PLD Space Optimizes Reusable Launcher Design
“We could create a digital model of the tank and perform virtual experiments to reach the optimum solution in a record time of 30 minutes, then verify using the tests performed in the testbench.”
Key Outcomes
- Developed a virtual model of the physical system down to every detail
- Reached a design solution in 30 minutes by experimenting in the virtual model
- Saved costs by optimizing 60+ parameters
PLD Space is a Spanish company founded in 2011 that develops reusable launch vehicles. The company currently has two micro-launchers: Miura 1, which is a 100% reusable suborbital demonstration rocket, and Miura 5, which can inject a 200 kg payload in a low-Earth orbit.
Using MATLAB® and Simulink® provides PLD Space engineers with a detailed virtual model of the rocket, from physical models of each element to control algorithms, and enables them to quickly make design decisions by optimizing the parameters according to requirements.
