Rocket Lab Is About To Launch A Space Factory
Rocket Lab has been continuing to look for new launch opportunities as they increase Electron’s launch cadence. For years now, we have seen both Electron and the Photon Spacecraft put some very unique satellites and technology into Earth’s orbit and beyond. In the coming months, however, we can expect the launch of one of the company’s most interesting payloads yet.
Rocket Lab is scheduled to launch Varda Space’s Space Factory in the first quarter of this year. Based on this initial estimate combined with recent updates from the company, it seems very likely that we are only months if not weeks away. In this mission, a specially designed Photon spacecraft will help launch and facilitate space manufacturing.
Once in orbit, Varda’s production facility begins operations. Once the products are produced, they are then ejected from the system and returned to Earth in Varda’s reentry vehicle. In total, this is just the first of multiple missions the company has with Rocket Lab. Here I will go more in-depth into this upcoming mission, why it’s so important, what to expect in the coming weeks, and more.
Launch Updates
Only a few days ago on the 15th, Rocket Lab tweeted saying, “Putting our next spacecraft to the test. This Rocket Lab-built spacecraft bus for @VardaSpace is currently undergoing a rigorous test campaign to get it ready for orbit where it will support in-space manufacturing.” This included images of the payload and spacecraft bus being prepared for the mission.
Back in 2021, Rocket Lab announced it has signed a deal with in-space manufacturing company Varda Space Industries to produce three Photon spacecraft that will integrate with their space factories, enabling high-value products to be manufactured in zero-gravity and returned to Earth in Varda’s re-entry capsule.
Varda’s space-manufactured products are targeted at high-value markets such as fiber optic cables, pharmaceuticals, and semiconductors — all of which have higher performance when produced in zero gravity. What’s so unique about this mission is Photon’s application and continued support. Instead of using the Photon spacecraft to just extend an orbit, for example, it will do much more. Specifically, after launch, Rocket Lab’s Photon will position the spacecraft in an operational orbit and provide station keeping. Photon will support Varda’s 120 kg manufacturing and re-entry modules with power, data, and attitude control. All three Photon spacecraft will also incorporate Rocket Lab-designed and built spacecraft components, including radios, reaction wheels, and star trackers. Rocket Lab’s Photon will perform multiple burns with the 3D-printed Curie engine, acting as a highly capable propulsion system to place Varda’s re-entry capsule on a return trajectory to Earth.
Traditionally, almost all in-space manufacturing research has been carried out on the International Space Station. This research has demonstrated that innovative materials and products can be created in the consistent microgravity environment of low-Earth orbit, an environment that can’t be replicated on Earth. Until now, manufacturing in orbit has been impossible to scale due to cost. Building a space factory with a proven, Photon spacecraft — one that doesn’t require human tending in orbit — will allow Varda to make building products in space at scale a reality for the first time.
“The Varda team is undertaking ground-breaking work that really opens up new possibilities and markets for in-space manufacturing and we couldn’t be more excited to make their mission possible with Photon,” said Rocket Lab Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Peter Beck. “Photon enables our customers to unlock the full potential of space. It removes a massive barrier to the growing small satellite market by delivering our customers a versatile and configurable spacecraft platform that they don’t need to build themselves. Our customers get to orbit faster and can focus purely on their mission while there, rather than worrying about developing and operating a spacecraft.”
The first Varda Photon is planned for delivery in Q1 2023, with the second to follow up later in the year and a third in 2024. The contract, which is subject to standard termination provisions, also included an option for Varda to procure a fourth Photon. In May of last year, they announced they had indeed added a fourth Photon and mission. Each mission has a nominal three-month duration from launch to landing. This means we can expect a launch in the next couple of months and a landing toward the middle of this year.
Space Manufacturing
Now that we know more about Rocket Lab’s upcoming mission and the Photon Spacecraft’s purpose, we can take a closer look at space manufacturing and the incredible opportunities it opens up. Based in Torrance, California, Varda Space Industries was founded by Will Bruey, who spent almost a decade working on SpaceX’s Crew and Cargo Dragon spacecraft. At the time of the mission announcement, Will Bruey commented, “We are excited to work with Rocket Lab. Photon is a great fit for our mission and their team has displayed significant engineering rigor. Working with them will allow us to deliver on our aggressive schedule and tight budget. We are one step closer to delivering valuable materials to our clients here on Earth.
Varda Space Industries was founded in 2020 with the goal of manufacturing products in space to benefit life on Earth. The Co-founders imagined a world where space could be leveraged not only for storytelling and awe, but for its economic benefits. Varda was created as a platform for in-space manufacturing, with a range of real-life, on-Earth use cases. Today, they are accelerating innovation in space through our microgravity manufacturing platform, with applications including pharmaceuticals, hypersonic testing, and fiber optics.
In terms of progress on this ambitious system, the company recently completed a drop test. In October last year, Varda Space Industries has successfully demonstrated the descent and landing capability of the re-entry capsule for its first microgravity factory test mission. In this test, the Varda team dropped the capsule out of an airplane over the Arizona desert to prep for its first mission, set to launch on Transporter-8 next year. “This was our first major vehicle system test,” Varda cofounder and CEO Will Bruey told Payload. “I don’t really want to give the team a big ego, so I’ll downplay it and say that they absolutely crushed it.”
After deliberation, the Varda team made the choice to test the full vehicle rather than just the pieces necessary to test the parachute and landing procedures. That choice meant that the team could gather a lot of data about the actual flight design, rather than just pieces. “The cons, of course, are that if it doesn’t work, then you spent a lot of work figuring out that it just doesn’t work, and you get a little splat situation on the desert floor,” said Bruey. “It was Varda’s first must-work experience.” During the test, the team dropped the capsule from an airplane at an altitude of ~13,000 feet above sea level. In freefall, the capsule reached terminal velocity at ~120 mph, and then deployed its parachutes at ~3,500 feet above sea level. It was reported that the capsule survived the fall with no structural damage and was successfully retrieved by the team.
The microgravity environment and absence of dust particles allows for the manufacturability of fine technical products such as computer chips with higher precision and quality than on Earth’s surface. This regime also allows for the manufacture of completely new materials and products there, including fiber optics and pharmaceuticals. In July 2021, Varda Space received US$42 million in a funding round from various venture capitalists, after receiving US$9 million in an initial funding round in December 2020.
In terms of the upcoming missions with Rocket Lab, Photon was a major contributor to the overall decision. Rocket Lab’s Photon small spacecraft is based on the heritage Electron launch vehicle Kick Stage, leveraging numerous components that have significant flight heritage, including the Curie engine, an in-house designed and developed in-space propulsion system. Photon flies as the upper stage of Electron, eliminating the parasitic mass of deployed spacecraft and enabling full utilization of the fairing. As a configurable platform, Photon can be tailored to meet unique mission requirements. From mass manufacture as a streamlined constellation offering, to a single customized technology demonstration spacecraft, the idea is Photon can easily be adapted to make different missions possible.
The Varda contract combines with a growing list of Photon missions, including the successful CAPSTONE lunar mission in support of NASA’s Artemis program and a contract to design twin Photon spacecraft in support of a NASA Mars mission. Rocket Lab currently operates multiple existing Photon spacecraft on orbit. The next mission with Varda will add another to that list as Rocket Lab continues to grow its reach and opportunities within the industry.
Conclusion
Rocket Lab has one big contract with Varda Space Industries for 4 separate launches. Each will feature a unique Photon spacecraft designed to keep the factory in place and running before sending it back to Earth. Based on recent updates it looks like progress is coming along and we can expect the first mission to launch in only months. We will have to wait and see how it progresses and the impact it has on the space industry.