الوضع الليلي
0
Camera inside Varda Space Capsule Captured Its Wild Trip Back to Earth
10:19:29 2024-02-29 1320

Here's a front row seat on what it would be like to return to Earth inside a space capsule.

 Varda Space Industries' small W-1 spacecraft successfully landed at the Utah Test and Training Range on February 21, 2024. A camera installed inside the cozy 90 cm- (3 ft)-wide capsule captured the entire stunning reentry sequence, from separation from the satellite bus in low Earth orbit (LEO) to the fiery re-entry through Earth's atmosphere, to parachute deploy, to the bouncy landing.

At the end of this 5-minute video, you'll see a pair legs with mud-caked shoes approach to gather the parachute and retrieve the capsule. Not only is there video, but sound as well. And the sounds of reentry and landing are what grabs you!

W-1 was part of a Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft launched in June 2023 on SpaceX's Transporter-8 rideshare mission (Nasa's CAPSTONE mission also launched on this flight). Varda used the spacecraft to test their in-space manufacturing technologies.

Inside the capsule, the company was able to produce crystals of a drug called ritonavir, an antiviral drug grown in the microgravity LEO environment that can be used to treat HIV and hepatitis C. The company's goal is to develop the infrastructure to make LEO more accessible to commercial industries.

"We manufacture pharmaceuticals in space," said Varda CEO Will Bruey In an interview on marketplace. "Removing gravity allows us to make medicines you otherwise couldn't on Earth. Gravity is kind of like a parameter. If you put a temperature knob on an oven, you create a whole world of new recipes and new food you can create. Similarly, if you can change gravity, you can also change the chemical process for drug formulations."

W-1 spent eight months integrated with a Rocket Lab Photon spacecraft (the upper stage of the Electron rocket) that provided the capsule with power, propulsion, and navigation.

"This mission was a phenomenal feat and impressive display of teamwork between the Rocket Lab and Varda teams to develop a unique and highly capable spacecraft, successfully demonstrate in-space manufacturing and bring back the capsule and finished pharmaceutical product – all on the first attempt," said Rocketlab CEO Peter Beck in a company press release.

"The success of this reentry mission will also inform our work on developing a reentry capsule for Neutron to potentially enable human spaceflight missions."

Varda transported the capsule to its California headquarters for a complete check-out, and sent the ritonavir samples on board to a pharmaceutical company, Improved Pharma, for analysis. Varda said it will also share data from the reentry itself with NASA and the Air Force under a contract with those agencies.

 

Foresight   2026-03-24
Reality Of Islam

Concealing Weaknesses

11:13:45   2026-04-25  

The Shortest Road to Success

11:26:37   2026-04-18  

False Advantages and Distinctions

11:1:47   2026-04-12  

Honour, from the Islamic Viewpoint

11:37:51   2026-04-08  

A Mathematical Approach to the Quran

10:52:33   2024-02-16  

mediation

2:36:46   2023-06-04  

what Allah hates the most

5:1:47   2023-06-01  

allahs fort

11:41:7   2023-05-30  

striving for success

2:35:47   2023-06-04  

Imam Ali Describes the Holy Quran

5:0:38   2023-06-01  

livelihood

11:40:13   2023-05-30  

silence about wisdom

3:36:19   2023-05-29  

MOST VIEWS

Importance of Media

9:3:43   2018-11-05

Illuminations

true friendship

11:2:27   2022-10-06

good people

11:34:48   2022-06-29

bahlool & the khalifa`s food

8:19:41   2018-06-21

think well

8:39:51   2022-09-23

prophet adam & the apple

1:16:44   2018-05-14

a wisdom

8:4:21   2022-01-08



IMmORTAL Words
LATEST Kids With Autism May Be Less Likely to Imitate Silly Behavior Concealing Weaknesses Interpretation of Sura al-Nur - Verse 43 Want Less Stress? Landmark Study Points to a Simple Habit What Makes Rubber So Strong? Scientists Finally Solve 100-Year-Old Mystery Most Active Volcano in Europe Just Got Stranger When Teens Focus on TV, Obesity Risk Rises Steadiness in Friendship Interpretation of Sura al-Nur - Verses 41-42 New Research Uncovers Hidden Side Effects of Popular Weight-Loss Drugs Scientists Shrink a Lab Spectrometer to the Size of a Grain of Sand Scientists Raise Concerns Over Newly Recognized Pollutant Found Everywhere in the Air