PLD Space

This case was recognized by the European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) as the best publication in the 2024 Case Writing Competition in the category of “Bringing Technology to Market.”

PLD Space is known for being the first privately funded European company to launch a suborbital rocket, MIURA 1, in 2023. This milestone demonstrates its technical capability to develop the MIURA 5 rocket, designed to carry commercial satellites into orbit.

The company was founded by Raúl Torres, José Enrique Martínez and Raúl Verdú, who started with model rocket projects and managed to obtain funding to develop full-scale combustion engines. In 2011, after participating in a NASA competition, they founded PLD Space and, after hesitant beginnings, managed to secure investments and loans that allowed them to develop innovative technologies, such as a reusable liquid fuel engine.

The company employs 220 people and operates from three main facilities: its headquarters in Elche, a test center in Teruel, and a launch site under construction in Kourou, French Guiana.

PLD Space has adopted a vertical integration strategy, manufacturing most of its rockets in-house, which has allowed it to maintain control over the timing and quality of its products.

Ezequiel Sanchez, CEO, must define its business model and determine the appropriate level of vertical integration. Options include continuing as a rocket manufacturer and operator or expanding into commercializing satellite services, similar to SpaceX with StarLink. In addition, they must decide whether to continue manufacturing in-house or outsource some of the manufacturing process, considering the mass production of the MIURA 5.

The paper also provides insight into the space sector, highlighting how rocket reuse and satellite miniaturization have transformed the industry. The market segments of small and large payload launches are analyzed, as well as the space value chain from component manufacturing to commercialization of satellite services.