PLD Space and France's CNES to study a second Guiana launch pad for MIURA 5 and 9

The story so far, in brief; the legwork, and the full article, stay with the original outlet.

PLD Space, the Spanish rocket maker, signed an agreement on 1 October 2026 with the Centre National d'Études Spatiales (CNES), France's space agency, to assess whether a second launch pad could be built at the ELM-Diamant complex of the Guiana Space Centre. The pad would serve MIURA 5 and MIURA 9, two rockets the company has not yet flown, both part of its contract with the European Space Agency under the European Launcher Challenge.

For now the deal is a study. The two sides will work out what infrastructure and operating capabilities the pad would need; there is no confirmed decision to build it, no construction schedule and no agreed financial terms. The stated aims are more capacity and a higher flight cadence, and helping the centre, long home to Europe's institutional missions, take in more private launch providers.

It is a reminder that building a rocket is only part of launching one: somebody also has to agree where it goes up. PLD Space already has facilities in Kourou, alongside its sites in Elche, Teruel and Duqm.