PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana
The pad would serve the Spanish firm’s MIURA 5 and MIURA 9 rockets, both covered by its ESA launcher contract.
Via TNW | Investors-funding
CNES president and CEO François Jacq (left) and PLD Space executive president Ezequiel Sánchez sign the agreement.
Today, the company announced that PLD Space had entered into an agreement with CNES, the French space agency, and that both parties were considering building a second launch pad for PLD’s rockets at the spaceport in French Guiana.
They will examine whether the new pad can be accommodated at the ELM-Diamant site of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, and CNES is converting the former Diamant rocket site into a shared base for several private launch companies.
The MIURA 5 and the bigger MIURA 9 will be supported by the pad. These rockets are part of PLD Space’s agreement with the European Space Agency under the European Launcher Challenge, an initiative intended to reduce Europe’s dependence on overseas rockets.
ESA entered into the contract in August; it is worth €158.9m and is mainly financed by Spain, with a contribution from Germany.
PLD Space already has a presence at the site. In June 2025, it became the first private company to enter into a contract with CNES to construct its own launch complex there. The MIURA 5 will make its first flight from that complex.
PLD Space states that its first flight will occur in 2026; its only launch to date was MIURA 1 in October 2023.
“This agreement with CNES reinforces PLD Space’s long-term commitment to the Guiana Space Centre and to Europe’s autonomous access to space,” said Ezequiel Sánchez, PLD Space’s executive president.
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