There’s a small spacecraft zipping around Earth right now, but, unlike most satellites in orbit, it wants to come down. The only catch is that, so far, it’s not allowed to. Last month’s Senate hearing on space regulations highlighted the challenge authorities face in regulating this industry, balancing safety while innovative technologies butt up against established practices in an evolving frontier sector. The hearing didn’t feature a representative from Varda — the company behind that stuck satellite — but co-founder Delian Asparouhov echoed those sentiments in a recent conversation, albeit from a different perspective. Varda’s first mission launched in June and was expected to be complete by July. My overly simplified version of its goals: Test to see if the spacecraft and all its systems work, manufacture a drug in microgravity, and then re-enter the capsule and recover it after landing at the Air Force’s Utah Test and Training Range. The launch went great, the spacecraft has been healthy, drugs were made, but the necessary license for capsule reentry has not been granted. So, for the last three months, Varda’s W-Series 1 has remained in space while a trio of organizations – the company, the Federal Aviation Administration’s space office (AST) and the Air Force – back on the ground try to resolve when it can safely return.
Full report : Regulatory hold up keeps Varda spacecraft stuck in orbit.
