{"id":57740,"date":"2025-10-03T06:05:09","date_gmt":"2025-10-03T06:05:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/57740\/"},"modified":"2025-10-03T06:05:09","modified_gmt":"2025-10-03T06:05:09","slug":"varda-space-and-southern-launch-agree-to-more-capsule-landings-in-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/57740\/","title":{"rendered":"Varda Space and Southern Launch agree to more capsule landings in Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

SYDNEY \u2014 Microgravity research company Varda Space Industries has signed an agreement with spaceport operator Southern Launch that will allow up to 20 capsule reentries in South Australia through 2028.<\/p>\n

The companies announced the extension of an existing agreement Sept. 30 during the International Astronautical Congress, or IAC. It allows Varda to land capsules at Southern Launch\u2019s Koonibba Test Range, a 41,000-square-kilometer facility for reentries and suborbital launches.<\/p>\n

Varda has used Koonibba twice, returning the capsule from its W-2 mission in February<\/a> and its W-3 mission in May<\/a>. The company\u2019s W-4 mission, currently in orbit, is scheduled to land at Koonibba before the end of the year, along with its W-5 mission, which has yet to launch.<\/p>\n

The company landed its first mission, W-1, at the Utah Test and Training Range in February 2024<\/a>. But difficulties securing licenses and other approvals for that mission prompted Varda to look elsewhere.<\/p>\n

\u201cThrough that experience, it became pretty clear that the U.S. was not going to be the location for high-cadence reentry operations in the near term,\u201d Eric Lasker, Varda\u2019s chief revenue officer, said at an IAC event announcing the new agreement.<\/p>\n

That led the company to work with Southern Launch. \u201cThe partnership has been really incredible with Southern Launch and with South Australia,\u201d Lasker said.<\/p>\n

The agreement comes as Varda plans to increase its flight rate. In July, the company announced a $187 million Series C round<\/a> to scale up production of its spacecraft and invest in microgravity life sciences research. Varda has a long-term goal of flying monthly missions.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe determined that we needed a high-cadence reentry capability that we can launch as many times as industry demands, and then bring that down,\u201d Lasker said. That would enable potential microgravity markets like pharmaceuticals and semiconductor manufacturing to \u201cactually be economically viable for the first time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Southern Launch sees the agreement as a major endorsement of its capabilities, which also include a separate orbital launch site. \u201cThis contract is a vote of confidence in our team and our facilities. With each successful mission, we\u2019re proving that the Koonibba Test Range is the best place on Earth to bring space technology home,\u201d said Lloyd Damp, Southern Launch\u2019s chief executive.<\/p>\n

Australian officials used the deal to highlight the role they want the country to play in supporting both commercial launches and reentries. They have emphasized advantages such as wide-open spaces and relatively uncongested airspace.<\/p>\n

That involves reclaiming a role Australia played in the early Space Age when it hosted launches from Woomera in South Australia. \u201cWe were part of those early days, but then we had a gap,\u201d said Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, at the event. \u201cThat gap is now closed.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cThe message we want to convey to the international space community, in many ways, is that Australia is open for business for launch and returns,\u201d he said. \u201cWe want to partner with the world to enable you to do science, to launch things to space, to do on-orbit manufacturing and return it safely.\u201d<\/p>\n

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