Despite a slowdown in global investment flows in 2022, the private sector of the space economy is still making steady progress thanks to breakthrough technologies such as reusable rockets and low-cost satellites.
According to a Citigroup report, by 2040, the space economy could be worth up to a trillion dollars.
A California-based startup, Varda Space Industries, is betting on that future. In a more daring approach, Varda is launching a “factory” into space, with the ambition of reaping huge profits from creating better and more effective medicines.
Great ambition
According to CNN , during SpaceX's Transporter-8 mission on June 13, Varda's satellite successfully separated from the rocket.
On board the rocket, nestled among a host of other satellites, is the company's first creation, a 90-kilogram research capsule designed to carry the company's drug research into microgravity.
SpaceX's Transporter-8 mission on June 13 carried Varda's satellite into space. Photo: SpaceX.
“When it comes to commercializing space, it’s not a compelling human interest story like tourism. But the bet we’re making at Varda is that manufacturing is actually the next big industry that will be commercialized,” said Will Bruey, CEO and co-founder of Varda.
By space industry standards, Varda's road to the launch pad was incredibly fast.
Founded less than three years ago, Varda has gone from a fledgling idea to a company with $100 million in funding, a 65,000-square-foot factory, and a satellite in space. Varda’s staff has also grown to nearly 100 employees.
One big advantage for Varda is that it doesn’t have to design every step of the launch process, from launch to landing, from scratch. Instead, the startup will rely on the burgeoning space launch service providers like SpaceX and Rocket Lab.
Bruey also played a role in that progress. He spent about six years at SpaceX and worked on SpaceX’s Dragon spacecraft, which is now used to ferry crew, supplies, and cargo to and from the International Space Station.
Inside Varda's factory. Photo: Varda.
Delian Asparouhov, co-founder and chairman of Varda, credits Bruey's experience as the reason he took a hands-off approach to founding the startup.
Medical breakthrough
Asparouhov said Varda has spent about $40 million on development. Even if this mission fails, the startup still has enough cash to fund at least four missions.
Both Bruey and Asparouhov said they hope it won't take much longer than that to figure out how to make Varda's technology work.
“I think if we don't have a successful mission in the first four missions, then frankly we don't deserve to have a space company anymore,” Bruey said.
Varda's vision is simple: the company's research lab would launch based on an existing experiment.
Varda plans to use a small capsule to conduct pharmaceutical research in space. Photo: Varda.
Once in orbit, the research module detaches and begins flying through space while still attached to the power, propulsion, and communications structures needed to navigate the vacuum of space.
The experiment then begins and is carried out by machines built into the capsule. It is understood that the mission of this factory will be to create the main ingredients of pharmaceuticals, under microgravity conditions.
In this zero-gravity environment, such experiments would not be affected by the Earth's gravitational pull.
CNN cites a study that has shown that protein crystals grown in space can form more perfect structures than on Earth.
The crystals that form in this space can then be used to create pharmaceuticals that are more easily absorbed by the human body.
In simple terms, Varda's gamble, if successful, would be a major breakthrough in medicine, creating drugs with superior effectiveness.
An important example comes from Merck's study, conducted on the International Space Station (ISS) with the active ingredient pembrolizumab used in the cancer drug Keytruda.
Varda's research chamber. Photo: Delian Asparouhov.
In this experiment, scientists discovered that using crystals formed in space, could create a more stable drug. Instead of time-consuming intravenous injection, in the Merck study, the drug could be administered by direct injection.
Varda's first assignment will focus on research around ritonavir, a drug typically used to treat HIV but recently included in the antiviral drug Paxlovid for Covid-19 treatment.
After Varda's test is complete, engineers on the ground will assess whether the research module is ready to return to Earth. If approved, the research module will return to Earth via satellite.
Varda's "factory" would then plunge into Earth's atmosphere and land by parachute to recover the drugs.
Initially, Asparouhov’s vision was much broader than pharmaceuticals. Asparouhov’s focus was on other products, such as optical fibers and semiconductors, that could be manufactured in space, resulting in materials of better quality than those produced on the ground.
In addition to innovation, Varda will also look for additional drugs in development if they are not already on the market.
Varda’s deals with pharmaceutical companies would be based on receiving future royalties, according to Asparouhov. If Varda’s research yields better results, the company could collect money from selling the drug indefinitely.
However, the task is not simple. Varda will need to prove that their robot can perform these experiments remotely, while also surviving the powerful recoil of a rocket launch.
The return home to this “factory” is equally difficult. Re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere, at a speed of about 28,968 km/h, creates enormous heat and plasma buildup. This is also considered the most dangerous leg of any journey into space.
(Source: Zing News)
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