Miura 1
Functionsub-orbital reusable launch vehicle
ManufacturerPLD Space
Country of originSpain
Size
Height12.7 m (42 ft)
Diameter0.7 m (2 ft 4 in)
Mass2,550 kg (5,620 lb)
Stages1
Capacity
Payload to suborbital (150 km)
Mass100 kg (220 lb)[1]
Launch history
StatusIn development
Launch sitesEl Arenosillo
First stage
Powered by1 TEPREL-B
Maximum thrust30.2 kN (6,800 lbf) [2]
Burn time122 seconds
Propellantliquid oxygen (1,000 L) / kerosene (600 L)[3]
[edit on Wikidata]

Miura 1 (previously called Arion 1)[4][5] is a suborbital recoverable launch vehicle developed by the Spanish company PLD Space. It is planned to be the first recoverable launch vehicle in Europe.[6]

The first launch is currently scheduled for the end of May 2023.[7]

Design

Miura 1 was originally proposed as a two-stage rocket capable of achieving suborbital flight. It was originally planned to be 12 m long, with a capacity of 250 kg (551 lb). The engines were to use liquid oxygen and kerosene as propellants.[8]

In its final design, Miura 1 is a 12.7 m long 0.7 m diameter one-stage rocket, propelled by one TEPREL-B engine. The vehicle can fly a payload of up to 200 kg on a suborbital trajectory. The propulsion system is equipped with actuators to tilt the engine for an active thrust vector control.[9] In its first mission it will carry 100 kg of payload to an apogee of 153 km. Additionally, Miura 1 is equipped with a recovery system using its engines and parachutes that enable PLD Space to recover the vehicle from the ocean and re-use the complete launch vehicle.[10] With this, it will be the first recoverable launch vehicle in Europe.[6] Miura 1 is intended to be used for scientific research or technology development in a microgravity environment and/or in the upper atmosphere. Furthermore, about 70% of the technology developed for Miura 1 is planned to be used on the Miura 5 orbital rocket.[11]

In December 2019 GMV announced that the Miura 1 avionics system had passed the qualification phase.[12]

In March 2020, the stress test of the Miura 1 pressurized tanks was carried out to check their ability to withstand the working pressure (more than 400 bars (5,800 psi)) with a successful result.[13] COPVs (Composite Overwrapped Pressure Vessel) are used to pressurize propellant tanks and are a fundamental element of many launchers.[14]

In July 2020 the German Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM) successfully completed vibration tests of its payload that will fly on the first launch (Test Flight-1) of Miura 1.[15]

On April 7, 2022, the company carried out the first test of the complete launcher at its facilities in Teruel, being the first test in Europe of a rocket aimed to reach space propelled by liquid fuel.[16][17][18][a]

Launch schedule

The first test flight of Miura 1 was initially planned for 2021[20] from an experimental rocket launch site in Huelva, southwestern Spain, called El Arenosillo,[21] and it will carry a payload from the German Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity (ZARM).[5] Up to eight suborbital launches are targeted per year. It has been delayed to 2022.[22]

As of May 2023, the first test flight is scheduled to take place at the end of the month.[7]

See also

Notes

  1. ^ Other liquid propelled engines were not designed to reach space (> 100 km altitude), for example the V-1 flying bomb travelled at around 2 km high.[19]

References

  1. ^ Foust, Jeff (16 September 2022). "PLD Space completes static-fire tests of Miura 1". SpaceNews. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  2. ^ "La guía definitiva del cohete Miura 1 de PLD Space". 26 November 2021.
  3. ^ "MIURA 1". PLD Space. Retrieved 16 September 2022.
  4. ^ Henry, Caleb (28 November 2018). "PLD Space, after ESA input, doubles lift capacity of smallsat launcher". SpaceNews. Retrieved 29 November 2018.
  5. ^ a b "Since today, MIURA is the new PLD Space rocket's commercial brand" (Press release). PLD Space. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. ^ a b Marín, Daniel (16 Feb 2018). "Europa apuesta por PLD Space para alcanzar el espacio". Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. ^ a b Márquez, Beatriz (8 May 2023). "El INTA ya tiene todo listo para el lanzamiento de Miura-1 de PLD Space" [INTA already has everything ready for the launch of Miura-1 from PLD Space]. infoespecial.com (in Spanish). Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  8. ^ Marín, Daniel (6 July 2015). "La primera prueba de un motor cohete de combustible líquido en España". Eureka. Naukas. Retrieved 22 April 2016.
  9. ^ "MIURA 1 – Payload User's guide" (PDF). Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  10. ^ Henry, Caleb (11 June 2018). "PLD Space raises additional $10 million for reusable smallsat launchers". SpaceNews. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  11. ^ López Sánchez, Gonzalo (22 Jan 2018). "Arion, el cohete español capaz de alcanzar la Luna". abc.es. Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  12. ^ "GMV Avionics System To Be Integrated Into Spain's PLD Space MIURA-1 Launch Vehicle". spacewatch.global. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  13. ^ @PLD_Space (10 March 2020). "El tanque de alta presión de helio reforzado con carbono (COPV >400bar) ha sido ensayado con éxito (ensayo destruct…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  14. ^ Marin, Daniel (4 March 2020). "PLD Space: el retorno". naukas.com. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  15. ^ @PLD_Space (22 July 2020). "The Center of Applied Space Technology and Microgravity @ZARM_de in Germany successfully completed the payload vibr…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  16. ^ Foust, Jeff (September 16, 2022). "PLD Space completes static-fire tests of Miura 1". Space News. Retrieved November 13, 2022.
  17. ^ @RaulTorresPLD (8 April 2022). "El #MIURA1 ha rugido. Anoche hicimos historia al probar por primera vez sobre Europa continental, un lanzador de pr…" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  18. ^ "MIURA 1 Static Test #1 - YouTube". YouTube.
  19. ^ FZG 76 - V-1 (flying bomb). Training Film, minute 26.16, at the Internet Archive
  20. ^ "PLD Space, la ambición de lanzar satélites con cohetes reutilizables" [PLD Space, and the ambition to launch satellites with reusable rockets]. El País (in Spanish). 11 August 2020. Retrieved 17 August 2020.
  21. ^ "Agreement reached between INTA and PLD Space to launch MIURA 1 from the "El Arenosillo"" (Press release). PLD Space. 21 November 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  22. ^ "Radiografía del Miura 1; el primer cohete espacial español despegará de Huelva en 2022" [Radiography of Miura 1; the first Spanish space rocket will lift off from Huelva in 2022]. El Español (in Spanish). 13 November 2021. Retrieved 19 November 2021.

External links

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