The Spanish conquest of space

The PLD Space startup, based in Elche, works on a rocket to send small satellites to low Earth orbit and has been chosen by ESA to test the technology of reuse of launchers

   In classical mythology, Arion was a winged horse with black hooves, highly valued by the gods and heroes of antiquity. Now, in the XXI century and transformed into a rocket will fly higher to allow the conquest of space to the Spanish company PLD Space. This startup based in Elche aims to break into the growing market of nanosatellites.


  But their dreams go further as demonstrated by the recent agreement with the European Space Agency (ESA) to develop the technology of recovery of launchers, a technique that seems to be the key to the aerospace industry of the future.

   "All the means of transport of humanity, from a horse to an airplane, are reusable, but not a rocket," says Raúl Torres, CEO of PLD Space and co-founder of the company together with Raúl Verdú in 2011. This engineer explains the interest that exists in space agencies around the world to achieve an effective rocket recovery system. A technology that would lower the cost of current releases and, therefore, make space more accessible. "It does not make much sense that every time you have to launch a rocket you have to throw it away," says Torres.

A portfolio of orders of 50 million euros

The business of small satellites is booming thanks to the miniaturization of technology. "Almost 70% of all satellites that are shipped in the world weigh less than 150 kg", explains Raúl Torres. However, most rockets are designed to launch large satellites. That's why PLD Space wants to be in that market with the Arion 2, which precisely has a 150 kg load capacity in low orbit. But it will also have the capacity to place up to 5 kilos in lunar orbit. Therefore, the smaller dimensions of this rocket fits perfectly to the needs of this thriving market.

"This makes it easier to simplify and access the space," says Torres. At the moment the idea has already seduced several companies and institutions. In fact, PLD Space has a portfolio of orders worth 50 million euros. If all goes well in three or four years the winged horses of PLD Space will sail the skies up to the space loaded with "cubesat" (satellites of just 1.5 kg) to make scientific experiments of all kinds and better understand the Cosmos.

The idea is advancing strongly in the US, where private companies such as SpaceX, of billionaire Elon Musk, or Blue Origin of the tycoon Jeff Bezos, have shown that this technology is possible by performing several successful tests. That is why Europe does not want to be left behind and they have placed part of their hopes in the LPSR (Liquid Propulsion Stage Recovery) program that amounts to 750,000 euros and of which PLD Space now forms a main part with its launchers. The objective is to be able to do the first test with a suborbital Arion 1 rocket at the end of 2018. The launcher will take off from the Huelva base of El Arenosillo and after 110 seconds the engine will shut down. After reaching 220 kilometers, it will reenter the atmosphere to fall in the Atlantic Ocean.

These launches will serve to obtain the necessary data for the Arion 2, which could become the first European reusable rocket. Its greater dimension will allow it to place up to 150 kg of payload in a 400-km orbit and will use retro-propulsion for its controlled descent-in addition to parachutes. Among the many challenges facing the project is to ensure that the rocket does not sink when it reaches the sea and avoid the corrosion generated by seawater. If everything goes well, they hope to be able to make the first flight at the end of 2020.

In order to achieve the PLD Space objective, they have obtained the help of the Spanish GMV, which has 30 years of experience in the space sector - it participates in the ExoMars mission of ESA and also in the successful Rosetta. He will contribute his knowledge in electronics and flight software and telecommunications. "It will be our cousin of Zumosol," jokes Torres.

Motor test

The next milestone in his meteoric race to space will be given at the end of this year with the first version of the launcher being tested statically in Teruel, where the company has its engine test bench. "That means that we will put something that looks like a rocket vertically to make it work during a mission time of 110 seconds," says Torres. To achieve this, the 18 PLD Space workers, who will become 25 during this year, work hard. "For us it is a marathon every day, and it can not be stopped in the next five or ten years", explains the CEO of the company.

They are aware that every step they take involves entering unknown territory in Spain and sometimes also in Europe. Although Torres laughs when they are called the "Spanish Elon Musk": "Unfortunately we do not have 100 million in the bank to invest in the rockets". However, PLD Space has counted from the beginning with the financial backing of the Center for Industrial Technological Development (CDTI) under the Ministry of Economy. "We went to the administration that has enough competence and criteria to be able to say if we were crazy or not," says Torres. Thanks to that, the Spanish conquest of space is closer.