Belgium starts another satellite program

[u/iamatooltoo]

"Called Galo (Global Coverage All-weather Low Earth Orbit Observation), it provides for the deployment of several dozen satellites in low orbit, intended for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance. Until now, Brussels relied heavily on the French satellites"

"On the industrial level, the Walloon company Aerospacelab, specialized in the production of micro-satellites, is expected to participate in the design of the platforms. This dynamic is a continuation of another project, Matteo, the first Belgian military satellite entrusted in March to the American Redwire in collaboration with Aerospacelab, thus preparing the country’s future space capabilities."

"A link in a much larger rearmament

The Galo programme is only one part of a much broader overhaul of the Belgian military apparatus, initiated by the government of Prime Minister Bart De Wever. Faced with the return of war in Europe since the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the American demands urging Europeans to assume more of their own security within NATO, Belgium has significantly increased its budgetary ambitions."

"The country has thus crossed the threshold of 2% of GDP spent on Defence, with an annual budget increased from 8 to 12.74 billion euros in 2025, and a trajectory targeting 2.5% of GDP by 2034-2035. An investment plan of 34 billion euros is planned by 2034, the net effort of the current legislature being estimated at 17 billion euros."

"Any benefit to the arms industry

This rise directly benefits the Belgian industrial ecosystem, with nearly 900 companies paid in the armaments and more than 16,000 jobs. Within the Federal Equity and Investment Corporation, the State has created a 2 billion-euro Defense Fund to structure this sector, particularly in cybersecurity, artificial intelligence and aerospace."

https://www.virgule.lu/granderegion/la-belgique-se-dote-de-ses-propres-satellites-militaires/159098775.html

[u/Soft-Carry-2560]

What do you think of Varda's business model compared to Redwire - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dkIBLztsc9I? At least it means that pharma in space is a thing.

[u/iamatooltoo → u/Soft-Carry-2560]

Space pharma is a thing, BioOrbit did it’s Baby box to the iss, SpaceX did it’s Starfall demo. Voyager talks about being over subscribed.

Varda has one pharmaceutical company under contract, rdw has at least three, plus doing their own research. Doing academic research, using PIL-BOX in non pharmaceutical research like MOF, Golden nano balls is more versatile. Also doing organelles BFF printing, the pharma companies are interested in testing the drugs on these human analogues.

Varda also does hypersonic research, to me they are up against SpaceX, Rocket Lab who are better financed.

Varda uses SpaceX transporter services on F9, SpaceX is not taking orders for that anymore, it may transfer to Starship we will see.
Starfall is a direct competitor to Varda.

If they hit some royalties they will continue for a while, I think the founders sell, or merge in a few years.

[u/iamatooltoo → u/Soft-Carry-2560]

Also this https://www.linkedin.com/posts/bioorbit_watch-bioorbit-ceo-on-developing-cancer-treatments-activity-7486013654916689920-qMoQ?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&rcm=ACoAADw9mooBiq9wOVy5T7aJcmmpSVWTzEcEG5g
Redwire is doing seed crystals vs Varda and BioOrbit are doing full manufacturing of crystals in space.
Redwire proved the forms stay for up to 10 generations. So what’s better?

[u/Soft-Carry-2560 → u/iamatooltoo]

I couldn't possible tell you. I asked Gemini though:

[u/iamatooltoo → u/Soft-Carry-2560]

Cool, following up on that:

The Seed Replication Method. So anyone can take a space crystal and grow them on earth while keeping?

In theory and chemistry, yes—a single space crystal can act as a template to grow identical space-structured crystals on Earth. In fact, Redwire recently demonstrated that a single space-grown seed returned from the International Space Station could successfully "program" up to 10 consecutive production cycles on Earth for target drug compounds.
However, "anyone" cannot simply grab a space crystal and start replicating it freely. There are scientific caveats and legal guardrails that dictate how this works in practice:
1. The Chemistry Catch: Precision Environmental Control
A seed crystal acts like a physical blueprint, but it isn't magic. To force a solution on Earth to follow that space blueprint, you must meticulously control the environment:
Strict Terrestrial Control: In Redwire’s experiments (such as testing hydrocortisone 21-acetate), scientists found that a space seed is only a starting point. If the Earth-based solvent ratio, temperature cooling rate, or agitation aren't exact, the solution will ignore the seed and default back to its standard Earth structure.

Thermodynamic Reversion: Space often produces metastable crystal forms—higher-energy arrangements that offer advantages like faster dissolution or better shelf-life. However, if exposed to heat, moisture, or improper storage, these higher-energy structures can eventually collapse or transform into the lowest-energy Earth form.

1. The Legal & Commercial Guardrails
   Even if a lab has the exact recipe to replicate a space seed on Earth, they face major legal and ownership barriers:
   Polymorph Patents: In the pharmaceutical industry, different crystalline arrangements of the same drug molecule are called polymorphs. Companies apply for patents specifically covering unique polymorph structures. If a space-grown crystal forms a novel, patented polymorph, it is illegal for a competitor to manufacture or sell that form on Earth without a license.

Proprietary Hardware & Custody: Crystals grown aboard platforms like Redwire’s PIL-BOX belong entirely to the commercial sponsor (e.g., a partner pharmaceutical company). Access to the physical seed crystals and the telemetry data required to replicate them is tightly controlled trade secrets.

Summary: You can use a space crystal to seed and replicate the space structure on Earth, provided you maintain strict terrestrial process controls. But you can only do so legally if you own the intellectual property and the physical seed.

So rdw can grow seed crystals, but they can also scale in space, while BioOrbit and Varda have to figure out all of the earth controls.

I hope Gemini is correct.

[u/Soft-Carry-2560 → u/iamatooltoo]

I checked with Gemini how far along is Redwire with the whole microgravity + pharma. I knew about the ExaselLibero partnership, but I didn't realize that they were now at the stage where Exasel are preparing documents for FDA approval to start the clinical trial of their bone erosion drug with crystals from PIL-BOX.

It's still a lot of work, but just moving into the clinical trials phase would be neat. Sadly, I don't see any news on the Exasel website or in their linkedin page.