Much of the work completed by PLD Space in 2022 revolved around preparations for the maiden flight of its Miura 1 suborbital launch vehicle. The company fully stacked the vehicle and completed several hot fire tests that culminated in a 122-second full-duration hot fire test in September. PLD Space also completed functional tests on the Miura 1 launchpad hold-down system in early December. The company’s testing did suffer a hiccup in June after a full-duration hot fire test had to be aborted after an anomaly was detected during the countdown.
Although PLD Space’s preparation for the maiden flight of its suborbital launch vehicle is likely more advanced than many above it, they lose out because the TEPREL-B engine that will be used aboard Miura 1 is only a stepping stone to the TEPREL-C engine utilized aboard its Miura 5 orbital launch vehicle. Although a flight of Miura 1 will certainly validate some key systems and be a significant milestone for the development of its engines, Miura 5 will be a much larger step forward than that of HyImpulse’s SR75 to SL1 launch vehicles.
PLD Space also signed an interesting agreement with Spanish energy company Repsol in 2022 to develop new renewable fuels. The new fuels will be used aboard the company’s Miura launch vehicles. The pair aim to reduce the carbon footprint of the Miura launch vehicles by up to 90%.
Web: https://www.pldspace.com/en/