Latest news with #W-3
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Varda lands third space capsule, carrying key hypersonic flight data
Varda Space Industries, a California-based, in-orbit manufacturing company, recovered its third reentry capsule Wednesday, providing new data to support the Air Force Research Laboratory's hypersonic research efforts. Funded by AFRL, Varda's W-3 capsule launched March 14 on Rocket Lab's Pioneer satellite, which provided power, communications and propulsion for the system. It landed May 13 at Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. The Varda capsule carried an inertial measurement unit — built for the Air Force by Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated and designed to allow systems to navigate and maneuver without GPS. According to Varda, the W-3 capsule reentered Earth's atmosphere at speeds that exceeded Mach 25, considered an 'extreme' environment that can provide the military with new information about how systems perform in hypersonic conditions. 'The W-3 mission will provide unprecedented data to advance next-generation space and defense capabilities and continue to provide hypersonic environments to the reentry test community,' Dave McFarland, Varda's Vice President of Hypersonic and Reentry Test, said in a statement. Varda was founded in 2021 with a plan to send 'production facility' satellites to space and manufacture everything from pharmaceuticals to fiber-optic cables in a zero-gravity environment. Because the capsules it uses to return the objects to Earth travel through a hypersonic environment, AFRL and NASA have partnered with the firm to use those vehicles as high-speed, reusable testbeds. That application helped Varda secure a $60 million strategic funding increase in 2023 from AFRL, NASA and several private investors. Last November, AFRL awarded the company a four-year, $48 million contract to continue testing military payload reentry through a program called Prometheus. Varda recovered its first capsule in 2024 in Utah and its second in February, also at the Koonibba Test Range. Varda's fourth spacecraft is in the midst of integration and testing in California at Rocket Lab's Spacecraft Production Complex. The company has indicated that its first two successful missions proved the versatility of its W-series vehicle to fly a range of payloads and have given it the confidence to shift its focus to increasing the system's launch cadence. 'For our pharmaceutical customers, increased cadence means we are able to more closely match drug development timelines,' the company said in a May 8 press release. 'For defense customers, it allows for faster iteration between tests. And for microgravity researchers, we can offer a faster turnaround time between the design of an experiment and receiving data to iterate on.'
Business Wire
14-05-2025
- Business
- Business Wire
Two Earth Return Missions in Two Months: Rocket Lab Demonstrates Rapid Re-entry Capability with Third Pioneer Spacecraft for Varda Space Industries
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) ('Rocket Lab' or 'the Company'), a leading launch and space systems company, today announced its record turnaround of two Earth return missions in two months with its latest successful mission and Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries ('Varda'), a leading orbital pharmaceuticals and hypersonic re-entry logistics company. Rocket Lab successfully supported the return to Earth of Varda's W-3 capsule at 02:07 a.m. UTC on May 14, the third overall successful operation in the W-series of Varda missions. "Our Pioneer spacecraft consistently proves its rapid re-entry capability, versatility, and reliability, delivering critical mission functions that continually push the boundaries of space technology," said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck Share For the second time this year, Rocket Lab's highly configurable, medium delta-V spacecraft platform, Pioneer, delivered Varda's hypersonic re-entry capsule back to Earth. To date, Rocket Lab has successfully built, tested, integrated, and managed on-orbit and de-orbit operations for three of the four contracted missions for Varda. Rocket Lab's first mission for Varda, W-1, was the world's first space manufacturing mission conducted outside of the International Space Station. W-1 completed on-orbit operations in February 2024, positioning their re-entry capsule for landing at the Utah Test and Training Range near Salt Lake City, Utah. The Company's second Pioneer spacecraft successfully entered Varda's W-2 capsule a year later, landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. The third Pioneer spacecraft for Varda's W-3 mission launched just 15 days after successful re-entry and landing of the W-2 mission on March 14. Each Pioneer spacecraft for Varda's W-series missions delivered critical mission functions for Varda's 120kg capsule including power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control. The Pioneer spacecraft was designed, built, and tested at Rocket Lab's Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. Rocket Lab's Pioneer spacecraft platform uses the Company's vertically integrated components and systems, including star trackers, propulsion systems, reaction wheels, solar panels, flight software, radios, composite structures, tanks, separation systems, and more. "Managing three successful missions for Varda in just over a year is a testament to our team's ability to produce tailored spacecraft for our customer's specific needs quickly and efficiently,' said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Sir Peter Beck. 