PLD Space increases its investment in the Kourou launch complex to €35 million.

      The Spanish launch company claims to be the first private entity to allocate capital of this magnitude to the historic Guiana spaceport, with the first MIURA 5 flight still scheduled for 2026. PLD Space announced on Monday at the Choose France event in Versailles that it will invest €35 million in the launch complex it is constructing at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou.

      This amount encompasses the development and deployment of the site covering the period from 2025 to 2026, making PLD Space the inaugural private operator to invest such a large capital expenditure at the ELM-Diamant site within Europe’s historic spaceport.

      The majority of the funds will remain in France. Of the total €35 million, €22 million will be utilized within the French industrial sector, with €13 million specifically earmarked for over 20 companies located in French Guiana, including a considerable number of small and medium-sized enterprises, as stated by the company. By applying official INSEE multipliers relevant to the local space sector, PLD Space anticipates that the investment will generate approximately €21 million in local value addition and support between 250 and 275 indirect and induced jobs throughout the construction phase, in addition to an expected 35 direct jobs associated with future recurring launch operations.

      The complex is designed for the MIURA 5, PLD Space’s orbital launcher. The civil works are now nearing completion, with an expected finish by summer 2026, according to the company.

      Simultaneously, launch infrastructure being constructed in Spain is nearing completion and beginning to be transported to Kourou, where the operational complex is being developed for the MIURA 5 vehicle in cooperation with the French space agency CNES. PLD Space asserts that it remains on schedule for a first MIURA 5 launch from the Guiana Space Centre in 2026.

      The overarching theme is sovereignty. PLD Space views the development at Kourou as a means to enable European institutional and commercial payloads to launch from European soil with a European launcher, a narrative that aligns with the priorities of France and the European Space Agency to expand the industrial base of a spaceport that has been primarily occupied by traditional players.

      “This investment signifies a significant milestone for PLD Space and for Europe’s developing commercial launch ecosystem,” stated Ezequiel Sánchez, the company’s executive president. He remarked that establishing its own infrastructure at the Guiana Space Centre enhances Europe’s independent access to space while aiding the industrial diversification of the site, which exemplifies “our long-term commitment to creating scalable, competitive, and sovereign launch capabilities from Europe.”

      Founded in Elche in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, PLD Space currently employs over 450 individuals and operates across facilities in Elche, Teruel, Kourou, and Duqm in Oman. Its product lineup includes the MIURA family of launchers and the LINCE crewed capsule, and it oversees more than 188,000 square meters of facilities spread across these four locations.

      PLD Space characterizes itself as a vertically integrated launch firm, managing the engineering, testing, manufacturing, and operations of its reusable rockets internally, and positions the MIURA launchers and LINCE capsule as a standard for European technological sovereignty in space transportation. The company did not provide specific details regarding the timing of the €35 million investment beyond the 2025 to 2026 timeframe, nor did it disclose the proportion of the expenditure that has already been committed.