The Rocket Lab spacecraft designed, built, and
operated for Varda Space Industries which enabled the production of
pharmaceutical products on orbit, has been returned to Earth
Rocket Lab USA, Inc (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
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.
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Rocket Lab's spacecraft for Varda Space
Industries (Photo: Business Wire)
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 today.
Today’s 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.”
Today’s 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.
+ 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 and the Photon satellite platform and is
developing the Neutron 13-ton payload class launch vehicle. 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 171 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 Photon spacecraft platform has 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 site in
Virginia, USA. To learn more, visit www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ FORWARD LOOKING STATEMENTS
This press release may contain certain “forward-looking
statements” within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation
Reform Act of 1995, Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933, as
amended, and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, as
amended. All statements, other than statements of historical facts,
contained in this press release, including statements regarding our
expectations of financial results for the third quarter of 2023,
strategy, future operations, future financial position, projected
costs, prospects, plans and objectives of management, are
forward-looking statements. Words such as, but not limited to,
“anticipate,” “aim,” “believe,” “contemplate,” “continue,” “could,”
“design,” “estimate,” “expect,” “intend,” “may,” “might,” “plan,”
“possible,” “potential,” “predict,” “project,” “seek,” “should,”
“suggest,” “strategy,” “target,” “will,” “would,” and similar
expressions or phrases, or the negative of those expressions or
phrases, are intended to identify forward-looking statements,
although not all forward-looking statements contain these
identifying words. These forward-looking statements are based on
Rocket Lab’s current expectations and beliefs concerning future
developments and their potential effects. These forward-looking
statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (many of which
are beyond Rocket Lab’s control), or other assumptions that may
cause actual results or performance to be materially different from
those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements.
Many factors could cause actual future events to differ materially
from the forward-looking statements in this release, including
risks related to delays and disruptions in expansion efforts; our
dependence on a limited number of customers; the harsh and
unpredictable environment of space in which our products operate
which could adversely affect our launch vehicle and spacecraft;
increased congestion from the proliferation of low Earth orbit
constellations which could materially increase the risk of
potential collision with space debris or another spacecraft and
limit or impair our launch flexibility and/or access to our own
orbital slots; increased competition in our industry due in part to
rapid technological development and decreasing costs; technological
change in our industry which we may not be able to keep up with or
which may render our services uncompetitive; average selling price
trends; general economic uncertainty and turbulence which could
impact our customers’ ability to pay what we are owed; failure of
our launch vehicles, spacecraft and components to operate as
intended either due to our error in design in production or through
no fault of our own; launch schedule disruptions; supply chain
disruptions, product delays or failures; design and engineering
flaws; launch failures; natural disasters and epidemics or
pandemics; any inability to effectively integrate recently acquired
assets; changes in governmental regulations including with respect
to trade and export restrictions, or in the status of our
regulatory approvals or applications; or other events that force us
to cancel or reschedule launches, including customer contractual
rescheduling and termination rights; risks that acquisitions may
not be completed on the anticipated time frame or at all or do not
achieve the anticipated benefits and results; and the other risks
detailed from time to time in Rocket Lab’s filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), including under the
heading “Risk Factors” in Rocket Lab’s Annual Report on Form 10-K
for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, which was filed with
the SEC on March 7, 2023, and elsewhere. There can be no assurance
that the future developments affecting Rocket Lab will be those
that we have anticipated. Except as required by law, Rocket Lab is
not undertaking any obligation to update or revise any
forward-looking statements whether as a result of new information,
future events or otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240221287474/en/
+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
Rocket Lab USA (NASDAQ:RKLB)
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