'Our Pioneer spacecraft consistently proves its rapid re-entry capability, versatility, and reliability, delivering critical mission functions that continually push the boundaries of space technology. Varda's missions showcase Rocket Lab's commitment to groundbreaking advancements in space manufacturing and re-entry logistics, and we're immensely proud to be a part of these achievements." 'Varda's third successful reentry represents a new era in the commercialization of low Earth orbit,' said Dave McFarland, Varda's Vice President of Hypersonic and Reentry Test. 'The rapid succession of our missions demonstrates that this is a capability both Varda, and our partners can consistently rely on.' The fourth spacecraft in Varda's W-series is currently undergoing integration and testing at Rocket Lab's Spacecraft Production Complex and headquarters in Long Beach, California. + About Rocket Lab Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, a family of spacecraft platforms, and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered more than 200 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab's spacecraft platforms have been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit + Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act') and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words 'believe,' 'may,' 'will,' 'estimate,' 'potential,' 'continue,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'expect,' 'strategy,' 'future,' 'could,' 'would,' 'project,' 'plan,' 'target,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), accessible on the SEC's website at and the Investor Relations section of our website at which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. + About Varda: Varda Space Industries is expanding the economic bounds of humankind by designing and building the infrastructure needed to make low Earth orbit accessible to industry, from in-orbit production equipment to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. You can follow Varda on X (@vardaspace) and LinkedIn.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Rocket Lab's Pioneer Spacecraft Successfully Deployed to Orbit, Powering Varda Space Industries' Third In-Space Manufacturing Mission
LONG BEACH, Calif., March 15, 2025--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) ("Rocket Lab" or "the Company"), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced its third Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, Inc. ("Varda") is successfully operating on orbit. The W-3 mission launched March 14, from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:43 p.m. PDT (06:43 a.m. UTC). The new mission is underway on orbit just 15 days after the successful re-entry and landing of Varda's W-2 mission, which was also powered by Rocket Lab's Pioneer Spacecraft. Rocket Lab's Pioneer spacecraft supports Varda's 120kg manufacturing capsule on orbit, providing power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control for the mission. Inside the capsule Varda carries out in-space manufacturing and processing of pharmaceutical products that benefit from the microgravity environment that is impossible to recreate on Earth. The Pioneer spacecraft leverages Rocket Lab's vertically integrated spacecraft components and subsystems, including spacecraft propulsion, flight software, avionics, reaction wheels, star trackers, separation system, solar panels, radios, composite structures and tanks, and more. Once Varda's in-space manufacturing processes are completed on orbit, Rocket Lab conducts in-space operations, deorbiting, and reentry positioning maneuvers to set the capsule on a reentry course to Earth for landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. The W-3 mission is Rocket Lab's third for Varda. The first, W-1, was successfully completed in February 2024 and landed in the Utah desert, while the latest mission, W-2, was completed and landed in south Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, said, "The W-1 mission was the first in-space manufacturing mission to happen outside of the International Space Station. Now, just over a year later, we have a third mission on orbit after bringing another one safely back home. We're immensely proud to have supported our mission partner Varda to usher in a new era of rapid, reliable, and innovative commercial in-space manufacturing and hypersonic reentry capability." "It's remarkable that we have been able to launch our third mission in such rapid succession after the reentry of our second. High cadence launch and return will soon be commonplace, and reentry of materials from space to Earth will go from being novel to being normal," said Wendy Shimata, VP of Autonomous Systems at Varda. The Company's fourth contracted Pioneer spacecraft for Varda is currently undergoing final assembly at Rocket Lab's Spacecraft Production Complex and Headquarters in Long Beach, California. Learn more about Rocket Lab's spacecraft for Varda: Varda Space Industries | Rocket Lab ( + About Rocket Lab Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, a family of spacecraft platforms, and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered over 200 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab's spacecraft platforms have been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit + Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "Securities Act") and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the "Exchange Act"). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words "believe," "may," "will," "estimate," "potential," "continue," "anticipate," "intend," "expect," "strategy," "future," "could," "would," "project," "plan," "target," and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC"), accessible on the SEC's website at and the Investor Relations section of our website at which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. + About Varda: Varda Space Industries is building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit production equipment to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. You can follow Varda on X (@vardaspace) and LinkedIn. View source version on Contacts + Rocket Lab Media Contact Lindsay McLaurinmedia@ + Varda Media Contact: Media@ Sign in to access your portfolio
