Space Capsule Reentry Video Is The Best Sci-Fi Movie You’ll See
Varda Space Industries just successfully landed its W-1 Spacecraft at the Utah Test and Training Range on February 21, making it the first time a commercial company has landed a spacecraft on US soil. If that wasn’t cool enough, they also strapped a camera to the spacecraft, so you can get a front row seat to the intense landing sequence. There are plenty of great sci-fi films coming out this year, but this Varda video will definitely give those big-budget special effects a run for their money.
The video of Varda Space Industries capsule re-entering Earth’s orbit is 100 percent real and more impressive than some Hollywood movies.
Varda Space Industries’ mind-boggling video begins with the W-1 orbiting the Earth in low Earth orbit before it separates from the Rocket Lab’s Photo satellite. We then witness the W-1 reenter Earth’s atmosphere at incredible speeds over Mach 25 before the spacecraft deploys its parachute for a smooth and successful landing. It’s definitely a big step for Varda, which successfully pulled off a landmark achievement in commercial space manufacturing.
At this time, Varda Space Industries has released the video of the spacecraft landing and a still image of the capsule lying in the Utah desert. The image shows the capsule seemingly intact both externally and internally, but we’ll undoubtedly get some more details about the successful landing soon. But the landing was also important because of the space manufacturing feats that the capsule completed while outside the atmosphere.
Varda Space Industries’ mind-boggling video begins with the W-1 orbiting the Earth in low Earth orbit before it separates from the Rocket Lab’s Photo satellite.
The Varda Space Industries capsule is a lightweight capsule that was attached to the Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft that launched in June. It was part of the SpaceX Transporter-8 mission, and the capsule was used to test space manufacturing technology. While attached to the Rocket Lab Photon craft, the capsule produced crystals of ritonavir, a protease inhibitor, that would come back to Earth in the capsule.
The Varda Space Industries capsule has been waiting a while to return to Earth, as the original landing was scheduled for July 2023. But the company ran into delays due to issues getting a commercial reentry license from the Federal Aviation Administration and approval from the US Air Force. Varda finally got the necessary licenses and approvals on February 14, clearing the capsule for its historic landing.
We should be hearing more from Varda Space Industries soon, as the company is launching a second mission this summer in partnership with Rocket Lab.
Varda Space Industries announced that the capsule will be shipped back to the company’s California headquarters for analysis. The ritonavir samples will be sent to the pharmaceutical company, Improved Pharma, for quality analysis. The data about the reentry will also be shared with NASA and the Air Force.
We should be hearing more from Varda Space Industries soon, as the company is launching a second mission this summer in partnership with Rocket Lab. This time, Varda will be launching from the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia thanks to an agreement with the Australian company Southern Launch. Varda is hoping to run into less red tape with this launch since there isn’t as much competition for airspace as there was in the Utah launch.
Hopefully, Varda Industries puts a camera on the next craft too. It would definitely be cool to see a reentry video into Australia. Until then, this most recent video is one of the earliest contenders for top coolest videos of 2024.
