Canceled the launch of the Miura 1 due to gusts of wind

Canceled the launch of the Miura 1 due to gusts of wind

Raúl Torres, one of the founders of PLD Space, the Alicante company that has built the Miura1, seemed to be healthy hours before the launch of the rocket that was to put Spain in the space race by becoming the tenth country with the capacity to send satellites to space. «All possibilities are on the table, including success. Taking off and not destroying the platform will be key. We hope to have beginner's luck, and if not, to gather as much information for the future." The message was reminiscent of Elon Musk's first flight test of the Starship, the largest and most powerful space contraption ever created. The flamboyant American tycoon promised excitement but warned that something was likely to go wrong. In his case, the countdown stopped 40 seconds after launch because a valve had frozen. In the case of the Miura, it was the high wind gusts that prevented the operation. As the company has announced, the possibilities will be analyzed to make a new attempt in the coming weeks.

Before the definitive cancellation, announced at 8:30 a.m., a technical problem had paralyzed the countdown at the Médano del Loro military shooting range, in Huelva. At 6:40 a.m., the company reported "abnormal behavior" in the liquid oxygen charge. “Analyzing anomalous behavior in the main LOX reservoir of the launch pad. The process is being abnormally slow, "reported Torres, also director of the launch, on his social networks. There were a few minutes of uncertainty that were finally corrected until the weather conditions ruined this first test.

The takeoff maneuver of a rocket requires a surface wind speed of no more than 20 km/h, the atmosphere must also be calm at altitude and there must be no nearby storm. It was the second of these requirements, with speeds of over 20m/s and gusts of up to 30m/s between kilometers 8 and 12, which prevented the launch from being given the green light. "Prudence asks us not to move forward," underlines the co-founder with Raúl Verdú of PLD Space, created in 2011 when they were only 23 and 22 years old respectively.

A test platform for the Miura 5

The Miura 1, named after the renowned Spanish bull breed, measures 12.5 meters -far from the 120 of Musk's Starship- and is designed to lift payloads of 250 kilos more than 150 kilometers high. On this first flight, which should last about twelve minutes, she carried 100 kilos of material from the German Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity to a maximum altitude of 153 kilometers.

Had it been able to take off, the contraption would have made a parabolic flight to then start the return, a maneuver that it performs at 2,700 kilometers per hour. To stop his descent, he has a parachute that cushions his impact in the ocean, where the recovery ship, the 'Libertad 6', and another support ship, the 'Nervio', were waiting for him. And it is that the Miura is designed to be reusable, a key aspect to save costs in an industry such as aerospace, sustained until a few years ago with the financial muscle of powers such as the United States, Russia and China and now promoted by millionaires such as the aforementioned Musk or Jeff Bezos, founder of Amazon. «To date, of the sixty rockets that have been developed in the world, only two companies have made them reusable: Space X -Musk's company-, and Blue Origin -by Bezos-. Our rocket was designed that way from the start. From Miura 1, 60% of its components can be recovered”, highlights Ezequiel Sánchez, executive president of PLD Space.

Before today's attempt, the rocket has had to pass several tests. The most recent took place on Wednesday May 17, when it successfully passed a five-second 'hot test' (static ignition). Earlier, in September, several operational validation tests and three static ignitions of 5, 20 and 122 seconds were carried out. The latter, known as a flight mission test, simulates all the conditions of a real launch, only without actually flying.

The Miura 1 is a test platform for the true objective of the company, the Miura 5, an orbital vehicle three times higher - it reaches 34.4 meters - and with the capacity to transport 540 kilos of cargo. It is expected that it can take off in 2024 from Kourou, in French Guiana. PLD Space, which has more than a hundred employees and facilities in Elche, Teruel and Huelva, has already achieved more than 60 million euros of investment to promote its project in the space sector and expects to reach a turnover of up to 150 million euros. annual.

Rocket test beds

Launch pad

Capable of loading up to 100 kg in four compartments.

Designed to house experiments in microgravity for 3-4 minutes. The entire flight takes 12 minutes.

25 kg per compartment

28V power

0.8 Mb/s data flow

16GB of storage

telemetry systems

Load distribution management

mass at takeoff

Composite Lined Helium Pressure Vessel

Cryogenic liquid oxygen tank (1,100 to -182ºC)

Kerosene tank (600 l)

TEPREL-B engine developed by PLD Space

Tested for 122 seconds (time needed for flight)

Less than 5G acceleration during climb

One of more than 100 engine tests

The system is designed to be able to be rescued after splashing down, which will make it possible to recover the devices sent into space and the launcher itself, which is reused.

Rocket test beds

Launch pad

Capable of loading 100 kg in up to four independent compartments

Designed to house experiments in microgravity for 3-4 minutes. The entire flight takes 12 minutes.

25 kg per compartment

28V power

0.8 Mb/s data flow

16GB of storage

telemetry systems

Load distribution management

mass at takeoff

Composite Lined Helium Pressure Vessel

Cryogenic liquid oxygen tank (1,100 to -182ºC)

Kerosene tank (600 l)

TEPREL-B engine developed by PLD Space

Tested for 122 seconds (time needed for flight)

Less than 5G acceleration during climb

One of more than 100 engine tests

The system is designed to be able to be rescued after splashing down, which will make it possible to recover the devices sent into space and the launcher itself, which is reused.

Rocket test beds

Launch pad

Capable of loading up to 100 kg in four compartments.

independent compartments

Designed to house experiments in microgravity for 3-4 minutes. The entire flight takes 12 minutes.

25 kg per compartment

28V power

0.8 Mb/s data flow

16GB of storage

telemetry systems

Load distribution management

mass at takeoff

fuel tanks

Composite Lined Helium Pressure Vessel

Cryogenic liquid oxygen tank (1,100 to -182ºC)

Kerosene tank (600 l)

TEPREL-B engine developed by PLD Space

Tested for 122 seconds (time needed for flight)

Less than 5G acceleration during climb

One of more than 100 engine tests

The system is designed to be able to be rescued after splashing down, which will make it possible to recover the devices sent into space and the launcher itself, which is reused.

Rocket test beds

Launch pad

Capable of carrying 100 kg in up to four compartments.

independent compartments

Designed to house experiments in microgravity for 3-4 minutes. The entire flight takes 12 minutes.

25 kg per compartment

28V power

0.8 Mb/s data flow

16GB of storage

Load distribution management

mass at takeoff

fuel tanks

Composite Lined Helium Pressure Vessel

Cryogenic liquid oxygen tank (1,100 to -182ºC)

Kerosene tank (600 l)

The system is designed to be able to be rescued after splashing down, which will make it possible to recover the devices sent into space and the launcher itself, which is reused.

TEPREL-B engine developed by PLD Space

(Spanish Reusable Space Propulsion Technology for Launchers)

Tested for 122 seconds (time needed for flight)

Less than 5G acceleration during climb

One of more than 100 engine tests