Associated Press
15-03-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Rocket Lab's Pioneer Spacecraft Successfully Deployed to Orbit, Powering Varda Space Industries' Third In-Space Manufacturing Mission
LONG BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Mar 15, 2025-- Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) ('Rocket Lab' or 'the Company'), a global leader in launch services and space systems, today announced its third Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries, Inc. ('Varda') is successfully operating on orbit. The W-3 mission launched March 14, from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:43 p.m. PDT (06:43 a.m. UTC). This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: Rocket Lab's Pioneer spacecraft for Varda Space Industries' W-3 mission in the cleanroom at Vandenberg Space Force Base. Credit: Varda Space Industries The new mission is underway on orbit just 15 days after the successful re-entry and landing of Varda's W-2 mission, which was also powered by Rocket Lab's Pioneer Spacecraft. Rocket Lab's Pioneer spacecraft supports Varda's 120kg manufacturing capsule on orbit, providing power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control for the mission. Inside the capsule Varda carries out in-space manufacturing and processing of pharmaceutical products that benefit from the microgravity environment that is impossible to recreate on Earth. The Pioneer spacecraft leverages Rocket Lab's vertically integrated spacecraft components and subsystems, including spacecraft propulsion, flight software, avionics, reaction wheels, star trackers, separation system, solar panels, radios, composite structures and tanks, and more. Once Varda's in-space manufacturing processes are completed on orbit, Rocket Lab conducts in-space operations, deorbiting, and reentry positioning maneuvers to set the capsule on a reentry course to Earth for landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. The W-3 mission is Rocket Lab's third for Varda. The first, W-1, was successfully completed in February 2024 and landed in the Utah desert, while the latest mission, W-2, was completed and landed in south Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO, said, 'The W-1 mission was the first in-space manufacturing mission to happen outside of the International Space Station. Now, just over a year later, we have a third mission on orbit after bringing another one safely back home. We're immensely proud to have supported our mission partner Varda to usher in a new era of rapid, reliable, and innovative commercial in-space manufacturing and hypersonic reentry capability.' 'It's remarkable that we have been able to launch our third mission in such rapid succession after the reentry of our second. High cadence launch and return will soon be commonplace, and reentry of materials from space to Earth will go from being novel to being normal,' said Wendy Shimata, VP of Autonomous Systems at Varda. The Company's fourth contracted Pioneer spacecraft for Varda is currently undergoing final assembly at Rocket Lab's Spacecraft Production Complex and Headquarters in Long Beach, California. Learn more about Rocket Lab's spacecraft for Varda: + About Rocket Lab Founded in 2006, Rocket Lab is an end-to-end space company with an established track record of mission success. We deliver reliable launch services, satellite manufacture, spacecraft components, and on-orbit management solutions that make it faster, easier, and more affordable to access space. Headquartered in Long Beach, California, Rocket Lab designs and manufactures the Electron small orbital launch vehicle, a family of spacecraft platforms, and the Company is developing the large Neutron launch vehicle for constellation deployment. Since its first orbital launch in January 2018, Rocket Lab's Electron launch vehicle has become the second most frequently launched U.S. rocket annually and has delivered over 200 satellites to orbit for private and public sector organizations, enabling operations in national security, scientific research, space debris mitigation, Earth observation, climate monitoring, and communications. Rocket Lab's spacecraft platforms have been selected to support NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as the first private commercial mission to Venus. Rocket Lab has three launch pads at two launch sites, including two launch pads at a private orbital launch site located in New Zealand and a third launch pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit + Forward Looking Statements This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. We intend such forward-looking statements to be covered by the safe harbor provisions for forward looking statements contained in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the 'Securities Act') and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as amended (the 'Exchange Act'). All statements contained in this press release other than statements of historical fact, including, without limitation, statements regarding our launch and space systems operations, launch schedule and window, safe and repeatable access to space, Neutron development, operational expansion