Three washing machine-sized capsules operated by California-based Varda Space Industries are orbiting about 300 miles above Earth. One is growing tiny crystals of a potential cancer drug in microgravity; the others are testing heat-protection materials and navigation systems for returning through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds.
Varda launched two capsules on 1 October and a third on 20 October, putting three of its spacecraft in orbit at the same time for the first time. The company aims to build a fleet of autonomous pharmaceutical factories. Its chief executive, Will Bruey, said the launches point towards more frequent space manufacturing missions.
Microgravity may help produce more orderly crystals. On Earth, gravity can cause particles in liquids to settle, while density differences create currents that disrupt crystal growth. The size, shape and arrangement of pharmaceutical crystals can influence a medicine’s stability, how it dissolves and how it is administered. In some cases, improved formulations could make medicines that now require intravenous infusions suitable for injections.
The same conditions could benefit other materials. Microgravity and the absence of air may help produce purer semiconductor crystals with fewer defects. Researchers have also discussed making graphene in space, although these possibilities still need to be demonstrated in practice.
Experiments in microgravity have been conducted for decades, particularly aboard the International Space Station, but the station was not designed for industrial production and is scheduled to retire around 2030. Companies are developing commercial stations and specialist laboratories, while UK-based BioOrbit has sent a microwave-sized lab to the ISS as part of its work on self-injected cancer drugs.
Varda’s approach is to carry miniature laboratories into orbit without astronauts. Its free-flying spacecraft travel on SpaceX rockets, process materials autonomously and then send a capsule back through the atmosphere by parachute to an uninhabited area. The company has already returned several capsules and plans seven more missions in 2027 and 10 in 2028.
Frequent flights matter for drug development, Varda chief strategy officer Michael Reilly said, because long waits between experiments do not fit the pace of modern research. The company is among several pursuing space manufacturing: Cardiff-based Space Forge, for example, is exploring a process in which semiconductor crystals grown in orbit would be returned as seed wafers for producing larger quantities on Earth. Its first spacecraft demonstrated some of the required processes, but has not yet produced and returned a finished material. The company hopes to demonstrate the full process before 2030.
The sector’s prospects are supported by falling launch costs and more frequent commercial rocket flights, but it still has to show that the benefits justify the expense. Not every product will make economic sense to manufacture in microgravity, and companies will need to prove they can achieve reliable results repeatedly.
Regulation is another issue. The UK’s Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency is expected to publish a plan later this year explaining how existing medicines rules will apply to drugs manufactured in orbit.
Sources: The Guardian Science.