That’s a hat trick! Varda successfully returns 3rd space capsule from orbit

California startup Varda Space Industries has completed its third successful space capsule return mission.

Varda’s W-3 reentry capsule landed in South Australia on Tuesday night (May 13), delivering a payload and data from an advanced hypersonic navigation systems test for the U.S. Air Force and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated. W-3 launched on a Falcon 9 rocket March 14, as part of SpaceX’s Transporter 13 mission.

After 8.5 weeks in orbit, W-3 softly touched down at the Koonibba Test Range operated by Southern Launch on Tuesday at 10:07 p.m. EDT (0207 GMT and 11:37 a.m. local time on May 14). The recovery of Varda’s W-3 capsule comes just over two months after the return of W-2, which landed at Koonibba on Feb. 28.

“Around the world in 60 days,” Rocket Lab wrote in a post on X with a photo of Varda’s landed capsule.

Varda’s W-series capsules have relied on Rocket Lab Pioneer satellite buses for their on-orbit communications, power supply and propulsion, and to eject the capsules following deorbit burns at the end of each mission. This latest landing was Varda’s second at Koonibba. W-1 touched down in Utah in 2024.

“High-cadence, routine operations is our goal,” said Varda Vice President for Mission Management Brandi Sippel on the W-3 mission page. “We are working to make reentry as commonplace as launch,” she said.

“Managing three successful missions for Varda in just over a year is a testament to our team’s ability to produce tailored spacecraft for our customer’s specific needs quickly and efficiently,” said Rocket Lab founder and CEO Peter Beck in a statement.

Rocket Lab says Varda’s W-4 capsule is currently undergoing integration with its Pioneer satellite bus at Rocket Lab’s headquarters in Long Beach, California. A launch date for that mission has not yet been announced.