and business strategy are forward-looking statements. The words 'believe,' 'may,' 'will,' 'estimate,' 'potential,' 'continue,' 'anticipate,' 'intend,' 'expect,' 'strategy,' 'future,' 'could,' 'would,' 'project,' 'plan,' 'target,' and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements, though not all forward-looking statements use these words or expressions. These statements are neither promises nor guarantees, but involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties and other important factors that may cause our actual results, performance or achievements to be materially different from any future results, performance or achievements expressed or implied by the forward-looking statements, including but not limited to the factors, risks and uncertainties included in our Annual Report on Form 10-K for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2024, as such factors may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the 'SEC'), accessible on the SEC's website at and the Investor Relations section of our website at which could cause our actual results to differ materially from those indicated by the forward-looking statements made in this press release. Any such forward-looking statements represent management's estimates as of the date of this press release. While we may elect to update such forward-looking statements at some point in the future, we disclaim any obligation to do so, even if subsequent events cause our views to change. + About Varda: Varda Space Industries is building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit production equipment to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. You can follow Varda on X (@vardaspace) and LinkedIn. Lindsay McLaurin INDUSTRY KEYWORD: ROBOTICS SATELLITE TECHNOLOGY AEROSPACE MANUFACTURING SOFTWARE HARDWARE SOURCE: Rocket Lab USA, Inc. Copyright Business Wire 2025. PUB: 03/15/2025 10:55 AM/DISC: 03/15/2025 10:54 AM
Associated Press
15-03-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
Varda Announces Third Mission Launch, the Company's Second Launch this Year
Varda aims to have a monthly launch and reentry cadence, developing a foundation layer for a thriving orbital economy EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Varda Space Industries, Inc., a microgravity-enabled life sciences and reentry company, today announced the successful launch of its third orbital processing and reentry capsule, W-3, just 15 days after the reentry of the company's second mission, which landed in Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. The W-3 vehicle, supported by a Rocket Lab-developed Pioneer satellite like its predecessors, lifted off aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. W-3's payload is an advanced navigation system called an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) developed by the US Air Force and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI). This payload will be tested at reentry speeds it was designed to withstand but has never encountered before. IMUs are electronics that can measure an object's motion, orientation, and velocity. For example, everything from cars to wearable fitness trackers have similar devices to tell their computer the orientation and location without the aid of an external signal like a GPS, though commercial IMUs are notoriously inaccurate at high-speed conditions. Varda's capsule can help test these devices for our government and commercial partners to advance research into high-hypersonic technologies. 'The need for robust, plug-and-play IMU technology is a growing capability area that will significantly advance the current state-of-the-art for domain awareness and control of future systems,' said Dr. Steve NeVille, senior scientist at ISSI. 'The W-3 reentry flight test with Varda provides an exciting and unique proto-qualification platform to rapidly advance our IMU technology readiness level in a relevant reentry environment, which is the pinnacle of early development testing.' Varda's capsule reenters the Earth's atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 25, a unique environment that offers researchers a chance to gather data for multiple applications, expanding the possibilities for the orbital economy and supporting US national security interests in low Earth orbit. 'Varda's commercial dual-use reentry capability is a game-changer for enabling rapid technology maturation for future systems,' said Technical Lead for AFRL's Prometheus reentry testbed program, Dr. Erin Vaughan. 'Affordable, frequent reentry flight test opportunities support S&T development for early risk reduction studies, reducing cost and schedule for novel technologies.' The W-3 capsule's payload is funded through the Prometheus program, an initiative from AFRL in partnership with Varda. The program addresses a national security need to accelerate testing and modernization of high-hypersonic systems and reentry technologies through a low-cost, high-cadence commercial flight testbed. 'High-cadence, routine operations is our goal. We are working to make reentry as commonplace as launch,' said Varda Vice President for Mission Management, Brandi Sippel. 'We are looking forward to the day when sending capsules into orbit and back to Earth is seen as routine.' W-3 will spend a few weeks on orbit before reentering and landing safely at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. Varda's second capsule, W-2, was Australia's first-ever commercial land reentry. Distribution Unlimited; Approved for Public Release. Public Affairs Release # AFRL-2025-1094 Varda Space Industries is making reentry as common as launch. We are building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn.
