Rocket Lab and Space factories launch Varda deal for Photon spacecraft

Rocket Lab on Wednesday announced an agreement with start-up Varda Space Industries to supply three Photon spacecraft to support Varda’s first manufacturing missions in space starting at 18 months.

“Simply put, we are the real estate and utilities of the space plant,” Peter Beck, CEO of Rocket Lab, told CNBC. “We really provide all the utilities, power, clocking and communications and everything to get the little plant to work and do its job.”

Beck declined to comment on the value of the contract, noting that it “is commercially sensitive to Varda and to us.” Varda co-founder Delian Asparouhov told CNBC that buying Photon gives us the most aggressive schedule and the tightest budget.

“We are delighted to purchase a platform that already has some legacy of flight, and will have even more upon launch,” said Asparouhov.

Rocket Lab will deliver the first Photon spacecraft to Varda in the first quarter of 2023. The company is expected to deliver the next two spacecraft the following year, and Varda will have the option to purchase a fourth Photon.

The first Varda missions are expected to last three months, Rocket Lab said, from launch to re-entry into the capsule with the materials made. Beck pointed out that the Varda Photon missions will not be launched on a Rocket Lab rocket and instead should fly as a secondary payload, or “carpooling,” on another company’s vehicle.

Varda was founded less than a year ago, by a seasoned pair at SpaceX’s Elon Musk and Peter Thiel’s Founders Fund, to raise more than $ 50 million during that time. Rocket Lab and Varda share Khosla Ventures as an investor.

While manufacturing in space isn’t a new concept, Varda wants to take the process to the next level – to launch and return products made in space faster. The start-up plans to make materials that are more lucrative when made in zero gravity, such as fiber optic cables, pharmaceuticals or semiconductors.

Varda will use Rocket Lab’s Photon spacecraft as the backbone of its operation, with the startup adding its manufacturing module and a heat shield-protected capsule to survive the intense re-entry process into Earth’s atmosphere. Varda’s goal is to bring back around 100 kilograms (or 220 pounds) of gear on her first missions.

Rocket Lab, which is one of America’s most active launch operators with its small Electron rockets, has continued to expand its space systems division, with the Photon spacecraft as its centerpiece. But Beck pointed out that Rocket Lab doesn’t “think of Photon as a product; it’s a product suite” because each of the spacecraft’s missions is different. The company has won contracts to use Photon for a variety of uses, including NASA missions to the Moon and Mars, as well as a private mission to Venus.

When Rocket Lab announced its intention to go public earlier this year by merging with special acquisition company Vector, it revealed that it had recorded $ 2 million in space systems revenue last year. The company’s financial forecast projects the space systems division to grow exponentially, aiming to reach $ 656 million in revenue by 2027.

The company is nearing the closing of its SPAC merger, with a shareholders’ meeting scheduled for August 20 to vote on the deal. Beck said Rocket Lab was “very pleased with the progress” made so far in securing shareholder votes.