Rocket Lab Successfully Returns Spacecraft Capsule to Earth, Brings Back Pharmaceuticals Made in Space
Rocket Lab's spacecraft for Varda Space Industries Credit: Business Wire
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, announced its custom spacecraft for Varda Space Industries (“Varda”), a leading in-space manufacturing and hypersonic reentry logistics company, successfully returned to Earth the world’s first space manufacturing mission conducted outside of the International Space Station.
Rocket Lab conducted in-space operations, deorbit, and reentry positioning maneuvers for its spacecraft, enabling Varda’s reentry capsule and payload of pharmaceutical crystals to return to Earth. With Rocket Lab’s role in the mission complete, the Varda team then took over management of the capsule’s hypersonic reentry, parachute deployment, and touchdown in the designated zone at the Utah Test and Training Range (UTTR) near Salt Lake City shortly after 21:30 UTC, February 21.
The mission is a successful demonstration of Rocket Lab’s end-to-end space systems solutions tailored to enable novel and innovative missions for a range of customers. Rocket Lab designed, manufactured and operated a bespoke spacecraft to enable Varda’s capsule manufacturing demonstration. The spacecraft included a full suite of Rocket Lab sub-systems and components built in-house, spanning spacecraft engine, flight software, avionics, reaction wheels, star trackers, capsule dispenser, solar panels, radio, composite structures and tanks, and more.
While initially designed for a four-month lifespan on orbit, the mission timeline was more than doubled with Rocket Lab’s spacecraft successfully provided power, communications, ground control, and attitude control to Varda’s capsule on orbit for more than eight months. This enabled Varda’s capsule to grow Ritonavir crystals, commonly used in antiviral medication. As particles function differently when no longer under the force of gravity, Varda’s capsule utilizes microgravity conditions in space to formulate a range of pharmaceutical products.
Rocket Lab also supported the mission with 24/7 satellite operations to return Varda’s capsule to Earth. Rocket Lab’s operations team completed multiple on-orbit trajectory optimization maneuvers that set the mission on its return-to-Earth trajectory, including four engine relights of Rocket Lab’s 3D printed Curie propulsion system to move Varda’s mission from a circular Earth orbit to an elliptical one, positioning Varda’s capsule for a return to Earth at hypersonic speeds greater than Mach 25, or approximately 30,000 km per hour. Deploying Varda’s capsule on a hypersonic reentry trajectory to land within the incredibly tight boundaries of the mission’s landing zone within the UTTR was an especially complex task that demanded pinpoint accuracy with a margin of error of less than 0.05%. Varda’s recovery operations are now in full swing and once the capsule is retrieved by Varda, the company will conduct laboratory analysis of the space-grown crystals and determine its next steps for commercializing orbital drug processing and microgravity manufacturing.
Peter Beck, Rocket Lab founder and CEO, says: “This mission was a phenomenal feat and impressive display of teamwork between the Rocket Lab and Varda teams to develop a unique and highly capable spacecraft, successfully demonstrate in-space manufacturing, and bring back the capsule and finished pharmaceutical product – all on the first attempt. Being part of the first pharmaceutical in-space mission to happen outside of the International Space Station is immensely exciting and we look forward to building on this success with more Rocket Lab spacecraft in development for Varda right now. The success of this reentry mission will also inform our work on developing a reentry capsule for Neutron to potentially enable human spaceflight missions.”
This returned mission is the first of four Rocket Lab spacecraft ordered by Varda to support its in-space pharmaceutical processing. The remaining spacecraft are currently undergoing assembly, integration, and testing at Rocket Lab’s spacecraft production facility in Long Beach, California, with the next spacecraft scheduled to launch before the end of the year. These spacecraft for Varda are just some of the 25+ spacecraft currently under development at Rocket Lab’s advanced spacecraft development and manufacturing complex, which features a 10,000 sq. ft. cleanroom and 40,000 sq. ft. of production & test facilities designed to support constellation class manufacturing and satellite assembly, integration and test for commercial, civil and national security customers.