"Varda Space Capsule Makes Historic Return to Earth with Space-Produced Pharmaceuticals"
Varda Space's in-space manufacturing capsule, containing crystals of the anti-viral medication Ritonavir grown in orbit, successfully returned to Earth, marking the third private company to recover an intact spacecraft from orbit. The capsule, which spent over seven months in space, will undergo post-mission analysis, and the drug will be studied in a pharmaceutical lab. Varda plans to pioneer the use of orbital manufacturing spacecraft to open unique pathways for engineering materials in space, leveraging the microgravity environment for material processing.