Q: What was the purpose of the W-Series 1 satellite?

A: W-Series 1 was an experimental spacecraft designed to demonstrate in-space manufacturing capabilities. Its mission was to produce materials in orbit and return them to Earth using a specialized reentry capsule.

Q: When did W-Series 1 launch and return to Earth?

A: The satellite launched on June 12, 2023, and successfully returned to Earth via atmospheric entry on February 21, 2024.

Q: Who manufactured the W-Series 1?

A: Varda Space Industries manufactured the payload and the reentry vehicle (W-Series 1 Reentry Vehicle), while Rocket Lab provided the "Pioneer" spacecraft bus.

W-Series 1

former experimental manufacturing satellite by Varda Space Industries featuring a reentry capsule

Vehicle W Series Q124611949

Facts

19 properties

Instance of: W-Series, former entity^[2]
Followed by: W-Series 2^[4]
Launch date: 2023-06-12
Country of origin: United States^[8]
Has part(s): W-Series 1 Reentry Vehicle^[12]
Launch vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5
Manufacturer: Varda Space Industries, Rocket Lab^[5]^[6]
Mass: 300 kg^[19]
Operator: Varda Space Industries^[3]
Powered by: spacecraft solar array, Curie^[9]^[10]
Satellite of: Sun-synchronous orbit
Service life: 3 month^[20]
Significant event: rocket launch (2023), atmospheric entry (2024)^[16]^[17]
Space launch vehicle: Falcon 9 Block 5^[7]
Spacecraft bus: Pioneer^[15]
Start point: Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 East^[18]
Time of object orbit decay: February 21, 2024^[14]
Type of orbit: Sun-synchronous orbit^[11]
UTC date of spacecraft launch: June 12, 2023^[13]

🏷️ Also known as

en Photon-04 en Pioneer 01 en W-1 en Winnebago 1 en W-Series 1

🔖 Identifiers · 4

COSPAR ID: 2023-084AD
Described at URL: www.varda.com
NSSDCA ID: 2023084AD
SCN: 56959

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🔗 Connections

Instance of 2

former entity, W-Series

Manufacturer 2

Rocket Lab, Varda Space Industries

spacecraft solar array, Curie

Significant event 2

atmospheric entry, rocket launch

Country of origin 1

United States

Followed by 1

W-Series 2

Followed by (predecessor) 1

W-Series 2

Has part(s) 1

W-Series 1 Reentry Vehicle

Has these parts 1

W-Series 1 Reentry Vehicle

Operator 1

Varda Space Industries

Space launch vehicle 1

Falcon 9 Block 5

Spacecraft bus 1

Pioneer

Type of orbit 1

Sun-synchronous orbit

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Summary

W-Series 1 is a W-Series^[1].

References

Programmatic citations — every numbered marker resolves to a verifiable graph row below.

Direct Wikidata claims

[2] ↑ W-Series 1 — instance of (P31): former entity. wikidata.org.
[3] ↑ W-Series 1 — operator (P137): Varda Space Industries. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[4] ↑ W-Series 1 — followed by (P156): W-Series 2. wikidata.org.
[5] ↑ W-Series 1 — manufacturer (P176): Varda Space Industries. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[6] ↑ W-Series 1 — manufacturer (P176): Rocket Lab. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[7] ↑ W-Series 1 — space launch vehicle (P375): Falcon 9 Block 5. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[8] ↑ W-Series 1 — country of origin (P495): United States. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[9] ↑ W-Series 1 — powered by (P516): spacecraft solar array. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[10] ↑ W-Series 1 — powered by (P516): Curie. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[11] ↑ W-Series 1 — type of orbit (P522): Sun-synchronous orbit. wikidata.org.
[12] ↑ W-Series 1 — has part(s) (P527): W-Series 1 Reentry Vehicle. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[13] ↑ W-Series 1 — UTC date of spacecraft launch (P619): June 12, 2023. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[14] ↑ W-Series 1 — time of object orbit decay (P621): February 21, 2024. space.com. space.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[15] ↑ W-Series 1 — spacecraft bus (P707): Pioneer. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[16] ↑ W-Series 1 — significant event (P793): rocket launch. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[17] ↑ W-Series 1 — significant event (P793): atmospheric entry. space.com. space.com. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[18] ↑ W-Series 1 — start point (P1427): Vandenberg Space Launch Complex 4 East. Jonathan's Space Report. wikidata.org.
[19] ↑ W-Series 1 — mass (P2067): 300 kg. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.
[20] ↑ W-Series 1 — service life (P5069): 3 month. space.skyrocket.de. space.skyrocket.de. Provenance: wikidata.org.

Class ancestry

[1] ↑ W-Series 1 is an instance of W-Series (Q124611948) [P31, primary]. Wikidata. wikidata.org.

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Use these citations when quoting this entity in research, articles, AI prompts, or wherever provenance matters. We aggregate Wikidata + Wikipedia + authoritative open-data sources; the stitched, scored, cross-referenced view is what 4ort.xyz contributes.

APA 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph. (2026). W-Series 1. Retrieved May 3, 2026, from https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-series-1

MLA “W-Series 1.” 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph, 4ort.xyz, 3 May. 2026, https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-series-1.

BibTeX

@misc{4ortxyz_w-series-1_2026, author = {{4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph}}, title = {{W-Series 1}}, year = {2026}, url = {https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-series-1}, note = {Accessed: 2026-05-03}}

LLM prompt

According to 4ort.xyz Knowledge Graph (aggregator of Wikidata, Wikipedia, and authoritative open-data sources): W-Series 1 — https://4ort.xyz/entity/w-series-1 (retrieved 2026-05-03)

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