--- title: PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in... description: PLD Space and the French space agency CNES have agreed to study building a second launch pad at the ELM-Diamant site of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou,... canonical: https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5 twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:site: @dailydotdev og:type: website og:site_name: daily.dev og:title: PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana | daily.dev og:description: PLD Space and the French space agency CNES have agreed to study building a second launch pad at the ELM-Diamant site of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou,... og:url: https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5 og:image: https://api.daily.dev/og/posts/5zn9PJ4N5.png og:image:alt: PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana og:image:width: 1200 og:image:height: 630 og:locale: en --- > ## Documentation Index > Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://daily.dev/llms.txt > Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further. # PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana **[The Next Web](https://daily.dev/sources/tnw)** · 2 min read · 0 upvotes · 0 comments ## Summary PLD Space and the French space agency CNES have agreed to study building a second launch pad at the ELM-Diamant site of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou, which CNES is converting into a shared base for private launch companies. The pad would support PLD's MIURA 5 and larger MIURA 9 rockets, tied to the company's €158.9m European Launcher Challenge contract with ESA (financed mainly by Spain, with German contribution). PLD already has a separate launch complex deal at the same site from June 2025, with MIURA 5's first flight planned there in 2026; its only launch so far was MIURA 1 in October 2023. ## Full article daily.dev links to this article rather than hosting it. Read it at the original source: ## Questions this post answers ### What rockets will the new launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre support? The planned second pad at the ELM-Diamant site in Kourou, French Guiana would support PLD Space's MIURA 5 and the larger MIURA 9 rockets. These vehicles are part of PLD Space's agreement with the European Space Agency under the European Launcher Challenge, a program aimed at reducing Europe's reliance on non-European rockets. _Follow daily.dev for updates on European launch infrastructure as commercial rocket programs like MIURA scale up._ ### When is PLD Space's MIURA 5 rocket expected to launch for the first time? PLD Space states its first MIURA 5 flight will occur in 2026, launching from the company's own complex at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. The company's only launch to date was the suborbital MIURA 1 in October 2023, making MIURA 5 its first orbital attempt. _Track daily.dev for milestones as PLD Space moves from suborbital testing toward its first orbital rocket launch._ ## Similar posts on daily.dev - [PLD Space raises its Kourou launch-complex investment to €35m](https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-raises-its-kourou-launch-complex-investment-to-35m-bddwyxtxk) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [EIB lends PLD Space €30M to finish building its MIURA 5 rocket](https://daily.dev/posts/eib-lends-pld-space-30m-to-finish-building-its-miura-5-rocket-qjkymhdii) · The Next Web · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Rocket Report: Engines installed for Artemis III; Long March 6C breakup in LEO](https://daily.dev/posts/rocket-report-engines-installed-for-artemis-iii-long-march-6c-breakup-in-leo-xvqjjfjeh) · Ars Technica · 0 upvotes · 0 comments - [Private Startups Are Rapidly Advancing Canadian Rockets](https://daily.dev/posts/private-startups-are-rapidly-advancing-canadian-rockets-hqqtefkbu) · IEEE Spectrum · 0 upvotes · 0 comments --- [View this post on daily.dev](https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5) ```json {"@context":"https://schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Organization","@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180},"sameAs":["https://twitter.com/dailydotdev","https://github.com/dailydotdev","https://www.linkedin.com/company/daily-dev-ltd"]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https://daily.dev/#website","url":"https://daily.dev","name":"daily.dev","publisher":{"@id":"https://daily.dev/#organization"},"potentialAction":{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https://daily.dev/search?q={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"TechArticle","headline":"PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana","url":"https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5"},"datePublished":"2026-10-01T10:09:35.460Z","dateModified":"2026-10-01T10:09:52.691Z","description":"PLD Space and the French space agency CNES have agreed to study building a second launch pad at the ELM-Diamant site of the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou,...","image":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/11bf8646444bd125ade6d1a44814e2f3?_a=AQAEuop","thumbnailUrl":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/f_auto,q_auto/v1/posts/11bf8646444bd125ade6d1a44814e2f3?_a=AQAEuop","isAccessibleForFree":true,"articleSection":"The Next Web","inLanguage":"en","publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"daily.dev","url":"https://daily.dev","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://daily.dev/apple-touch-icon.png","width":180,"height":180}},"author":{"@type":"Organization","name":"The Next Web","logo":"https://media.daily.dev/image/upload/t_logo,f_auto/v1/logos/tnw","url":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},"commentCount":0,"discussionUrl":"https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5","interactionStatistic":[{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"LikeAction"},"userInteractionCount":0},{"@type":"InteractionCounter","interactionType":{"@type":"CommentAction"},"userInteractionCount":0}],"keywords":"","timeRequired":"PT2M"} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https://daily.dev"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"The Next Web","item":"https://daily.dev/sources/tnw"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"name":"PLD Space and CNES to study a second launch pad in French Guiana"}]} {"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"FAQPage","@id":"https://daily.dev/posts/pld-space-and-cnes-to-study-a-second-launch-pad-in-french-guiana-5zn9pj4n5#faq","mainEntity":[{"@type":"Question","name":"What rockets will the new launch pad at the Guiana Space Centre support?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"The planned second pad at the ELM-Diamant site in Kourou, French Guiana would support PLD Space's MIURA 5 and the larger MIURA 9 rockets. These vehicles are part of PLD Space's agreement with the European Space Agency under the European Launcher Challenge, a program aimed at reducing Europe's reliance on non-European rockets. Follow daily.dev for updates on European launch infrastructure as commercial rocket programs like MIURA scale up."}},{"@type":"Question","name":"When is PLD Space's MIURA 5 rocket expected to launch for the first time?","acceptedAnswer":{"@type":"Answer","text":"PLD Space states its first MIURA 5 flight will occur in 2026, launching from the company's own complex at the Guiana Space Centre in Kourou. The company's only launch to date was the suborbital MIURA 1 in October 2023, making MIURA 5 its first orbital attempt. Track daily.dev for milestones as PLD Space moves from suborbital testing toward its first orbital rocket launch."}}]} ```