ESA Selects PLD Space to Develop the Next Generation of Private European Launchers

PLD Space, an international space transportation company, led by Ezequiel Sánchez, Raúl Torres, and Raúl Verdú, has been selected by the European Space Agency (ESA) under the European Launcher Challenge (ELC), a strategic initiative aimed at strengthening Europe’s autonomous, competitive, and resilient access to space. ESA’s selection of PLD Space represents a significant endorsement of the company’s technology roadmap, execution capabilities, and role within Europe’s future launch ecosystem.  

As Europe seeks greater strategic autonomy in space, ESA’s selection of PLD Space strengthens the company’s position as a European launch provider focused on reliable, sovereign access to orbit.

The €169 million contract covers two components of the European Launcher Challenge. Component A will support the commercial launch service and increased MIURA 5 launch cadence through 2030, while Component B will fund upgrades to increase payload capacity and orbital reach, alongside the development of propulsive landing capabilities as a step toward reusability.

The upgraded orbital capacity of MIURA 5 is a key step in PLD Space’s technology roadmap toward MIURA Next, its planned family of heavy launchers. Subsystems developed under the program are being designed for use in future heavy launch vehicles, helping accelerate next-generation capabilities while reducing technical risk and maximizing existing technology investments.

“ESA’s selection of PLD Space confirms the maturity of the roadmap we have been building for years: a European launch capability designed to grow with a bold footprint, with technology, industry and execution under our own control,” said Ezequiel Sánchez, Executive President of PLD Space. “For PLD Space, this contract is not an isolated milestone. It is part of a disciplined execution path: from demonstrating our technology with MIURA 1, to proving orbital capability with MIURA 5, developing its upgraded orbital capacity to scale performance and advance reusability, and ultimately transferring those critical technologies to MIURA Next. This is how Europe builds sovereign access to space: with ambition, but also with execution.” 

The selection further strengthens PLD Space’s vertically integrated industrial model and its “test-like-you-fly” approach, which have supported the company’s progress from MIURA 1’s successful flight to the final stages of MIURA 5 development.

The contract also reinforces PLD Space’s position among Europe’s leading private space companies and supports its goal of building sovereign, resilient, and competitive launch capabilities for the region.

𝐑𝐞𝐦𝐨𝐭𝐞 𝐇𝐢𝐫𝐞 𝐖𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐔𝐬: 𝐌𝐞𝐧𝐥𝐨 𝐓𝐚𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐭 helps technology companies hire exceptional remote talent from India. Build your team with carefully curated engineers, product leaders, designers, GTM professionals, and more. Learn More At: https://www.menlotimes.com/menlo-talent