This is John Batchel, a conversation with a colleague Bob Zimmerman about a startup space company with a very good business plan, Varda, using capsules launched into low Earth orbit to conduct its experiments or its instruments in zero gravity or near zero gravity. And this is very helpful in manufacturing

pharmaceuticals and other properties that are possible best in zero G. And they then land the

satellite and recover it and the customer is satisfied.

However, Bob explains a complication that meant that Varda had to wait and wait for the U.S. to approve of this,

and now they're in Australia. Bob Zimmerman on Varda, a good business plan moved to Australia.

More of this tonight.

The issue had to do with bureaucracy, John, not contamination.

Varder initially wanted to land its capsules in the United States in a military test range in Utah.

That's a place that NASA capsules have landed before bringing back samples from asteroids and interstellar materials.

So you've got, they had no trouble getting approvals to do it, a NASA return.

But somehow Varda wanted to do it and had a capsule in space, and neither the FAA or the Air Force range can get

their act together to release give them permission so they had a their capsular stay up at extra

six months they don't want to do that so they switch they now land in Australia at a

test range there because they were able to get quick permission and they have a deal for I

think like 10 years now to continue to land there and so that's the story behind