Varda Space Capsule Touches Down in Australian Outback, Marking Historic First Commercial Landing

March 06, 2025 – In a groundbreaking moment for the global space industry, Varda Space Industries successfully landed its W-2 reentry capsule in the Australian Outback on February 28, 2025, achieving the first-ever commercial spacecraft landing on Australian soil. The capsule touched down at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch, after a six-week mission in low Earth orbit. This milestone not only highlights Varda’s pioneering efforts in space manufacturing but also positions Australia as an emerging hub for commercial space operations.

The Winnebago-2 (W-2) capsule launched on January 14, 2025, aboard SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket as part of the Transporter-12 rideshare mission from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. While in orbit, the 120-kilogram capsule conducted experiments to advance in-space pharmaceutical production and collected critical data for hypersonic reentry research. Its payloads included a spectrometer from the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and a heat shield developed in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center. After completing its mission, W-2 reentered Earth’s atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 15, creating a spectacular fireball captured in stunning photographs by Varda’s team.

The landing site, the expansive Koonibba Test Range, spans 41,000 square kilometers and is equipped with advanced telemetry, radars, and imaging systems. The successful recovery of W-2 marks a significant achievement for Southern Launch and the Australian Space Agency, which authorized the reentry under the Space (Launches and Returns) Act 2018. “This return highlights the opportunity for Australia to become a responsible launch and return hub for the global space community,” said Enrico Palermo, head of the Australian Space Agency, in a statement. “Our expansive continent offers unique geographic advantages, and we’re thrilled to see it utilized in this historic mission.”

Varda’s CEO, Will Bruey, expressed pride in the accomplishment. “We are ecstatic to have W-2 back on our home planet safely,” he said. “This mission supports significant reentry research for our government partners and builds a foundation for economic expansion into low Earth orbit.” The capsule’s pharmaceutical reactor, an enhanced version of the one flown on Varda’s first mission (W-1), aimed to produce life-saving drugs in microgravity—a process that could revolutionize medicine by creating purer, more effective compounds unavailable on Earth.

The AFRL’s Optical Sensing of Plasmas in the Reentry Environment (OSPREE) spectrometer aboard W-2 captured the first-ever in situ optical emission measurements of a reentry past Mach 15. This data, alongside the performance of NASA’s Thermal Protection System (TPS), will inform future hypersonic technologies and spacecraft design. Varda plans to share these findings with its government partners, further solidifying its role in advancing space research.

Photos from the landing depict the W-2 capsule descending under parachute against the rugged backdrop of the Outback, followed by its gentle touchdown on the desert floor. Engineers from Varda and Southern Launch quickly secured the capsule, which will undergo initial processing in Australia before being shipped to Varda’s headquarters in El Segundo, California, for detailed analysis.

This success follows Varda’s W-1 mission, which landed in Utah in February 2024, making it the first commercial spacecraft to touch down on U.S. soil. The company’s partnership with Southern Launch, cemented by an agreement in October 2023, promises more reentries at Koonibba, with two additional W-Series missions already planned. “This is just the beginning,” said Lloyd Damp, CEO of Southern Launch. “We’re excited to contribute our world-class facilities to Varda’s vision of making space accessible for industry.”

The Australian space sector celebrated the event as a leap forward. “Seeing W-2 land at Koonibba was an incredible moment for our community,” Damp added. “It signals a new era of what’s possible both here and in space.” For Varda, the mission underscores its mission to commercialize microgravity manufacturing, potentially paving the way for a future where space-made goods become commonplace on Earth.

As the dust settles in the Outback, the photos of W-2’s fiery reentry and serene landing serve as a testament to human ingenuity—and a glimpse into the expanding frontier of commercial space exploration.