Miura 1

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]

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]

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][lower-alpha 1]

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. "Since today, MIURA is the new PLD Space rocket's commercial brand" (Press release). PLD Space. 13 November 2018. Retrieved 3 March 2019.
  6. Marín, Daniel (16 Feb 2018). "Europa apuesta por PLD Space para alcanzar el espacio". Retrieved 27 May 2018.
  7. 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.
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