The First Space Factory Sent Samples Of An Anti-HIV Drug To Earth
On February 21, the return capsule W-1 from Varda Space Industries landed at a military training ground in Utah (USA). On board the capsule were samples of an antiretroviral drug produced in microgravity conditions. The company is expected to organize regular production of pharmaceuticals.
The Varda space production platform is a semicircular capsule with a diameter of 90 cm. It carries out maneuvers in orbit as part of the universal satellite platform “Photon” from Rocket Lab. The platform provides power, navigation, maneuvering and everything needed to enter a given orbit and subsequently enter the atmosphere at a given point.
The Varda orbital mini-factory was launched into space in June 2023 on a SpaceX rocket during the Transporter-8 mission to launch a package of satellites. She was supposed to work for a month or two and return to Earth with samples of the drug Ritonavir grown in space. This anti-HIV and hepatitis drug has a crystalline structure and is ideal for testing growth in zero gravity. In microgravity there are no such things as sedimentation and suspensions behave differently than on Earth.
Currently, aerospace research is proceeding in several directions, ranging from the development of food additives to technologies in the field of neurosurgery. Experts note that in space it is possible to produce ingredients for medicines of a quality that cannot be achieved on Earth.