Varda’s first production satellite and re-entry vehicle attached to a Rocket Lab Photon bus.
Rocket Lab
Space startup Varda received long-awaited approval from the Federal Aviation Administration to bring its first spacecraft back to Earth after making drugs in space.
Varda’s small W-Series 1 capsule, or W-1, has been stuck in orbit since its launch eight months ago. The company is awaiting regulatory approval to attempt a landing in Utah, at the Air Force’s Utah Test and Training Range. The FAA confirmed Wednesday that it had granted Varda the license.
The FAA’s approval means Varda will attempt to land the W-1 mission on February 21.
“We are incredibly proud to have this opportunity with our government partners and appreciate their commitment to safe innovation in the United States,” Varda said in a statement.
The W-1 mission is a demonstration of the company’s automated in-space manufacturing process. Last year, Varda announced that the W-1 mission had successfully produced the drug ritonavir.
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While manufacturing in space is not a new concept, Varda wants to take the process to the next level – to bring space-made products to market and return them more quickly. The start-up plans to produce materials that are more lucrative in orbit, such as fiber optic cables, pharmaceuticals or semiconductors, because of the advantages of manufacturing in a weightless environment.
Varda’s system used Rocket Labs Photon spacecraft as the backbone of its operations. The startup is adding its manufacturing module as well as a capsule protected by a heat shield to survive the intense re-entry process through Earth’s atmosphere.
The company previously said it expected to return several kilograms of manufactured material for the W-1 mission.
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2024-02-14 22:42:16
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