TLDR · SCIENCE & FUTURISTIC TECHNOLOGY
VARDA CAPSULE REENTRY - FIVE MINUTES FROM LEO TO EARTH (6 MINUTE VIDEO)
Summary from the TLDR newsletter
Varda Space Industries' W-1 spacecraft successfully landed in Utah on February 21. This was the first time a commercial company landed a spacecraft on US soil. The spacecraft reentered the Earth's atmosphere at speeds over Mach 25 before safely deploying its parachute and landing. Varda has released a video from a camera onboard the W-1 spacecraft showing it orbiting the Earth in low-Earth orbit, smoothly separating from Rocket Lab's satellite bus, and then reentering Earth's atmosphere.