Launch of Miura 1 Rocket Signals Europe’s Overdue Leap Into Commercial Spaceflight

Inaugural blastoff of Miura 1.

Private Spanish firm PLD Space launched its Miura 1 rocket this past Friday on a suborbital flight that lasted for five minutes, marking a significant milestone for Europe’s nascent spaceflight industry.

PLD Space launched its reusable Miura 1 rocket on Friday, October 6 at 8:19 p.m. ET (Saturday at 2:19 a.m. CET). The rocket took off from the El Arenosillo Experimentation Centre facilities in Mazagón, near Huelva on the southern coast of Spain, which is part of the Spanish National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA).

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In its press release, PLD Space claims that Miura 1 is the first rocket launched by a private European company, which, as Ars Technica points out, is not exactly true; British company Skyrora and Dutch company T-Minus Engineering already beat them to the punch. Still, the launch of Miura is a big deal, but PLD Space will face stiff competition, including from Isar Aerospace from Germany and the aforementioned Skyrora, among several others.

It’s also worth noting that Arianespace—a France-based rocket company that specializes in satellite launch services—has enjoyed a stranglehold in the European market, thanks in part to substantial state support from European governments. But that dominance appears to be coming to an end. The European Space Agency set up the boost! program to accelerate the creation and use of European commercial space services led by the private sector. PLD Space has benefited from this initiative, receiving both financial and technical aid as it develops its rocket technologies, mirroring how NASA collaborates with commercial U.S. space companies.

While this suborbital flight does not qualify Spain as having direct space capabilities, the country is undoubtedly making strides in the new space race. With limited access to launch vehicles in Europe due to delays with the Ariane 6 as well as Vega rocket failures, PLD Space’s success is a welcome sign.

Europe has been trailing in the commercial space game for a while now, especially when you stack the continent up against the United States. The launch of Miura 1 is a solid move, but honestly, it’s about time. Across the pond, heavy hitters like SpaceX, Rocket Lab, Blue Origin, and FireFly Aerospace are continually pushing boundaries and staking, or at least attempting to stake, claims in the market. Europe’s been missing out, and while the PLD Space launch marks a start, there’s a whole lot of catching up to do.

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