OSAMStartups

Varda Selects SpaceX for Launch

SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. Photo: SpaceX
Image: SpaceX

Yesterday, Varda Space Industries said it would launch its first microgravity factory as a Falcon 9 rideshare mission in early 2023. Founded last year and incubated at Founders Fund, Varda has raised $50+ million from VCs. 

In selecting SpaceX, Varda “immediately went with what we were comfortable with,”cofounder and president Delian Asparouhov told Payload. “It was pretty quick…We probably started thinking about signing a launch agreement in June, and had it signed by July.”

  • Varda CEO/cofounder Will Bruey is an ex-SpaceX engineer. Some early Varda employees also have backgrounds working on launch integration at SpaceX, Asparouhov said.  
  • For future missions, as the market matures and evolves, Asparouhov said Varda may cast a wider net when picking launch providers. 

On operating tempo: Aspaurohov says Varda is “right on track,” save for business development convos, which “are going a lot faster than I honestly would have expected.” 

In August, Varda selected Rocket Lab to build the satellite busses for its first three “space factories.” Composed of a microgravity manufacturing module and re-entry capsule, Varda’s factory will be integrated with Rocket lab’s Photon satellite platform. 

Looking forward: Varda completed a preliminary design review this summer and plans to conduct a critical design review in January, per Asparouhov. After that, the company will begin building its spacecraft, integrate them with Photon, and finally, ship the final product to SpaceX. Varda’s second and third spacecraft are slated to launch by Q4 2024.

Related Stories
StartupsVC/PE

FOSSA Systems Closes Funding Round For IoT Birds

To connect land and ocean, startups are taking to the sky. 

SatcomStartups

Quantum Reveals First Mission, Sentry

Quantum Space is building a mesh communications infrastructure that spans from LEO to cislunar space and beyond to meet growing data needs as humanity expands its reach into the cosmos.   This morning, the company unveiled details of Sentry, its first mission. Sentry will launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 rideshare, currently slated for no earlier than March, […]

LaunchStartups

SpaceX Launches Transporter-9

SpaceX’s train to space is striking a regular cadence.

StartupsTravel

Malt, Hops, Yeast—and Stardust 

They say it’s 5 o’clock somewhere—and Beau Warren, founder of Species X Beer Project, is trying to make that somewhere space.  Some background: Warren considers himself a long-time space lover who grew up visiting the Smithsonian’s Air and Space Museum in DC. He founded Species X in September 2021, and is in the process of […]