Varda’s W-2 spacecraft launched to orbit, next stop Koonibba Test Range
Varda Space Industries today announced the successful launch of its second orbital processing spacecraft and re-entry capsule, W-2, which lifted off aboard the Transporter-12 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California.
The W-2 capsule will orbit Earth for the next few weeks before re-entering the Earth’s atmosphere and landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. This will be Australia’s first ever commercial spacecraft re-entry and marks an exciting new chapter in our nation’s spacefaring history.
Southern Launch was responsible for securing all required Australian approvals for the mission and has coordinated an end-to-end service for managing the re-entry process and retrieval of the capsule from the Australian desert once it lands back on Earth.
Varda Space Industries are pioneers in developing orbital manufacturing capsules and have selected Southern Launch for their next three W-Series missions. The natural advantages of the space environment, in particular microgravity, enables the production of improved pharmaceutical formulations that cannot be produced anywhere on Earth.
The W-2 capsule carries payloads from Varda partners, including a spectrometer from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL), and employs a heatshield with a Thermal Protection System (TPS) developed in collaboration with NASA's Ames Research Center in California's Silicon Valley. These payloads are in addition to Varda's expanded pharmaceutical reactor.
Southern Launch operates the Koonibba Test Range in partnership with the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation. The Koonibba Test Range offers the greatest return flexibility given the low airspace and uninhabited land.
Until the first Varda mission in 2023, all in-space manufacturing was carried out on the International Space Station. The W-Series missions will usher in a new era of commercial in-space manufacturing.
The return authorisation for the mission was granted by the Australian Government in October 2024 and was the first authorisation approved for a domestically returning spacecraft under the amended Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018.
