U.S. Air Force to test hardware at hypersonic speeds on Varda’s space capsules

[Waspie_Dwarf]

U.S. Air Force to test hardware at hypersonic speeds on Varda’s space capsules

Varda Space secured a $60 million ‘strategic financing’ agreement from the U.S. Air Force with private matching funds

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WASHINGTON — The U.S. Air Force plans to use startup Varda Space Industries’ reentry capsules as hypersonic flight test platforms, the company’s cofounder Delian Asparouhov told SpaceNews.

Varda has been raising venture funds to send to orbit 120-kilogram “factory” satellites to make products in zero-gravity and return them to Earth in a reentry capsule. The Air Force would use the capsule as a platform to test the performance of components and materials at hypersonic speeds.

Read More: SpaceNews

 

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I hope this means they are stepping up their quest for hypersonic-capable composites to use in an answer to Russia and China's newest weapons.