Spanish company PLD Space said it plans its first test of a suborbital reusable rocket on Wednesday, as it seeks to put small satellites into space and capture a slice of a potential trillion-dollar market.
If successful, the launch from a military aerospace research centre in Huelva, in southern Spain, will be the first in Western Europe by a private company.
Europe's efforts to develop capabilities to send small satellites into space are in focus after a failed rocket launch byfrom Cornwall in the UK in January this year. The company subsequently went bust and closed after a $36.4 million asset sale. The company will gather as much data as possible to build "Miura 5", an orbital rocket which is now being developed.
The aim is for the rocket to reach an altitude of 80 kilometres at its peak, where the payload will be subjected to zero gravity.
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