Miura 5

Miura 5
A reuse test small-scale first stage of Miura 5 in El Arenosillo
Functionpartially reusable launch vehicle to low Earth orbit
ManufacturerPLD Space
Country of originSpain
Size
Height35.7 m (117 ft)[1]
Diameter2.0 m (6 ft 7 in)[1]
Mass
  • 68,742 kg
Stages2–3
Capacity
Payload to Low Earth orbit (LEO)
Mass1,080 kg (2,380 lb)[1]
Payload to SSO
Mass540 kg (1,190 lb)[1]
Associated rockets
ComparableShavit 2, Prime, Electron
Launch history
StatusUnder development
Launch sitesEl Hierro Launch Centre (proposed)

Guiana Space Centre (planned)

Azores (proposed)
First flightQ1 2026 (planned)[2]
First stage
Height26.3 m (86 ft)[3]
Diameter2.0 m (6 ft 7 in)
Powered by5 TEPREL-C
Maximum thrust950 kN (210,000 lbf)
Burn time182 s.[1]
PropellantLOX / RP-1
Second stage
Height12.1 m (40 ft)
Powered by1 TEPREL-C vacuum
Maximum thrust50 kN (11,000 lbf)
Burn time420 s.[1]
PropellantLOX / RP-1
Kick stage (optional)

Miura 5 is a two-stage European orbital recoverable launch vehicle currently under development by the Spanish company PLD Space. In a standard two-stage configuration, it will have a length of 34 m, be capable of inserting 1000 kg of payload into a low Earth orbit (LEO), featuring an optional kick stage that can circularize the orbits of satellites.[4]

Development of the Miura 5 has been sponsored by the European Space Agency (ESA) via the agency's Future Launchers Preparatory Programme (FLPP); additional support has come from the French space agency CNES and the Spanish agency National Institute for Aerospace Technology (INTA). Work commenced during the mid-2010s under the name Arion 2, the present name was adopted following a redesign that doubled the lift capacity of the launcher during 2018. On 11 April 2019, PLD Space carried out a successful drop and recovery test of the first stage of a Miura 5 demonstrator. As of December 2023, the first test flight of Miura 5 is expected to take place sometime in early 2026.[2]

  1. ^ a b c d e f @RaulTorresPLD (18 January 2022). "Thread 👉 Happy to give you accurate #MIURA5 figures: maximum payload mass to reference mission (500km SSO): 450kg . Maximum payload to orbit : 900kg (equatorial launch). Launch site is CSG in French Guiana" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  2. ^ a b Cite error: The named reference reuters-20231020 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  3. ^ Gallego, Pablo (August 2020). "MIURA 5: The European and Reusable Microlauncher for CubeSats and Small Satellites". Small Satellite Conference.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference double 2018 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).