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Go to topicProtecting life and infrastructure on Earth and in orbit
Go to topicUsing space to benefit citizens and meet future challenges on Earth
Go to topicMaking space accessible and developing the technologies for the future
Go to topicOn 11 April 2019, Spain’s PLD Space, supported by ESA, demonstrated the recovery of the first stage of their orbital microlauncher, Miura 5, in a first step towards reusability.
A Chinook CH-47 helicopter carried the 15 m long 1.4 m diameter Miura 5 demonstration first stage to an altitude of 5 km. It was then dropped over a controlled area of the Atlantic Ocean, 6 km off the coast of Huelva in southern Spain. The demonstrator released three parachutes to slow down its descent before splashdown.
A team of divers recovered the demonstrator and hoisted it onto a tugboat, which returned to the port of Mazagón. The demonstrator looks in good shape and will now be transported to PLD Space, in Elche, for inspection and further analysis.