Seville, 8th November 2023. The Spanish company PLD Space has confirmed its leadership during the European Space Week, in Seville. The executive team of the company has held key meetings with top officials from different institutions such as the Director General of the European Space Agency (ESA), Josef Aschbacher. "PLD Space is a very solid company with a conservative proposition that doesn't promise more than it can deliver," said Aschbacher at a press conference after the meeting. "This company brings quality in the space industry sector where we usually see Powerpoint presentations with very little substance behind them."
ESA Director General also took the opportunity to publicly congratulate PLD Space on the first flight of MIURA 1. "It was very impressive," he said. "It is remarkable for Europe that a new private company for the first time launches a rocket to more than 40 km altitude. I think it's a great milestone that they have achieved."
After expressing his interest in visiting PLD Space's facilities in Spain, Aschbacher told the media that "what I have seen is very solid, very credible and I can only say that I am very happy to have companies like PLD Space in Europe and congratulations to Spain for having companies like this."
Concerning competition in the launcher industry, PLD Space Co-Founder and Director of Business Development Raúl Verdú said at the Interactive Discussion with Inspiring Entrepreneurs and Innovators roundtable: "It's hard to know who the winner in the next 10 years will be. Our vision is super clear: we have a problem, but as entrepreneurs we see it as an opportunity. The only way to solve the problem is to deliver what we have promised. That is our brand. We have generated credibility in the marketplace."
Verdú accepted the challenge launched by ESA Director General to make a bigger launcher, although he added that "we want to go step by step, our safety guarantee has the same level of importance as the product".
MIURA 1 welcomes visitors at the entrance of FIBES
On the other hand, PLD Space has been present at the European Space Week through the exhibition of its suborbital launcher, MIURA 1, at the entrance of the Sevillian exhibition site Fibes. The exposition of the rocket has been open access, so it has become a point of attraction for attendees and onlookers.
In addition, PLD Space participated in different forums of the event and as a finishing touch to this summit, held a private event that brought together customers, industry players and institutional representatives of the ESA, the European Commission and the Spanish Space Agency.