Platform

Built for orbital material production and reentry

Varda is designing and building the infrastructure needed to make low Earth orbit accessible to multiple industries, from in-orbit production equipment to reliable and economical reentry capsules.

In short

Frequent, reliable, and economical reentry and orbital production

Reusable rockets have decreased the cost to get to orbit by orders of magnitude. This access offers the ability to expand on and bring to market decades of materials research conducted on the International Space Station and other space habitats. To complete the logistics chain, Varda’s capsule offers a reentry system tailor-made for materials manufactured in space. Shipping to space and back is just shipping.

Why Microgravity?

A gravity-off switch for material processing

Processing materials in microgravity, or the near-weightless conditions found in space, offers a unique environment not available through terrestrial processing. These benefits primarily stem from the lack of convection and sedimentation forces, as well as the ability to form more perfect structures due to the absence of gravitational stresses.

These effects are “locked” into the material, typically through material crystallization, before being brought back to Earth.

Flame in 1g environment and in µg environment (on the International Space Station)

What Varda Offers

Varda’s W-Series stands alone as the only all-in-one commercial satellite and reentry vehicle built specifically for the return of materials from orbit. Other operational reentry vehicles are built with humans in mind, meaning significant cost increases from the life support systems and other amenities needed to sustain astronauts.

Months of microgravity conditions

Processing in microgravity typically requires days or weeks of time for near all materials. Though parabolic flights and drop towers can briefly, on the order of seconds, achieve some degree of microgravity, being in orbit is the only path to achieve usable timescales for production.

Processing equipment built in house

Given the unique constraints of operating in both the vacuum and microgravity of space, it is not possible to simply purchase material processing equipment off the shelf for use in these environments. Varda builds best-in-class processing equipment to achieve the results out customers expect in the harshest environments.

Post processing

Getting to space is getting cheaper, but for now it only makes sense to perform single-unit operations in orbit where the effects of microgravity are the most valuable. Once materials return to Earth, they are analyzed and processed through a combination of Varda’s in-house labs, partners, and customers.

Reentry

Varda's capsule is designed to reenter materials processed in low earth orbit before landing under parachute on Earth. Once landed, materials and payloads can be safely retrieved for use by the people that need them the most.
W-Series

Free-flying orbital production satellites with reentry capability

Once materials are processed in orbit, they’re only useful if they can be returned to Earth. Varda’s W-Series spacecraft is a free flyer—it’s self-sustaining, fully independent of other space stations, and capable of reentry to bring materials back to Earth for post processing.

The reentry capsule completes the logistics chain, allowing orbital materials an inexpensive ride back to Earth while operating as a reentry research platform due to its frequent flights.

Facts & Figures

Varda’s W-Series stands alone as the only all-in-one commercial satellite and reentry vehicle built specifically for the return of materials from orbit. Other operational reentry vehicles are built with humans in mind, meaning significant cost increases from the life support systems and other amenities needed to sustain astronauts.

Free-flying

Varda’s W-series is a self-sustaining space satellite, not relying on other space vehicles such as the ISS. This gives our vehicle complete freedom to operate according to the precise needs and timing of our customers.

Ballistic Reentry

Given the lack of humans on board, Varda’s capsule reenters passively, dramatically lowering costs while operating in an environment of interest for a wide array of government customers.

Terrestrial landing

The W-Series has been built for terrestrial landing, meaning recovery operations are simpler and cheaper than costly and timely ocean recoveries.

Rapid Production & Flight

The W-Series is built for ease of manufacturing and frequent launches and landings—the first mass-produced reentry vehicle and orbital production facility in human history.