University graduates that make rockets

I am for now still continuing on the theme of space exploration, following on from my previous article, and the theme is still the incredible accessibility of space exploration as an activity.

If a few days ago I was amazed by having met someone who actually had a satellite in space, the accessibility of space travel is even better illustrated by a Spanish company called PLD Space. These guys are making commercial, reusable rockets, and selling their services as a transport company that transports things to space. This, apparently, is set to become a $20Billion business within the next 10 years.

The more high profile private space rocket projects are SpaceX, Elon Musk’s LA company, and BlueOrigin, founded by Amazon’s Dave Bezos. But, for me, what makes PLD Space extra special is the fact that it was started by 2 Spanish students, Raul Torres and Raul Verdu. These 2 engineers had no money, unlike Musk and Bezos, but even then, they could found a company with an aspiration as ambitious as developing and manufacturing space rockets and running them at a profit commercially. And they did this in 2011, in Spain, at a time when the Spanish economy was in full collapse and nearly 50% of university graduates were unemployed. The 2 Rauls really took the… if there is no job for you, make yourself one… to the extreme.

Reading this story has just made my day. I think it is nearly absolute proof that, if you believe, you can 😉

This is a good background article about these guys.

And, if you can read Spanish, you can also take a look atthis: 

I don’t think these guys are fundraising at the moment, but, as soon as they have another round, I would love to get involved. This has to be one of the most exciting lines of business around, and competing with Elon Musk as a student startup is just as cool as it gets!