Orbiting drug factory in space denied re-entry to Earth

The US Air Force has refused permission to re-enter and land a floating pharmaceutical factory that has apparently been producing drugs in zero gravity since June.

TechCrunch originally reported that the space-based drug production capsule, owned and operated by Varda Space Industries, is experimenting with producing a specific type of HIV drug in low-gravity environments. Varda announced on June 30 that they had succeeded in synthesizing a vial containing ritonavir crystals, a drug used to treat HIV.

“Last day marked the first time ever that orbital drug processing took place outside of a government-operated space station,” Varda said in a post on her X account. “Our crystallization of ritonavir appears to have been nominal.”

The capsule was originally scheduled to return to Earth on July 17 to amplify its newly synthesized crystals of ritonavir, a drug used to treat HIV. However, their plans were pushed back to early September for reasons they danced around a bit in a post on their blog X account.

“Our original re-entry date of July 17 has been postponed due to our work [with] “Our government partners are making sure everyone is fully prepared,” Varda said in July. “The pharmaceutical crystals on board are ready to come home!”

Courtesy of Varda Space

Varda was subsequently denied permission to land at an Air Force training range in Utah for reasons the company declined to disclose, although an Air Force spokesperson provided the following statement to TechCrunch on the matter:

“September 5th and 7th were their main targets. The request to use the Utah Test and Training Range as a landing site has not been approved at this time based on the overall safety, risk and impact analysis. In a separate proceeding, the FAA did not issue a re-entry license. “All organizations continue to work to evaluate recovery options,” the statement said.

Varda also declined to comment on why her September re-entry dates were denied, only posting a brief update on her

“As a quick update, we are pleased to report that our spacecraft is healthy on all systems. “It was originally designed to last a full year in orbit if necessary,” Varda said. “We look forward to further collaboration [with] Our government partners are working to return our capsule to Earth as quickly as possible.”

Varda requested a reconsideration of the FAA’s decision on September 8, but the FAA had only a brief statement on the matter to TechCrunch: “On September 8, Varda formally requested that the FAA reconsider its decision.” The request stated re-examination is pending.”

Ritonavir is not a new drug. It was first synthesized in 1989 and can be made on Earth. The novelty of what Varda is doing seems to be the way they carry out their crystallization process.

“Performing polymorph, salt and cocrystal screenings in microgravity can lead to the discovery of novel forms,” says an excerpt from the Varda website. “Reduced crystal growth rates lead to the formation of high-quality single crystals that can be used for X-ray structure determination.”

The advantages of producing medicines in low gravity compared to producing them on Earth are a little beyond my comprehension as a journalist, although Varda offers an explanation of the process on her website:

“Processing materials in microgravity, or near-weightless conditions in space, provides a unique environment not possible through processing on Earth. These advantages are primarily due to the absence of convection and sedimentation. These effects are “locked” in the material, typically through material crystallization, before being returned to Earth.”

The Air Force said it would continue to work with Varda and the FAA to bring the capsule safely back to Earth, but could not provide an expected re-entry date.

“Our goal at the Utah Test and Training Range remains to work with customers requesting reentry missions in a safe and sustainable manner that Varda (and potentially future partners) can align their investments, commitment and activities with,” an Air Force said a spokesperson told TechCrunch. “We also emphasize that this is a cross-government and multi-agency process to set the right precedents for future activities like this.”

While I may not personally need ritonavir, I sincerely hope that we as a people can get our collective scientific shit together and get these space drugs back to Earth safely. Doing this would be a small step for humans, a giant step toward the possibility of trying out “Martian LSD,” or whatever the hell it may be, at some point in the near future. Just let me dream.