{"id":509533,"date":"2024-12-02T15:30:00","date_gmt":"2024-12-02T20:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/?p=509533"},"modified":"2024-12-05T04:22:24","modified_gmt":"2024-12-05T09:22:24","slug":"u-s-air-force-awards-varda-48-million-to-test-payloads-on-reentry-capsules","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/spacenews.com\/u-s-air-force-awards-varda-48-million-to-test-payloads-on-reentry-capsules\/","title":{"rendered":"U.S. Air Force awards Varda $48 million to test payloads on reentry capsules"},"content":{"rendered":"

WASHINGTON \u2014 Varda Space Industries secured a $48 million contract from the U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory to test military payloads on the company\u2019s reentry capsules. <\/p>

A California-based startup<\/a> focused on in-space manufacturing, Varda Space developed a factory-in-orbit spacecraft \u2014 a compact, 120-kilogram satellite engineered to produce high-value materials such as pharmaceuticals in zero-gravity conditions. The materials are returned to Earth in a capsule built with advanced thermal protection materials developed by NASA to withstand reentry.<\/p>

The four-year deal with AFRL, announced on Nov. 26, leverages Varda\u2019s W-Series reentry capsules as platforms to test payloads at hypersonic speeds. The spacecraft are built on Rocket Lab\u2019s Photon satellite bus, <\/p>

Through a partnership agreement, NASA Ames produced the thermal protection material, called C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator).<\/p>

Varda\u2019s first successful demonstration was completed in February 2024<\/a> when its W-1 spacecraft produced a batch of ritonavir, an antiretroviral drug. The capsule reentered Earth\u2019s atmosphere at 18,000 miles per hour before parachuting to a precise landing site.  <\/p>

Military taps commercial reentry vehicles<\/h2>

The AFRL contract reflects growing military interest in reentry vehicles<\/a> for applications such as hypersonic testing. Hypersonic speeds pose significant engineering challenges, especially in thermal protection, navigation and sensor performance.  <\/p>

Commercial reentry capsules would give the Air Force an operational environment to test vehicle subsystems under real flight conditions. This approach is more cost-effective than traditional hypersonic test flights, which often rely on specialized and expensive experimental aircraft.  <\/p>

The new contract builds on Varda\u2019s prior collaboration with the Air Force. In 2023, the company won funding<\/a> to adapt its capsules for hypersonic testing.<\/p>

Varda\u2019s next mission, W-2, is scheduled for early 2025. This mission is designed to showcase the Varda Hypersonic Testbed vehicle. The capsule will carry an AFRL-developed spectrometer payload named OSPREE<\/a> (Optical Sensing of Plasmas in the Reentry Environment) to collect critical data during atmospheric descent.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>

<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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