In a landmark moment for the Australian space sector, Varda Space Industries has successfully returned its Winnebago-2 (W-2) capsule to Southern Launch’s Koonibba Test Range in South Australia.
The successful Earth re-entry and landing of the W-2 capsule marks not only the first commercial return on Australian soil, but also the first commercial return to a commercial spaceport anywhere in the world.
This return highlights the opportunity for Australia to become a responsible launch and return hub for the global space community – capitalising off the geographic advantages of our expansive continent.
~ Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency
To space and back
This was the first commercial space return authorised under the Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018.
In October last year, Australian launch provider Southern Launch and Varda, an American microgravity-enabled life sciences company, received authorisation from the Australian Government to undertake a series of returns at Koonibba Test Range in regional South Australia.
The success of this space return highlights the opportunity for Australia to become a responsible launch and return hub for the global space community – capitalising off the geographic advantages of our expansive continent.
This return is the culmination of many years of work across government and industry to generate opportunities to grow our local space sector for the benefit of all Australians.
~ Enrico Palermo, Head of the Australian Space Agency
A global landing site
In partnership with the Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation, Southern Launch operates the capsule landing site – the Koonibba Test Range. The 41,000 square kilometre commercial launch and re-entry spaceport is fully instrumented with telemetry and radars as well as ground and airborne optical and spectral image capturing capabilities.
“This mission marks an incredible step forward for Australia as the global landing site for re-entries and the in-space manufactured goods the capsules carry."
~ Lloyd Damp, CEO, Southern Launch
"To see the W-2 mission land at the Koonibba Test Range was an incredible moment for our community. We are so proud to be a part of another history making moment for Australia."
~ Corey McLennan, CEO, Koonibba Community Aboriginal Corporation
Exploring new opportunities
The W-2 capsule launched as part of a SpaceX rideshare mission last month. While in orbit, the capsule was supported by a Rocket Lab-designed Pioneer satellite bus, which provided systems for power, communications, propulsion, and attitude control.
Varda’s 120-kilogram W-2 capsule carried a spectrometer built by the United States Air Force Research Laboratory and employed a heatshield developed in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center. The capsule also carried Varda’s expanded pharmaceutical reactor which enables the production of life-saving medicine in space.
Manufacturing in the microgravity of Earth-orbit opens untapped opportunities in areas including health and materials science.
“We are ecstatic to have W-2 back on our home planet safely and are proud to support significant re-entry research for our government partners as we continue building a thriving foundation for economic expansion to low Earth orbit.”
~ Will Bruey, CEO, Varda Space Industries
Increasing national capability, responsibly
Learn more about Australia's dynamic and diverse space sector.