Varda Space Industries

[[Home|🏠]] > [[Partners]] > York Space Systems **Website:** https://www.varda.com/ >[!summary] Varda Space Industries is pioneering in-space manufacturing by leveraging microgravity to produce materials and products that are superior to those made on Earth. By building and deploying space-based factories, Varda creates high-value products—like advanced pharmaceuticals and specialized materials—that benefit from the unique conditions of space. These products are then safely returned to Earth, enabling breakthrough innovations in medicine, technology, and industrial manufacturing. ## Missions - [[Varda W Missions]] ## Space Systems ### W-Series #### Summary Varda’s W-Series capsule is an autonomous free-flying microgravity formulation platform intended for in-orbit pharmaceutical manufacturing followed by terrestrial landing. The W-Series capsule reenters the Earth’s atmosphere at more than 18,000 miles per hour and reaches speeds above Mach 25. The capsule touches down on land via a parachute. The W-Series capsules’ heatshields are made of[ C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator)](https://ntrs.nasa.gov/api/citations/20220019340/downloads/SMDshowCase_CPICA_Poster.pdf), a thermal protection material produced by [[NASA]] Ames Research Center. The material was originally developed at Ames, and the reentry of W-1 marked the first time a NASA-manufactured C-PICA heat shield ever returned from space. >[!hint] Satellite Bus >The first three W-Series were built on Rocket Lab's [[Pioneer]] platform, but Varda has since vertically integrated and pivoted to [manufacturing the W-Series in house](https://spacenews.com/varda-to-launch-its-first-in-house-designed-spacecraft-for-on-orbit-manufacturing/). ![[Pasted image 20250711003506.png]] #### Specifications | Specification | Value | | ------------------- | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | Bus | [[Pioneer]], In-House Bus | | Satellite Mass | ~300 kg | | Bus Mass | ~105 kg dry, ~170 kg wet | | Orbit | 475km-625km SSO | | Lifetime | 1 Year Should, 4 Months Shall | | Mission Assurance | [[⚖️ NASA Mission and Instrument Risk Classification#Class D\|Class D]] | | Power | ~500 W (BOL), ~450 W (EOL), deployable solar panels | | Avionics | Single string, dedicated payload computer | | Thermal | Passive cooling via 5 radiators (>0.3m2 total radiator area), software controlled heaters, thermally isolated payload | | Volume / Dimensions | 1.098 m x 1.714 m x 1.590 m (stowed), 2.702 m x 1.714 m x 1.590 m (deployed) | | Propulsion | Bi-propellant [[Curie]], > 400 m/sec delta-V | | Reentry Speed | Mach 25 | | Heat Shield | C‑PICA | | Comms | S-Band TT&C link w/ 90% spherical coverage in safe mode, 64 kbps - 4Mbps DL data rate, 32 kbps UL data rate | ## News %%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: start ``` table published as "Published" from "News" where contains(customer, [[Varda Space Industries]]) sort published desc ``` %% | File | Published | | -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | ------------------ | | [[News/Two Earth Return Missions in Two Months Rocket Lab Demonstrates Rapid Re-entry Capability with Third Pioneer Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries.md\|Two Earth Return Missions in Two Months Rocket Lab Demonstrates Rapid Re-entry Capability with Third Pioneer Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries]] | May 14, 2025 | | [[News/Rocket Lab’s Pioneer Spacecraft Successfully Deployed to Orbit, Powering Varda Space Industries' Third In-Space Manufacturing Mission.md\|Rocket Lab’s Pioneer Spacecraft Successfully Deployed to Orbit, Powering Varda Space Industries' Third In-Space Manufacturing Mission]] | March 15, 2025 | | [[News/Touchdown For In-Space Manufacturing Mission Rocket Lab’s Pioneer Spacecraft Delivers Re-Entry for Varda’s In-Space Manufacturing Capsule in South Australia.md\|Touchdown For In-Space Manufacturing Mission Rocket Lab’s Pioneer Spacecraft Delivers Re-Entry for Varda’s In-Space Manufacturing Capsule in South Australia]] | February 28, 2025 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Delivers Third In-Orbit Manufacturing Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries.md\|Rocket Lab Delivers Third In-Orbit Manufacturing Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries]] | February 12, 2025 | | [[News/Rocket Lab’s Second Reentry Class Spacecraft for Varda Operating on Orbit Supporting Payloads for Air Force Research Lab and NASA.md\|Rocket Lab’s Second Reentry Class Spacecraft for Varda Operating on Orbit Supporting Payloads for Air Force Research Lab and NASA]] | January 15, 2025 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Delivers Second Spacecraft, Completes Third for Varda Space Industries.md\|Rocket Lab Delivers Second Spacecraft, Completes Third for Varda Space Industries]] | December 17, 2024 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Completes Second Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, Advancing In-Space Manufacturing.md\|Rocket Lab Completes Second Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, Advancing In-Space Manufacturing]] | September 26, 2024 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Successfully Returns Spacecraft Capsule to Earth, Brings Back Pharmaceuticals Made in Space.md\|Rocket Lab Successfully Returns Spacecraft Capsule to Earth, Brings Back Pharmaceuticals Made in Space]] | February 21, 2024 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Spacecraft Built for Varda Successfully Operating on Orbit.md\|Rocket Lab Spacecraft Built for Varda Successfully Operating on Orbit]] | June 12, 2023 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Completes Custom-Built Photon Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries.md\|Rocket Lab Completes Custom-Built Photon Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries]] | May 09, 2023 | | [[News/Varda Space Industries Orders Fourth Photon Spacecraft from Rocket Lab to Enable In-Space Manufacturing.md\|Varda Space Industries Orders Fourth Photon Spacecraft from Rocket Lab to Enable In-Space Manufacturing]] | May 24, 2022 | | [[News/Rocket Lab Inks Deal with Varda Space Industries to Supply Multiple Photon Spacecraft for Space Manufacturing Missions.md\|Rocket Lab Inks Deal with Varda Space Industries to Supply Multiple Photon Spacecraft for Space Manufacturing Missions]] | August 11, 2021 | %%DATAVIEW_PUBLISHER: end %%