Varda Space and Southern Launch agree to more capsule landings in Australia

SYDNEY — 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.

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’s Koonibba Test Range, a 41,000-square-kilometer facility for reentries and suborbital launches.

Varda has used Koonibba twice, returning the capsule from its W-2 mission in February and its W-3 mission in May. The company’s 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.

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

“Through 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,” Eric Lasker, Varda’s chief revenue officer, said at an IAC event announcing the new agreement.

That led the company to work with Southern Launch. “The partnership has been really incredible with Southern Launch and with South Australia,” Lasker said.

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

“We determined that we needed a high-cadence reentry capability that we can launch as many times as industry demands, and then bring that down,” Lasker said. That would enable potential microgravity markets like pharmaceuticals and semiconductor manufacturing to “actually be economically viable for the first time.”

Southern Launch sees the agreement as a major endorsement of its capabilities, which also include a separate orbital launch site. “This contract is a vote of confidence in our team and our facilities. With each successful mission, we’re proving that the Koonibba Test Range is the best place on Earth to bring space technology home,” said Lloyd Damp, Southern Launch’s chief executive.

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.

That involves reclaiming a role Australia played in the early Space Age when it hosted launches from Woomera in South Australia. “We were part of those early days, but then we had a gap,” said Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, at the event. “That gap is now closed.”

“The message we want to convey to the international space community, in many ways, is that Australia is open for business for launch and returns,” he said. “We 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.”