Credit: PLD Space
Spanish rocket builder PLD Space has closed a €180 million Series C funding round led by Japanese satellite manufacturer Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, which has also committed to becoming a strategic customer. The company plans to use the funding to ramp up production capacity as it prepares for the inaugural flight of its MIURA 5 rocket later this year.
Designed to deliver up to 1,040 kilograms to low Earth orbit, the two-stage MIURA 5 rocket will stand just over 35 metres tall. It will initially be launched from a new multi-user facility being built by the French space agency CNES on the grounds of the Guiana Space Centre’s former Diamant launch complex. PLD Space has already sold several launches aboard the rocket, including a dedicated flight for Spanish satellite operator Sateliot, which the company announced in February.
On 4 March, PLD Space announced that it had raised €180 million in new funding to fuel its industrial-scale-up, enabling it to seamlessly transition to commercial operations from 2027. While smaller than the €220 million Series C raised by Germany’s Isar Aerospace, the largest such round by a European launch startup to date, that total includes a €65 million extension to the original round secured more than a year after the initial raise. Isar Aerospace initially closed a €155 million Series C round.
“This financing reinforces our technological and industrial leadership in the launcher market, enabling us to execute the next phase of our strategic roadmap with the speed and scale required to compete globally,” said PLD Space Executive President Ezequiel Sánchez. “It accelerates the buildout of the industrial and launch infrastructure required to deliver reliable access to space for an expanding pipeline of global customers.”
In addition to serving as the lead investor in the company’s Series C funding round, with a €50 million investment, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation has committed to serving as a strategic launch customer for MIURA 5.
In its own 4 March announcement, the Japanese satellite manufacturer said it plans to begin providing “satellite data services” and is preparing a full-scale rollout of a satellite constellation. It explained that, in order to deploy the satellites, it was essential to secure small-satellite launch services that it could call on “when needed and at the appropriate time,” adding that through its investment it would “gain priority access to launch services using the MIURA 5 rocket, thereby enhancing the feasibility of building a satellite constellation.”
After securing its Series C funding round, the company has now secured approximately €350 million. This figure does not include the €169 million committed to the company by the Spanish government as part of the European Space Agency’s European Launcher Challenge. The funding is provided through launch service contracts and programme milestones, helping to subsidise early flights and support the company’s ability to secure additional launch contracts.
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