The Spanish company, PLD Space, has acquired sufficient funding to initiate the expansion of its production facilities for its small launch vehicle.
On April 23, the company revealed that it has raised 78 million euros ($83.4 million) to date from its industrial and qualified institutional shareholders, which include aerospace manufacturer Aciturri and Spain's Centre for the Development of Industrial Technology.
The investment is in addition to 40.5 million euros obtained from the Spanish government's PERTE Aerospace initiative in January.The overall funding from PERTE is 42 million euros when considering 1.5 million euros from an initial phase received in July 2023, bringing the total funding for PLD Space since its founding to 120 million euros.
PLD Space did not disclose the amount of funding raised in its latest tranche; however, company officials indicated last year, after the launch of its Miura 1 suborbital rocket, that it had developed that rocket for about 30 million euros.
Raúl Verdú, co-founder and chief business development officer of PLD Space, stated, "Securing funding for our work has been one of the most challenging tasks in developing our Miura family of rockets. Nevertheless, the successful launch of Miura 1 has strengthened our position as industry leaders, an accomplishment recognized by investors and clients."
The company announced that the new funds will be allocated to expanding its production and test facilities, increasing them from 169,000 to 834,000 square meters, including 18,400 square meters of industrial facilities at its headquarters and 800,000 square meters reserved for testing.
The expansion of the factory is currently in progress, with plans to open it in mid-2024, and will be utilized for the production of the Miura 5 small launch vehicle. Additionally, PLD Space is making preparations to commence construction of its launch site in Kourou, French Guiana, later this year.
The company will utilize the funding to grow its workforce, which has increased from 161 to 194 employees thus far this year, with a target of reaching 300 employees by year-end.
According to PLD Space, the funding will enable the company to stay on course to conduct the initial test launch of Miura 5 in 2025, with plans to commence commercial launches in 2026.
