PLD Space has secured a green light for one of Spain’s most impressive industrial ventures: a sprawling aerospace campus in Elche dedicated to serial production of the MIURA 5 orbital launcher. With an initial investment of €65 million, the project is designed to move Spain from prototype launches to full-scale manufacturing and establish the country as a serious contender in the international space sector. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in Elche, PLD Space is expanding an existing industrial operation, not starting aerospace manufacturing from scratch. Its current Elche facilities cover about 17,000 square meters.
The future complex, located in Les Vallongues within the Porta d’Elx development, will cover 720,821 square meters. Construction of the first phase is expected to begin in early 2027, pending final permits from the Generalitat Valenciana, which is processing the initiative as a Project of Regional Interest. The initial build is projected to take between 22 and 24 months. That start remains dependent on completing the regional planning and permitting process.
Industrial Scale and Facilities
Central to the campus will be a 95,130-square-meter production hall, purpose-built to assemble and integrate large aerospace vehicles, with space for storage. A 26,500-square-meter technical building will house advanced machinery and precision equipment, along with energy systems. Nearly 25,000 square meters of office space will bring engineering and R&D together with logistics and administration, all within close reach of Alicante-Elche airport and major transport links.
The project is planned in three phases. Future expansions will increase industrial capacity and add office areas, as well as a temporary residence for employees. Accommodation will range from hotel-style rooms to bungalows, reflecting the company’s aim to attract and retain top talent. The campus would substantially expand the company’s existing manufacturing base. Specialist testing already takes place at PLD Space’s facilities near Teruel Airport, which include ten test stands. One is 10.2 metres high and designed for complete second-stage testing.
The industrial push is tied to a programme moving from suborbital demonstrations to orbital launch operations. PLD Space’s MIURA 1 completed its first successful launch from El Arenosillo, Huelva, on 7 October 2023. The company is developing MIURA 5 as its commercial orbital launcher, with launches planned from the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, French Guiana. It aims to produce as many as 32 MIURA 5 vehicles a year by 2030.
Workforce and Community Features
PLD Space’s plans extend beyond manufacturing. The campus will include a first-cycle nursery for employees’ children, with four classrooms for ages one to three. It will also have an outdoor play area and dining facilities, plus a multipurpose room for meetings and family support. Sports amenities will include paddle and pickleball courts, alongside CrossFit and calisthenics zones. The campus will also have locker rooms, a café, and landscaped green spaces. A solar-equipped parking area will provide over 1,600 spaces, part of the project’s sustainability plans.
Economic Impact and Job Creation
The first phase alone is expected to generate 713 direct jobs during construction, with an estimated 1,700 additional positions in supporting sectors, including logistics and transport as well as services and hospitality. Once operational, the campus could support between 500 and 2,000 direct jobs, plus up to 4,000 indirect roles across the aerospace supply chain. These figures reflect the full development scenario, not current recruitment drives.
PLD Space reported a workforce of 460 in March and plans to hire around 90 more professionals in 2026. Industry reporting has since put its workforce at approximately 550. The company is working with vocational training centres to source specialists in metalwork and welding, as well as composite materials and quality control. PLD Space says its Spanish industrial network includes 493 suppliers and has generated €42.7 million in contracts with domestic suppliers, connecting the launch programme to a wider manufacturing and employment base.
International Backing and Strategic Partnerships
The project has gained momentum alongside a €180 million funding round led by Mitsubishi Electric, which contributed €50 million. The partnership gives Mitsubishi priority access to MIURA 5 launch services for its small satellite projects in Japan and other Asian markets. Separately, reporting puts the broader MIURA 5 industrialisation programme’s Series C financing at €288 million. That company-wide funding is distinct from the €65 million initial investment attributed to the Elche campus. PLD Space’s selection for the European Space Agency’s European Launcher Challenge adds institutional backing to its effort to scale a European commercial launch capability.
As of 19 October 2026, PLD Space had completed three MIURA 5 vehicles: two qualification units and the first flight vehicle. The company had begun system-level test campaigns and final subsystem validation for the integrated second stage, while expanding operations in Elche and testing work in Teruel. Its first MIURA 5 demonstration flight is scheduled for the first half of 2027. These milestones place the campus plan alongside an active qualification and test programme; the proposed complex is intended to support longer-term production growth. At Teruel, the company’s test infrastructure supports structural and propulsion-related work. Elche remains its principal manufacturing and engineering base.
The first-flight target follows PLD Space’s successful MIURA 1 launch in 2023 and marks the next step towards orbital services. The Elche facility is intended to strengthen Spain’s capacity to manufacture orbital vehicles domestically and connect its industrial base to the international satellite-launch market.
Spain’s push into the space sector reflects wider international activity in advanced technology and energy new idea. A recent breakthrough in nuclear battery technology by a Chinese research team, detailed in this report on next-generation power sources, offers one example of the pace of change across the global tech field.
