PLD Space, an international space services company with vertical integrated engineering and manufacturing, is progressing in the development of one of the key systems of its MIURA 5 launcher: the TEPREL-C engines. The company has successfully completed the integrated testing of the main TEPREL-C hardware, a crucial milestone ahead of the flight qualification campaign scheduled to start at the end of June.

PLD Space considers propulsion to be the core of its proprietary technology. “No engine, no rocket” has been the company’s motto since its founding, as demonstrated by its TEPREL family of rocket engines. On October 7, 2023, the TEPREL-B engine enabled MIURA 1 to become the first private rocket in Europe to complete a successful flight. Over the past two years, PLD Space has taken this technology to the next level with TEPREL-C.

TEPREL-C, also powered by kerosene (RP-1) and liquid oxygen (LOX), involves a higher level of complexity in its development. This engine will enable the MIURA 5 launcher to place satellites into orbit. To achieve this, the rocket’s first stage will be equipped with five TEPREL-C engines, each delivering a liftoff thrust of 190 kN at sea level. The second stage of MIURA 5 will be powered by a TEPREL-C Vacuum engine, with a thrust of 75 kN.

PLD Space has managed to bring this in-house technology to life in record time thanks to the flight experience of TEPREL-B and its development strategy, which is based on the full vertical integration of its industrial capabilities—from design and manufacturing to testing and launch operations.

In recent months, the company has implemented a series of advanced industrial technologies at its state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Elche (Alicante), including copper and nickel electroplating, Inconel welding, and non-destructive testing such as X-ray inspection.

PLD Space has designed, manufactured, and tested from scratch the new engine components needed for orbital flight, such as its own turbopumps, gas generators, and a new family of cryogenic valves. The first and second stage turbopumps, which feed liquid oxygen and kerosene into the MIURA 5 engines, have undergone rigorous testing and met both design requirements and performance standards. As a result, PLD Space has successfully built the largest turbopumps developed by a private company in Europe.

These TEPREL-C engine components have been tested at Europe’s largest private launcher test facility, owned by the company in Teruel. Owning and operating these development facilities, combined with their close proximity, allows PLD Space to maintain short, flexible development cycles, iterating rapidly on rocket component designs—an agility that is rare in the aerospace sector. The outcome is a fast-paced development process with the highest levels of reliability.

Following the success of these initial tests, which strengthen PLD Space’s position as a European leader in space access, the company is now poised to begin full qualification of the integrated engine.

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