Finally, and if weather conditions do not prevent it, the MIURA 1 SN1 rocket will take off this Wednesday the 31st for its first test flight. Hastening the launch window approved by the National Institute of Aerospace Technology, INTA, which covers today and tomorrow the 31st until 10 in the morning, MIURA 1 SN1 has scheduled to launch between 5:30 AM and 10:00 AMtime at which the aforementioned window comes to an end.
It’s official: MIURA 1 SN1 is finally ready to fly!
Mission Name: MIURA 1 SN1 Test Flight
Launch Window: May 30 08:00 / May 31 10:00 (CET)
Live broadcast: May 31 from 05:30 (CET) at https://t.co/sZ1mrl7Ld6#VamosMIURA pic.twitter.com/cLYm0JknpK— PLD Space (@PLD_Space) May 30, 2023
This suborbital rocket has been developed by the Elche company PLD Space and it is about the first private space mission carried out in Spain, completely designed by PLD Space and developed in Europe. PLD Space aims to develop the MIURA 5a reusable two-stage rocket that will have a payload capacity of 900 kilograms in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) or 540kg sun-synchronous orbit (SSO) scheduled for 2025.
The launch of the MIURA 1 SN1 will take place from the facilities of the El Arenosillo Experimentation Center (CEDEA) of the National Institute of Aerospace Technology (INTA), belonging to the Ministry of Defense of Spain. The broadcast can be seen through the PLD Space YouTube channel and also from this article.
“In this experimental flight our definition of Success is getting the rocket as far away from the launch pad. We are aware that today it is quite an achievement for us, the industry and all of Spain to be able to place MIURA 1 on the takeoff ramp, and every second in the air is learning and data for the development of MIURA 5. After 12 years, PLD Space will be the first private micro launcher company to achieve this historic milestone in the European space race”, he explained. ezekiel sanchez, the company’s chief executive, in a statement released last week after the rocket completed its hot test. This is the firing test of the rocket motor for five seconds on the launch pad to check that everything is working correctly.
The MIURA 1 SN1 is a rocket of 12.5 meters tall, a mass of 2,550 kilograms at takeoff and a payload of 100kg. It uses a liquid fuel rocket engine developed by PLD Space, TEPREL-Bwhich feeds on kerosene and liquid oxygen.
The test flight will last for 12 minutes in which the MIURA 1 SN1 will rise to a height of 150 kilometers above sea level. In addition to collecting the largest volume of information possible for the validation and design of the technology that will later be transferred and integrated into MIURA 5, this flight will allow the Center for Applied Space Technology and Microgravity at the University of Bremen (ZARM) study microgravity conditions that are generated from 80 kilometers high to carry out scientific experiments in future suborbital flights.
Once the rocket landed in the Atlantic Ocean, a PDL Space team will take care of your collection. On this occasion, the reusable rocket will not carry satellites into space, but its payload consists of sensors to collect data on microgravity conditions.
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