifying all launcher subsystems for flight, forecasting its first launch campaign in early 2026.

By expanding its infrastructure, PLD Space strengthens its status as a leader in European space transport and supports Spain and Europe's space sovereignty with new industrial and technological capacity.