Fiery and dangerous: How a return trip from space looks like

New Delhi,UPDATED: Mar 1, 2024 13:25 IST

Verda Space Industries has released footage of what a spacecraft goes through as it re-enters Earth during its returns from space.

The company launched and returned its spacecraft, W-1, successfully at the Utah Test and Training Range. The landing, which happened on February 21, marked the first time a commercial company landed a spacecraft on United States soil.

WATCH FIERY RETURN TO EARTH FROM SPACE

The spacecraft was carrying a camera that captured the entire reentry in this first-of-its-kind video. The spacecraft made its return from Low Earth Orbit and gathered a staggering speed of Mach 25, which is 25 times the speed of sound, before safely deploying its parachute and landing.

The video shows how the return journey from space is fiery and dangerous.

As a spacecraft re-enters the Earth's atmosphere, it encounters a significant increase in atmospheric density.

The friction between the spacecraft and the atmosphere leads to the generation of extreme heat. This heat can reach temperatures of thousands of degrees Celsius, making it crucial to have effective thermal protection systems.

Rocket Lab's W-1, aboard a Photon spacecraft, was launched in June 2023 during SpaceX's Transporter-8 rideshare mission.

Concurrently, NASA's CAPSTONE mission embarked on the same flight. Varda harnessed this opportunity to experiment with their in-space manufacturing technologies.

Within the capsule, they successfully crafted ritonavir crystals, an antiviral drug crucial for HIV and hepatitis C treatments, exploiting the microgravity environment of Low Earth Orbit (LEO).

Varda's broader mission is to enhance LEO accessibility for commercial industries. Varda CEO Will Bruey explained the significance, stating, "We manufacture pharmaceuticals in space," emphasising the transformative potential of altering gravity in drug formulations, likening it to adjusting a temperature knob to unlock new possibilities.