SPACE INDEX COMPANIES INSIGHTS SECTORS PRODUCTS NEWS BLOG ANSWERS RESEARCH ABOUT FOR COMPANIES BUILD / 2026.06.04
Busek logo Busek Designs and manufactures electric propulsion systems for spacecraft, including Hall effect, electrospray, RF ion, and green monopropellant thrusters vs PLD Space Develops reusable launch vehicles for dedicated and rideshare small satellite missions, with in-house liquid propulsion and vertically integrated manufacturing PLD Space logo
HEAD-TO-HEAD1 shared sector
Busek PLD Space
Founded 1985 2011
Headquarters Massachusetts Elche, Spain
Type private private
Status operating operating
Employees 107 335
Total funding $200K $90.2M
Latest round Grant Debt
Sectors Space Propulsion, Satellite Components & Subsystems Launch Services, Space Propulsion, Suborbital & High-Altitude
Products listed 9 4
Federal contracts — —
Launches — 3 (33%)
Leaders listed Vlad Hruby, James Szabo, John Meikle Ezequiel Sanchez, Raul Torres, Raul Verdu
News mentions 0 0
SHARED SECTORS
Space Propulsion
FREQUENTLY ASKED

How do Busek and PLD Space compare?

Both companies work in Space Propulsion. Busek was founded in 1985 and PLD Space in 2011.

Which is larger, Busek or PLD Space?

PLD Space reports the larger workforce, with 335 employees versus 107.

Which has more launches, Busek or PLD Space?

PLD Space leads with 3 tracked launches (33% success rate).

Numbers refresh on every render against the live Space Index database. Federal contract data from USAspending.gov; launches from LaunchLibrary2.