There are a lot of things happening in space these days, like beaming solar power back to Earth, weddings later this year, Starlink internet satellites, and now Varda Space Industries has successfully launched the “world’s first space factory” into orbit.
Varda Space Industries, a California-based startup co-founded by a veteran at SpaceX, launched its W-Series 1 satellite into orbit. This isn’t your typical satellite, either. Instead, it’s a test for a complete manufacturing factory floating in zero gravity.
The company describes itself as a leader in “in-space manufacturing and hypersonic re-entry logistics,” and that’s precisely what it hopes to accomplish with the W-Series 1 satellite.
According to its press release, the company plans to manufacture materials like pharmaceuticals and other products that aren’t safe or easy to produce on Earth or that yield better results from the microgravity conditions in space. Yes, they plan to mass-produce drugs in space.
For example, studies published by the NIH and the National Library of Medicine suggest certain ingredients like pembrolizumab, used in some cancer drugs, are easier to make and crystalize in microgravity.
We have ACQUISITION OF SIGNAL
The world’s first space factory’s solar panels have found the sun and it’s beginning to de-tumble
— Varda Space Industries (@VardaSpace) June 13, 2023
As for the W-Series 1 itself, the entire system was lab-designed in California and contains manufactured components and software to handle many tasks. Everything from star trackers, propulsion systems, reaction wheels, solar panels, flight software, radios, composite structures and tanks, and separation systems.
In the tweet above, the factory’s solar panels are up and operational, which is an essential first step before manufacturing begins. Varda’s first mission is to research in-space drug development and much more in the coming years.
