Varda Space releases video showing entire process of returning to Earth from orbit

Aerospace startup Varda Space Industries has released a video vividly demonstrating the return of a space capsule from orbit to Earth.

The company's engineers attached a camera to the capsule, allowing anyone interested to literally observe the entire process from a first-person perspective, starting from detachment from the carrier and ending with entry into the atmosphere and subsequent landing.

The video was captured during the return to Earth of the Varda W-1 capsule, which landed on February 21 at a military test site in the state of Utah, USA. The capsule spent about eight months in low Earth orbit, significantly longer than the company had initially planned. This delay was due to Varda having to wait for regulatory approval for the capsule's landing on US territory.

"Here's the video of our capsule breaking through the atmosphere at a speed of 25 Mach [over 30,000 km/h], without rendering, just raw footage," says the description of the short version of the video, which appeared on Varda's X social media account. The full 28-minute video is available on YouTube.

As for Varda's activities, the company collaborated with Rocket Lab in its latest mission, during which the startup explored the possibility of producing pharmaceuticals in space. After the capsule's return to Earth, the company's specialists will analyze the results of the orbital experiments conducted in laboratory conditions.