Varda Space Industries

Varda Space Industries is a privately held American space research company headquartered in Torrance, California. Founded in 2020, the company aims to build the first space station dedicated to industrial use, which will take advantage of microgravity to manufacture fine goods that are difficult to produce in Earth's gravity. Investors in the company include venture capitalists such as Khosla Ventures and Peter Thiel's Founders Fund.[1]

Varda Space Industries
TypePrivate
IndustrySpace industry
Founded2020 (2020)
FounderWill Bruey,
Delian Asparouhov,
and Daniel Marshall, Brandon Buchanan
Headquarters
Torrance, California
,
United States
Key people
Delian Asparouhov, president
Will Bruey (CEO)
Websitevarda.com

History

Varda Space was founded in November 2020 by Will Bruey, Delian Asparouhov, and Daniel Marshall. Will Bruey is a former employee of SpaceX, and Asparouhov and Marshall are associated with Founders Fund. Varda Space began research into building an industrial space station. The microgravity environment and absence of dust particles allows for the manufacturability of fine technical products such as computer chips with higher precision and quality than on Earth's surface. This regime also allows for the manufacture of completely new materials and products there, including fiber optics and pharmaceuticals. In July 2021, Varda Space received US$42 million in a funding round from various venture capitalists, after receiving US$9 million in an initial funding round in December 2020.[2]

In August 2021, Varda Space announced that it had signed a contract with Rocket Lab to acquire three Photon satellite buses to carry out missions to build the space station. The first delivery is expected in Q1 2023.[3][4] In October 2021, Varda Space selected SpaceX as a launch provider for the first launch.[4]

Varda Space launched its first 300 kg (660 lb) spacecraft on a Falcon 9 rocket in June 2023 to demonstrate the ability to produce pharmaceuticals in microgravity. Returning the capsule to Earth was planned for mid July 2023,[5] but Varda Space launched the vehicle without a reentry license and a license application was denied on September 6, 2023 due to a failure to demonstrate compliance with FAA regulatory requirements.[6] Varda Space subsequently started exploring options to direct capsule reentry to the Koonnibba Test Range in Australia.[7]

See also

References
  1. Sheetz, Michael (29 July 2021). "Space start-up Varda, founded by SpaceX and Founders Fund veterans, aims to build factories in orbit". CNBC. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  2. Alamalhodaei, Aria (29 July 2021). "Varda Space Industries closes $42M Series A for off-planet manufacturing". TechCrunch. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  3. Alamalhodaei, Aria (11 August 2021). "Space manufacturing startup Varda inks deal with Rocket Lab for three spacecraft". TechCrunch. Retrieved 31 August 2021.
  4. Foust, Jeff (11 October 2021). "Varda Space selects SpaceX for launch of first space manufacturing satellite". SpaceNews. Retrieved 7 November 2022.
  5. "Forget space tourism. This company wants to make drug manufacturing the next big extraterrestrial business". 12 June 2023. Retrieved 14 June 2023.
  6. Clark, Stephen (21 September 2023). "Permission denied for reentry of Varda's orbiting experiment capsule". ArsTechnica. Retrieved 23 September 2023.
  7. Clark, Stephen (20 October 2023). "Varda looks to Australia after delays in obtaining US reentry approval". ArsTechnica. Retrieved 20 October 2023.
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