Rocket Lab Prepares to Bring In-Space Manufacturing Capsule Back to Earth for Varda Space Industries
February 15 2024 - 3:14PM
Business Wire
The FAA has granted a world-first reentry
license for the mission, enabling Rocket Lab to conduct a targeted
reentry of a spacecraft and capsule designed to manufacture
high-value goods in space
Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) (“Rocket Lab” or “the
Company”), a leading launch and space systems company, today
announced that the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has
approved the reentry of Varda Space Industries’ (“Varda”) in-space
manufacturing capsule, enabling Rocket Lab to commence a series of
complex in-space maneuvers and de-orbit burns on the Rocket
Lab-built and operated satellite currently hosting the capsule on
orbit.
This is the first time the FAA has granted a Part 450 reentry
license and also the first time the Department of Defense has
worked with a commercial space company to allow reentry of this
kind of mission on a government-owned range. Varda’s capsule is
targeted for reentry and landing in the Utah Desert.
In the coming days, Rocket Lab will conduct a series of
maneuvers to bring the capsule, named Winnebago-1, back to
Earth.
- Evening of February 18, PT: Initial burn of the Curie
engine on Rocket Lab’s spacecraft to slow the spacecraft down,
lower its perigee, and place Winnebago-1 in its first staging
orbit. Target orbit: 300km x 500km.
- Afternoon of February 20, PT: A second engine burn to
raise the spacecraft’s apogee, the point at which the spacecraft
passes farthest from Earth, and place Winnebago-1 in its second
staging orbit. Target orbit: 300km x 900km.
- Afternoon of February 21, PT: The spacecraft’s third and
fourth final engine burns to de-orbit and set Winnebago-1 on its
atmospheric reentry trajectory.
For more than eight months in space, Rocket Lab’s 300kg-class
spacecraft has successfully provided power, communications, ground
control, and attitude control to allow Varda’s capsule to grow
Ritonavir crystals, a drug commonly used as an antiviral medication
for HIV and hepatitis C.
Due to the initial planned reentry date being adjusted from late
2023, Rocket Lab’s spacecraft has been required to operate for more
than double its intended orbital lifespan, which it has done
without issue. The extended nominal performance of the spacecraft
is testament to its robust design, flight-proven hardware and
subsystems, and an experienced team of mission operators. The
spacecraft incorporates Rocket Lab-designed and manufactured
components and software including star trackers, propulsion system,
reaction wheels, solar panels, flight software, radios, composite
structures and tanks, and separation systems.
This mission is the first of four which will use identical
Rocket Lab spacecraft to support Varda’s in-space manufacturing.
The second spacecraft has completed assembly, integration, and
testing at Rocket Lab’s spacecraft production facility in Long
Beach, California, and is scheduled to launch in the coming
months.
For live updates throughout the reentry process, follow Rocket
Lab and Varda on X.
+ 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, the Photon satellite platform, 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 176
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 pad in Virginia. To learn more, visit
www.rocketlabusa.com.
+ 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
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though not all forward-looking statements use these words or
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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, 2022, 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 www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section
of our website at www.rocketlabusa.com, 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
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+ Rocket Lab Media Contact Murielle Baker
media@rocketlabusa.com
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