Federal government continues to block the return of Varda’s commercial capsule, carrying drugs to treat HIV
Even as the FAA continues to block Varda from returning its capsule back to Earth, the Air Force has now joined in to block its landing at its Utah Test and Training Range, the same location NASA will use on September 24 to drop the return capsule from OSIRIS-REx, carrying material from an asteroid.
Varda originally planned to bring back a capsule containing crystals of ritonavir, a drug used to treat HIV, in mid-July. After announcing that had been delayed [due to the FAA’s refusal to issue a landing license in July], the company was looking at September 5 and 7, a source told TechCrunch. This information was confirmed by USAF.
The company declined to comment, but posted on X that the “spacecraft is healthy across all systems” and that they are continuing to collaborate with regulators to bring the capsule back to Earth. They added that the spacecraft can survive for up to a year on-orbit.
“Sept. 5 and 7 were their primary targets,” a spokesperson for the USAF said in an emailed statement. “The request to use the Utah Test and Training Range for the landing location was not granted at this time due to the overall safety, risk and impact analysis. In a separate process, the FAA has not granted a reentry license. All organizations continue working to explore recovery options.”
The spokesperson further said that Varda “is working on presenting alternate plans,” but would not elaborate further whether that meant seeking an alternate landing site. A spokesperson for the FAA told TechCrunch that Varda’s application was denied on September 6 because the company “did not demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirements.”
“On September 8, Varda formally requested that the FAA reconsider its decision. The request for reconsideration is pending,” the spokesperson said.
The actions of these agencies is unconscionable and a outright abuse of power. There is no rational reason for the FAA to continue to deny Varda the right to bring its capsule back to Earth. Its claims of environmental impact are bogus, especially since capsules and spacecraft have been returning to Earth like this for more than three-quarters of a century. Nor is there any reason for the Air Force to have blocked the return now. Its claim of issues of “safety, risk, and impact” is utter garbage, especially since it is allowing a NASA capsule to land in this exact same facility in only days, and that capsule is carrying material from an asteroid.
One might question why Varda apparently flew its capsule prior to getting these landing approvals, but it did exactly the right thing, for two reasons. First, if it waited for approvals before flying, it would have no leverage on these power-hungry federal agencies and it likely would still be on the ground, going bankrupt (think of Virgin Orbit in the United Kingdom). This by the way is the same tactic used by SpaceX. You don’t wait on them, you put them under the gun by moving forward as fast as possible.
Second, this situation helps highlight the power grab by these agencies. While the FAA has some concerns relating to conflicts with airplane traffic, that should simply be a matter of coordination and involve no great delay. Similarly, landing on an Air Force base is merely scheduling. Since when did government agencies have the power to block a landing beyond those points? They don’t, not legally, morally, or practically.
Though I am sure most workers at the FAA and Air Force are likely trying to do their best to help
Varda, the structure of such regulatory agencies always encourages the power-hungry to grab power. The result has been endless mission creep, to the point where today no space activity can happen without some government agency sticking its nose in to demand control.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Even as the FAA continues to block Varda from returning its capsule back to Earth, the Air Force has now joined in to block its landing at its Utah Test and Training Range, the same location NASA will use on September 24 to drop the return capsule from OSIRIS-REx, carrying material from an asteroid.
Varda originally planned to bring back a capsule containing crystals of ritonavir, a drug used to treat HIV, in mid-July. After announcing that had been delayed [due to the FAA’s refusal to issue a landing license in July], the company was looking at September 5 and 7, a source told TechCrunch. This information was confirmed by USAF.
The company declined to comment, but posted on X that the “spacecraft is healthy across all systems” and that they are continuing to collaborate with regulators to bring the capsule back to Earth. They added that the spacecraft can survive for up to a year on-orbit.
“Sept. 5 and 7 were their primary targets,” a spokesperson for the USAF said in an emailed statement. “The request to use the Utah Test and Training Range for the landing location was not granted at this time due to the overall safety, risk and impact analysis. In a separate process, the FAA has not granted a reentry license. All organizations continue working to explore recovery options.”
The spokesperson further said that Varda “is working on presenting alternate plans,” but would not elaborate further whether that meant seeking an alternate landing site. A spokesperson for the FAA told TechCrunch that Varda’s application was denied on September 6 because the company “did not demonstrate compliance with the regulatory requirements.”
“On September 8, Varda formally requested that the FAA reconsider its decision. The request for reconsideration is pending,” the spokesperson said.
The actions of these agencies is unconscionable and a outright abuse of power. There is no rational reason for the FAA to continue to deny Varda the right to bring its capsule back to Earth. Its claims of environmental impact are bogus, especially since capsules and spacecraft have been returning to Earth like this for more than three-quarters of a century. Nor is there any reason for the Air Force to have blocked the return now. Its claim of issues of “safety, risk, and impact” is utter garbage, especially since it is allowing a NASA capsule to land in this exact same facility in only days, and that capsule is carrying material from an asteroid.
One might question why Varda apparently flew its capsule prior to getting these landing approvals, but it did exactly the right thing, for two reasons. First, if it waited for approvals before flying, it would have no leverage on these power-hungry federal agencies and it likely would still be on the ground, going bankrupt (think of Virgin Orbit in the United Kingdom). This by the way is the same tactic used by SpaceX. You don’t wait on them, you put them under the gun by moving forward as fast as possible.
Second, this situation helps highlight the power grab by these agencies. While the FAA has some concerns relating to conflicts with airplane traffic, that should simply be a matter of coordination and involve no great delay. Similarly, landing on an Air Force base is merely scheduling. Since when did government agencies have the power to block a landing beyond those points? They don’t, not legally, morally, or practically.
