Varda Space Industries announced the successful landing of its W-2 reentry capsule in Australia on February 28th, 2025. This mission represents a major step forward in military hypersonic research and NASA’s advancements in thermal protection systems. The California-based company, known for its in-space manufacturing capabilities, designed the W-2 capsule specifically for high-speed reentry research.
After a six-week orbital journey, the capsule landed at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia. This landing is a significant milestone not only for Varda but also for the region's emerging role in commercial space endeavors. The capsule carried a specialized sensor payload, OSPREE (Optical Sensing of Plasmas in the Reentry Environment), developed by the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). AFRL Principal Investigator Capt. Ashwin Rao oversaw the development of this advanced instrument designed to capture spectral measurements of the plasma environment during reentry.
“The unique aerothermal chemistry of the reentry environment is impossible to simulate or replicate on the ground,” explained Muk Pandian, Varda’s director of strategic partnering and advanced concepts. He emphasized that conventional testing methods cannot reproduce the extreme conditions, such as sustained plasma formation, encountered during hypersonic reentry. This mission achieved unprecedented in situ optical emission measurements at speeds exceeding Mach 15, providing real-time data on material and system performance under extreme conditions. This was Varda’s first mission under a multi-year agreement with AFRL. “By partnering with commercial space entities like Varda, AFRL can provide the government science and technology community expanded access to testing in true hypersonic conditions,” stated AFRL program lead Erin Vaughan.
The 120-kilogram capsule, launched on January 14th, 2025, aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission, utilized a Rocket Lab satellite bus and a heatshield developed in collaboration with NASA’s Ames Research Center. The W-2’s successful landing marks a first for commercial spacecraft on Australian soil, landing at the 15,830 square-mile Koonibba Test Range. Varda’s previous W-1 capsule, which landed in Utah in February 2024, was the first commercial spacecraft to land on U.S. soil.
Following recovery at Southern Launch’s facilities in Australia, the capsule will be returned to Varda’s Los Angeles headquarters for thorough analysis. The gathered data will be crucial in refining thermal protection systems, sensor designs, and aerodynamics for future hypersonic vehicles.