Not Yet Obtained FAA Approval, Varda Space Postpones Re-entry Of Orbit Factory

The Varda Space spacecraft is working with Rocket Lab. (doc. Varda Space)

JAKARTA - The United States Air Force reportedly rejected a request from Varda Space Industries to land its capsule in the Utah training area.

Quoted from TechCrunch, the application for a commercial space license was also rejected by the US Federal Aviation Administration. This was confirmed directly by the spokesman for the US Federal Aviation Agency (FAA).

Varda was supposed to bring back a capsule containing ritonavir crystals, a drug for HIV treatment, in mid-July. However, this plan became uncertain due to the continued rejection.

The US Air Force itself rejected landing requests for several reasons such as analysis at safety, risk, and the impact of landings.

Responding to the refusal given, Varda uploaded a post on his official X account that the spacecraft they want to land is healthy on all systems.

FAA spokesman said that one of the reasons Varda's requests were rejected was on September 6 because the company did not show compliance with regulatory requirements.

Varda has officially asked the FAA to reconsider its decision. Applications for reconsideration are ongoing," the spokesman said.

Despite Varda's proposed Kadenre-entry every month is completely new, an FAA spokesperson stated that a long-standing license-entry could occur due to the process of setting a precedent that must be considered for future commercial re-entry.

"Our goal at the Utah Test and Training Range remains to work with customers who ask for mission-entry in a safe and sustainable manner, where Varda (and future potential partners) can model their investment, engagement, and activities," he added.

In these missions, Varda is known to use the Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft and a 120 kilogram manufacturing capsule mounted on Photon.

In its regulation, Rocket Lab will burn in the atmosphere after re-entry, while the capsule that Varda uses will release a parachute and land on earth.