Though I am sure most workers at the FAA and Air Force are likely trying to do their best to help
Varda, the structure of such regulatory agencies always encourages the power-hungry to grab power. The result has been endless mission creep, to the point where today no space activity can happen without some government agency sticking its nose in to demand control.
On Christmas Eve 1968 three Americans became the first humans to visit another world. What they did to celebrate was unexpected and profound, and will be remembered throughout all human history. Genesis: the Story of Apollo 8, Robert Zimmerman's classic history of humanity's first journey to another world, tells that story, and it is now available as both an ebook and an audiobook, both with a foreword by Valerie Anders and a new introduction by Robert Zimmerman.
The ebook is available everywhere for $5.99 (before discount) at amazon, or direct from my ebook publisher, ebookit. If you buy it from ebookit you don't support the big tech companies and the author gets a bigger cut much sooner.
The audiobook is also available at all these vendors, and is also free with a 30-day trial membership to Audible.
"Not simply about one mission, [Genesis] is also the history of America's quest for the moon... Zimmerman has done a masterful job of tying disparate events together into a solid account of one of America's greatest human triumphs."--San Antonio Express-News
Potentially a silly question, which might have actually been answered already, but could Varda not land their capsule somewhere else? I seem to recall Hyabusa’s return capsule landing in Australia… Not to mention parts of Skylab.
They haven’t paid their ten perce4nt to the Big Guy
@Col
+1 100x
The linked article said that the Air Force’s problem was not the one landing but the ultimate cadence of one per month. Varda was quoted as needing 500 sq miles. Which is a circle of 26 miles diameter. I wonder if any private owner has such an area for price comparison? I am thinking of liability and other insurance costs too in the rental. This is big enough but has too many things to hit.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Deseret_Ranches
GeorgeC
September 18, 2023 at 7:36 pm
Varda was quoted as needing 500 sq miles. Which is a circle of 26 miles diameter. I wonder if any private owner has such an area for price comparison?
Well, from what I hear, there’s a huge fairly open spot somewhere south of Houston.
And, Mr Zimmerman, as you note, there’s some realistic coordination needed, as well as concerns for people on the ground. We can’t just let anyone start dropping rocks from the sky. But they’ve done this before? Sheesh.
The only thing I could even come up with to justify it is, if there is something on the capsule besides the AIDS medicine to be an “environmental concern”? Gray goo? Alien life form detected? You know, when you start having to come up with scifi plots to justify what the gov’t is doing, it might be time to change things a bit. The monster is already here.
Businesses should just go to china, our tyrants are too irrational to deal with.
Varda should begin discussions with the government of Baja California to drop the capsules into the desert east of Rancho LosPinos and west of Puertocitos, in the Baja Peninsula. There is lots of empty ground out there, and very very few individuals to be bothered by a capsule dropping in. Moreover, the landing ground would be closer than Utah, to its headquarters in Torrance.
In other ‘news’, how long until Elon Musk announces that he is ‘shocked, shocked, I say’ by the leak of a Spacex planning document which sets out the costs and advantages of moving or rebuilding the Spacex launch complex a couple of hundred yards south, to east La Burrita, Taumalipas, Mexico.
They can not land in the ocean.
They can not land on public land and no private land is large enough.
The FDA and other organizations might list the new drug as environmentally dangerous if leaked.
They privately do not have the funds to recover it alone.
Their biggest mistake was asking the government for future help.
”In other ‘news’, how long until Elon Musk announces that he is ‘shocked, shocked, I say’ by the leak of a Spacex planning document which sets out the costs and advantages of moving or rebuilding the Spacex launch complex a couple of hundred yards south, to east La Burrita, Taumalipas, Mexico.”
There it is again! What is it about Elon Musk that his biggest fans want him to spend the rest of his life in federal prison?
”Varda should begin discussions with the government of Baja California to drop the capsules into the desert east of Rancho LosPinos and west of Puertocitos, in the Baja Peninsula.”
So then they would need a re-entry license from Mexico and the United States. How does that help?
mkent: Yes, it is time again to repost this comment by me, always ready:
———————-
Why is it the first reaction of so many people when I post stories like this is to suggest that Elon Musk flee, to run away? Not only can’t he do it (both for legal and practical reasons), it is the worst possibly reaction to this government overreach.
It is time all Americans stopped running. There really is no where else to go. We need to stand and fight, and force the government and its intolerant minions to back down. Otherwise, freedom will continue to lose ground everywhere.
I expect Musk to fight, as he has fought and won previously.
As for moving:
1. Legally he can’t. SpaceX as a rocket company falls until strict federal regulations. No matter where he moves those regulations will apply, especially because much of his work force and materials will come from the U.S.
2. Practically he can’t. The qualified workers and infrastructure doesn’t exist in these other locations. You can’t simply recreate this kind of hi-tech company in South Africa, in Mexico, or any other third world country.
———————
These same circumstances apply to Varda as well.
Just thinking this through, it may be a 26 mile circle, but there is also the airspace above it that must be kept clear.
My cynical view is still that the US Gov does not want a break through in orbital manufacturing, because they have yet to develop any mechanisms of controlling it or taxing it, which, of course, are closely related. “The Power ro Tax is the Power to Destroy” (as per R. Limbaugh.). I am not aware of any part of the sector that is unionized. And further, most politicians are heavily invested in the other Big Pharma folks (J&J, Pfizer, Moderna) and certainly do not want to give a leg up to their competition. If Varda were to get a break through, and corner the market on HIV drugs, they would miss out their pay day.
Again, just my cynical thinking.