In a press release on December 17, 2025, Rocket Lab USA announced the delivery of the second Pioneer vehicle to Vandenberg Space Force Base, ready to launch the Varda Space Industries W-2 mission in the first quarter of 2025. At the same time, the Long Beach company declared the completion of the production and testing of the third vehicle for Varda.
The two Pioneer spacecraft are part of a contract signed in 2021 by Varda and Rocket Lab to produce four vehicles hosting Varda’s Winnebago, an in-space manufacturing test platform equipped with an innovative hypersonic reentry capsule. The first spacecraft enabled Varda’s successful W-1 mission, which launched in June 2023 and landed in February 2024.
Double the spacecraft, double the excitement! 🛰️🛰️
— Rocket Lab (@RocketLab) December 17, 2024
Our Space Systems team has hit another milestone at our Spacecraft Production Complex in Long Beach, CA! We’ve successfully delivered a second Pioneer spacecraft to Vandenberg Space Force Base and completed a third for… pic.twitter.com/akxLsfbXLX
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Rocket Lab, not only rockets
Founded in 2006 by Peter Beck to build low-cost small rockets, Rocket Lab expanded its operations by acquiring companies like Sinclair Interplanetary, Planetary Systems Corporation, and SolAero. As part of its vertical integration strategy, those focused additions broadened the company’s capabilities to produce satellites and spacecraft.
One of the first results of the company strategy is the Pioneer, a satellite bus developed for the Varda W-1 mission modifying the Electron’s kick-stage Proton. Pioneer is designed to support payloads up to 120 Kg and to operate as a medium delta-V platform.
Using Pioneer like in Varda’s W-1 mission, Rocket Lab provides launch support, in-flight operations, and re-entry logistics, positioning Varda’s re-entry capsule on the planned trajectory.
“We’re setting a new standard for rapid, reliable satellite production. Each Pioneer spacecraft for Varda’s missions is a perfect demonstration of our growing capability as an end-to-end space company that delivers design, manufacturing, integration, testing, launch support, and in-space operations to get our customers’ innovative ideas on orbit quickly and cost-effectively.”
— Sir Peter Beck, CEO and Founder of Rocket Lab
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Exploiting microgravity with the Winnebago system
Several experiments aboard the ISS demonstrated the potential of microgravity to manufacture products that cannot be produced on Earth in the same way. However, the costs and time constraints that characterize the ISS experiments are obstacles to scaling up the production at the level needed to sustain it economically.
Varda addresses this issue with Winnebago, a fully automated satellite with processing capabilities, and a reentry capsule built to return materials from orbit at a lower cost. The platform is designed to make microgravity in low-earth orbit accessible to multiple industries, such as pharma and the material sector.
The success of Winnebago W-1, its maiden mission, marked a relevant milestone for the company, opening the way to the next three. The second mission, W-2, is planned for the first quarter of 2025, and the third one later in the same year, to increase the company’s frequency of shipments to and from space.
“This mission is another step toward high cadence reentry. Soon, reentry will be as common as launch.”
— Will Bruey, CEO and co-founder of Varda Space Industries
The FAA reentry license, which missed issuing for W-1 kept the spacecraft in orbit for five additional months, was issued both for W-2 and W-3 missions, as per Varda’s statement on X.
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