Raúl Torres and Raúl Verdú laugh when asked if they are the Spanish Elon Musk. “Unfortunately we do not have 100 million in the bank to invest in rockets,” say the two founders of PLD Space, the company from Elche that has placed Spain in the space race after the successful launch this Saturday of the Miura 1. It all started in 2011. with 3,000 euros. This was the amount they had to contribute to lay the first stone of a company that today has 150 employees and aspires to have three times more. These rocket aeromodelling fans were then only 23 and 22 years old respectively and were students of Aerospace Engineering, the former, and Industrial Engineering, the latter. None of them have completed these studies, according to their Linkedin profiles, another trait they share with some great gurus in the technology sector. At that time they needed the help of their families to pay those 3,000 euros.
«It has been a very difficult road. We didn’t come from big companies. It was difficult for them to trust us. “We have gone through many technical and financial difficulties,” Torres acknowledged around 2:30 a.m. this Saturday, just a few minutes after it was confirmed that the test had been a success. Graduated in Biological Sciences, Biotechnology and Biomechanics, Torres has a quote in X’s profile of him that describes “that difficult path.” “Non est ad astra mollis e terris via”, which translated would be: “there is no easy path from the earth to the stars.” These are words from Seneca. Torres is the most visible face of the company. As launch director, he has been the one who has taken the reins in each of the three takeoff attempts of the Miura 1, which include streamings. His presence on social networks is constant. In his tweets he reports the details of the company; of the progress of the Miura 5, the older brother of the one that took off on Saturday and the company’s true objective; He sneaks in more Latin languages and argues with other tweeters about topics such as the scope of the alert activated by heavy rains in the first days of September.
«I remember when the Danas were called cold drops and when even with storms we went to ‘El Plá’ school normally. Sometimes they closed the patio and we watched it rain. Today, with climate change on everyone’s lips (and without even knowing what it is) half the country is put on red alert. Progress? », he wrote on September 3. “I am surprised that for doubting (yes, doubting) in the terms that people talk about climate change today (not its existence, something that is obvious) they even threaten me,” he explained a day later.
Raúl Verdú has been more concerned with the economic aspect. Not in vain, he is the company’s Business Development Director and has led the different investment rounds from the beginning. Together, they have raised 65 million euros, with 30% public financing.
2023-10-09 01:51:16
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