Spain´s First Space Rocket Set For The Stars

Spain is finally joining the space race – 65 years after the first launch by the then Soviet Union, thanks to two young Spanish entrepeneurs – Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú,

The Miura 1 rocket is being displayed in Madrid´s Museum of Natural Sciences this weekend until tomorow, Sunday 14th November.

The 12 metre high rocket weighs 2,550 kilos and will be capable of carrying satellites weighing up to 100 kilos into orbit.

The Miura 1 is the culmination of a 10 year project which, once launched, will also be Europe’s first recoverable launch vehicle. Its maiden flight is set for the second half of 2022 from a special launch zone by Teruel Airport.

The Elche based company employs around 50 people which is likely to double as the company starts to take in revenue and new orders for space loads.

The CEO, Raul Torres said: “When Christopher Columbus thought to go to India and went to the other side of the Atlantic, he did not expect to meet America.” “He was going into the unknown, just like us. We didn’t know what we had ahead of us.”

Torres added that the letters PLD of the company name represent ‘P’ for passion; ‘L’ for leadership within the team and everybody else they cooperate with; and ‘D’ stands for determination.

A more advanced Miura 5 rocket, is being planned for a mission in 2024, and which carry a payload five times greater than the first.

The U.S investment bank, Morgan Stanley, estimates that the space business will be worth in the region of $1 trillion over the next decade.

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