Rocket Lab boosts Varda's space manufacturing with third successful orbital mission

Rocket Lab boosts Varda's space manufacturing with third successful orbital mission
by Clarence Oxford
Los Angeles CA (SPX) Mar 17, 2025

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. (Nasdaq: RKLB) has confirmed that its third Pioneer spacecraft, developed for Varda Space Industries, Inc. ("Varda"), has been successfully deployed and is operating in orbit. The mission, designated W-3, launched on March 14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base at 11:43 p.m. PDT (06:43 a.m. UTC).

This deployment follows closely on the heels of Varda's W-2 mission, which concluded with a successful reentry and landing just 15 days prior. Like its predecessor, the W-3 mission is powered by Rocket Lab's advanced Pioneer spacecraft platform.

Pioneer provides critical support to Varda's 120kg manufacturing capsule in orbit, supplying power, communication links, propulsion, and attitude control throughout the mission. The capsule enables Varda to conduct pharmaceutical production in microgravity, a unique environment that cannot be replicated on Earth and is particularly advantageous for certain drug development processes.

The Pioneer spacecraft incorporates Rocket Lab's comprehensive suite of in-house designed components and subsystems. These include propulsion units, flight control software, avionics, star trackers, reaction wheels, separation mechanisms, solar arrays, communication systems, composite structures, and propellant tanks.

Upon completion of the manufacturing operations in orbit, Rocket Lab manages the deorbit process, executing maneuvers to guide the capsule back toward Earth. The mission plan concludes with reentry and landing at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, which is managed by Southern Launch. This marks Rocket Lab's third successful mission for Varda; the inaugural W-1 mission ended with a landing in Utah in February 2024, while W-2 concluded with a touchdown in South Australia on February 27, 2025.

"The W-1 mission was the first in-space manufacturing mission to happen outside of the International Space Station. Now, just over a year later, we have a third mission on orbit after bringing another one safely back home. We're immensely proud to have supported our mission partner Varda to usher in a new era of rapid, reliable, and innovative commercial in-space manufacturing and hypersonic reentry capability," said Sir Peter Beck, Rocket Lab Founder and CEO.

"It's remarkable that we have been able to launch our third mission in such rapid succession after the reentry of our second. High cadence launch and return will soon be commonplace, and reentry of materials from space to Earth will go from being novel to being normal," said Wendy Shimata, VP of Autonomous Systems at Varda.

Rocket Lab's fourth Pioneer spacecraft for Varda is nearing completion, with final assembly taking place at the company's Spacecraft Production Complex and Headquarters in Long Beach, California.