So while MIURA Next will use a single booster, MIURA Next Heavy will feature two boosters and MIURA Next Super Heavy will feature four. MIURA Next will stand 60 meters tall, making it just 10 meters shorter than SpaceX’s highly successful Falcon 9.
The similarities to SpaceX’s workhorse rocket don’t end there. The MIURA Next boosters will be capable of vertical landings, meaning the range of MIURA Next rockets will be partly reusable.
MIURA Next will have a payload capacity of 13,580 Kg to low Earth orbit, while MIURA Next Super Heavy will deliver up 53,000 Kg to LEO. PLD Space aims to fly MIURA Next by 2030, with the maiden flights for the variations following over the next three years.
LINCE: Europe’s first commercial crew capsule
Lastly, PLD Space also announced its LINCE crew capsule. LINCE, which means lynx in Spanish, will launch atop MIURA Next. If all goes to plan, it will be Europe’s first commercial crew spacecraft and it will be able to fly 4-5 astronauts to the International Space Station. It will also be Moon transfer capable, according to PLD Space.
PLD Space will perform the first drop tests of the capsule in 2025. The company will then aim to carry out in-flight abort tests by 2028, with a view to performing an uncrewed orbital test flight during one of MIURA Next’s first missions. The company estimates it will fly astronauts within a 10-year timeframe.
All of this may seem like a tall order, especially in a year plagued by mass layoffs in the space and tech industries. Still, PLD Space seems to have a robust roadmap in place. The company claims it has been working on LINCE’s spacecraft architecture and technological requirements for roughly a year now. The European Space Agency will hope PLD Space helps the continent catch up with the US and China – as both have been leaving Europe in the dust for some time now.
Source link : https://interestingengineering.com/space/spains-pld-space-to-challenge-elon-musks-spacex
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Publish date : 2024-10-09 17:49:00
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