/sci/ - Science & Math

https://arstechnica.com/space/2024/02/vardas-drug-cooking-winnebago-will-be-remembered-as-a-space-pioneer/
>"We’re building (something) like a 1986 Toyota Corolla that is meant to be less than a million bucks a pop, quickly refurbished, and then shot right back into space," Asparouhov said.
>“We wish that it could have been smoother in some ways," Asparouhov said. "We both went through this process the first time and, as far as it looks, basically nailed the target for the first time (on landing). So I feel really good about the precedent that we've set, our ability to do this multiple times this year."
>For this mission, Varda's mini-lab grew crystals of ritonavir, a drug commonly used to treat HIV.
>"Eventually, these automated biolabs will get larger and larger until they become the size of school buses and take up full Falcon 9s or full pallets on Starship," Asparouhov said.
>Asparouhov sees these commercial space stations as "parallel collaborators" rather than competitors. "One day, when Varda has that school bus-size biolab... we can rely on those types of partners to do maintenance and docking with our automated biolab systems."

pretty long but interesting article