In the context of the Choose France event, PLD Space, a Spanish space transportation company, has announced a €35 million investment in the development and deployment of its Launch Complex at the Guiana Space Centre (CSG) in Kourou (French Guiana) over the 2025-2026 period.
Of the total investment, €22 million is being executed within the French industrial ecosystem, with €13 million directly allocated to more than 20 companies based in French Guiana, including a significant number of SMEs.
“This investment represents a major milestone for PLD Space and for Europe’s emerging commercial launch ecosystem. Developing our own launch infrastructure at the Guiana Space Centre strengthens Europe’s autonomous access to space while contributing to the industrial diversification of CSG.
“It also reflects our long-term commitment to building scalable, competitive and sovereign launch capabilities from Europe,” says Ezequiel Sánchez, Executive President of PLD Space.
Headquartered in Elche and founded in 2011 by Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú, PLD Space innovates in the small satellite launch sector. Its family of MIURA launchers and LINCE crewed capsule position the company as a leader in European technological sovereignty for space transportation, covering the full spectrum of space missions.
PLD Space is on a mission to transport satellites and people into space, vertically integrating the engineering, testing, manufacturing, and operations of its reusable and sustainable rockets.
With a team of more than 450 employees, PLD Space operates over 188,000 m² of facilities in Elche, Teruel (Spain), Kourou (French Guiana), and Duqm (Oman), enabling the company to provide comprehensive satellite and payload launch services into space.
The company says this investment positions them as the first private operator to deploy capital expenditure at this scale at the ELM-Diamant site, contributing to the diversification and strengthening of Europe’s spaceport.
Applying official INSEE multipliers for French Guiana’s space sector, the investment is expected to generate approximately €21 million in local value added and sustain around 250–275 indirect and induced jobs during the construction phase, alongside the projected creation of 35 direct jobs linked to future recurring launch operations.
The development of PLD Space’s launch infrastructure at the Guiana Space Centre will also enable European institutional and commercial payloads to be launched from European soil aboard a European launcher, reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy and sovereign access to space.
The civil works for the MIURA 5 orbital launch complex are now in their final phase, with completion expected by summer 2026. Parallel integration of launch infrastructure in Spain is being successfully completed, with the elements now beginning to be shipped to Kourou, enabling the development of a fully operational launch complex for PLD Space’s MIURA 5 vehicle in collaboration with CNES.
The company remains on track for its first MIURA 5 launch from the Guiana Space Centre in 2026, marking a milestone in Europe’s emerging commercial launch ecosystem and reinforcing Europe’s strategic autonomy in access to space, in line with institutional priorities from France and the European Space Agency to broaden the industrial base of the Guiana Space Centre.
Read the orginal article: https://www.eu-startups.com/2026/06/pld-space-announces-e35-million-investment-to-advance-european-launch-capacity/
