Varda W-2 space capsule lands safely at Koonibba range

Californian company Varda Space Industries’ W-2 capsule safely returned to Earth at Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, completing a 45 day dual-purpose mission with payloads from the United States Air Force and NASA. The Koonibba Test Range is a 41,000 km² commercial launch and reentry spaceport in South Australia.

The 120kg W-2 capsule was Varda Space Industries second orbital processing spacecraft and re-entry capsule. W-2 was launched aboard the Transporter-12 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. It carried a spectrometer from the US Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and employed a heatshield with a Thermal Protection System (TPS) developed in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley. These payloads are in addition to Varda’s own expanded pharmaceutical reactor which enables the production of medicine in space, according to Southern Launch.

While in orbit, W-2 was supported by a Rocket Lab-designed Pioneer satellite bus, which provided systems for power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control.

“This mission marks an incredible step forward for Australia as the global landing site for re-entries and the in-space manufactured goods the capsules carry,” said Lloyd Damp, Southern Launch’s CEO. “The Koonibba Test Range is fully instrumented with telemetry, radars and ground and airborne optical and spectral image capture capabilities. Southern Launch is looking forward to continuing to contribute our world-class facilities,re-entry permitting, and range operations to future missions with Varda and their partners.”

Southern Launch was responsible for sourcing all of the regulatory approvals and permits for the W-2 mission. During re-entry operations the Southern Launch team also worked to ensure air and sea space remained clear for public safety and employed advanced tracking telescopes to watch the capsule reenter and land under a parachute.

Recovery operations were led by Southern Launch with Varda payload experts and representatives from the Far West Coast Aboriginal Corporation – traditional owners of the land on which the capsule landed. The recovered capsule will undergo processing with Varda’s payload partners at Southern Launch’s specialist facilities before it is returned to the Varda headquarters in Los Angeles for further analysis.

For Australia, says Southern Launch, this mission ushers in a new era of space capabilities for the nation. The W-2 mission was the first time a commercial space craft re-entry was granted under Australian legislation and is just the first of many scheduled to return to the Koonibba Test Range.