Varda Space Industries is taking over the 205,443-square-foot former Mattel research-and-development campus at 2031 E. Mariposa Ave. in El Segundo, a move that dramatically boosts the South Bay startup’s manufacturing footprint as it ramps up orbital pharmaceutical processing and reentry capsule production.
The nine-acre complex will operate as an extension of Varda’s smaller Aviation Boulevard headquarters. Company officials say they expect to get the keys in December, then spend roughly four to eight months turning the former R&D site into production and assembly facilities. The combination of size and location lets the company scale up without leaving the neighborhood, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
How Varda Makes Medicines In Space
Varda describes itself as a microgravity-enabled life-sciences company that sends automated, capsule-sized labs into orbit to grow molecular crystals that can be purer than Earth-made versions, a capability it markets to drugmakers and defense customers, according to Varda.
The firm’s W-5 capsule, launched in November and returned in late January carrying a U.S. Navy payload, showcases the reentry and recovery step that brings processed materials back down from orbit, according to a company press release via PR Newswire.
Local Footprint Grows
Last year, Varda subleased about 54,749 square feet of lab space from Beyond Meat at 888 N. Douglas St., an arrangement disclosed in Beyond Meat’s SEC filing. That smaller lab, combined with the new Mariposa campus and Varda’s Aviation Boulevard site, will cluster the company’s labs, assembly, and engineering teams in the same South Bay neighborhood and shorten the logistics loop between manufacturing and launch or recovery operations, per Beyond Meat’s filing (Beyond Meat).
Why This Matters For El Segundo
The lease signals that El Segundo remains a magnet for commercial space manufacturing and industrial real-estate demand as startups scale up. Varda announced a $187 million Series C in 2025 and has been adding terrestrial labs to support its orbital work, per reporting by the Los Angeles Business Journal.
Local brokers and market data show a tight supply of large industrial spaces in the area, a trend that makes a nine-acre campus like this stand out in the South Bay, as reported by the Los Angeles Times.
