Latest news with #ISSI
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Varda's W-3 capsule lands successfully in South Australia
The company partnered with the US Air Force to test an advanced inertial measurement unit to advance scientific understanding of the high-hypersonic reentry environment. EL SEGUNDO, Calif., May 14, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Varda Space Industries, which is building infrastructure and enabling fundamental science for a thriving orbital economy, has successfully reentered the W-3 capsule, which landed at the Koonibba Test Range, operated by Southern Launch, at 19:07 Pacific Daylight Time. W-3 is Varda's third successful mission and comes just 11 weeks after the previous successful mission. W-3 carried an advanced inertial measurement unit developed in collaboration with the U.S. Air Force and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI). The Prometheus program, a partnership between Varda and the U.S. Air Force, addresses a national security need to accelerate the ability to conduct novel science and technology experiments in the extreme reentry environment through a low-cost, high cadence flight testbed. The W-3 capsule, developed by Varda, reentered Earth's atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 25. This extreme environment offers researchers valuable data to enhance hypersonic navigation, expand orbital economy applications, and support U.S. national security objectives in low Earth orbit. "Varda's reentry capsule represents a game-changing opportunity for both government and commercial partners to test and validate cutting-edge hypersonic and reentry components and technologies," said Dave McFarland, Varda's Vice President of Hypersonic and Reentry Test. "The W-3 mission will provide unprecedented data to advance next-generation space and defense capabilities and continue to provide hypersonic environments to the reentry test community." Varda is the only company routinely launching and reentering autonomous manufacturing capsules through the high-hypersonic environment. Through regular, reliable launch and return, Varda aims to continue to increase cadence and offer a novel, low-cost approach to iterative hypersonic science and technology experimentation. The W-3 capsule launched March 14 from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California and is the second capsule to land at the Koonibba Test Range. Varda's first mission, W-1, was the first-ever commercial reentry on US soil when it landed in Utah in 2024. Distribution Unlimited; Approved for Public Release. Public Affairs Release Number AFRL-2025-1794 About Varda Varda Space Industries is making reentry as common as launch. We are building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn. For Media Inquiries: media@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Varda Space Industries Inc.
Business Recorder
08-05-2025
- Business
- Business Recorder
Regional stability: Strategic partnership with China termed ‘central pillar'
ISLAMABAD: The Centre for Afghanistan, Middle East and Africa (CAMEA) at the Institute of Strategic Studies Islamabad (ISSI), in collaboration with the Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES), Pakistan office, hosted a one-day International Conference, titled 'Pakistan and the Region: Enhancing Regional Connectivity, Addressing Non-Traditional Threats, and Countering Terrorism.' Speakers at the inaugural session included Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, Director General ISSI, Arno Kirchhof, Charge d'Affaires, Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany, Islamabad. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed was the chief guest on the occasion. DG ISSU Ambassador Sohail Mahmood, in his remarks, noted that the world was witnessing profound turbulence and rapid transformation in the global order. In the changing milieu, Pakistan's evolving strategic approach now places emphasis on two key shifts: adopting a comprehensive security framework that prioritises economic and human well-being, and pivoting to geo-economics while navigating the complexities of geo-politics. This approach is increasingly shaping Pakistan's regional and international policy outlook and is already delivering encouraging outcomes. He reaffirmed Pakistan's solid and enduring strategic partnership with China as a central pillar of regional stability. He was of the view that Pakistan's engagement with Afghanistan has seen renewed momentum in recent months, with high-level exchanges and growing dialogue across security, trade, and people-to-people domains. However, cross-border terrorism remains the most pressing challenge, impacting both Pakistan's internal security and broader regional stability. Furthermore, he stressed that the region faces growing threats, including the regrouping of terrorist outfits. At the same time, climate change has become an urgent, lived reality. Peace, economic integration, environmental sustainability, and human security are deeply interconnected, making regional cooperation not optional but essential. Ambassador Sohail Mahmood also dwelt on the heightened tensions between India and Pakistan, which have now turned into a live conflict. In the aftermath of the Pahalgam attack, he noted, India rushed to blame Pakistan without holding any worthwhile investigations and providing any credible evidence. It then followed up with a slew of measures, including putting the Indus Waters Treaty (IWT) in abeyance. This action was legally untenable, while the threat of not letting a drop of water go to Pakistan was morally reprehensible. In the dark of the night of 6-7 May, in an unprovoked attack and what has been described as a blatant act of war, India has violated Pakistan's sovereignty targeting several places in Pakistan and AJK. India's act of aggression resulted in the martyrdom of civilians, including women and children. Pakistan has strongly condemned India's cowardly action, which is in flagrant violation of the UN Charter, international law, and the established norms of inter-state relations. Pakistan has stated that it reserves the right to respond appropriately in accordance with Article 51 of the UN Charter and as enshrined in international law. Senator Mushahid Hussain Sayed, in his remarks, stated that there is a lot of cultural compatibility between the region and that there is emerging regional connectivity under projects like CPEC under the BRI. This region is the centre of gravity for regional connectivity. He further said that organizations are emerging which promote this kind of connectivity, and an example is the ECO. There is also an initiation of several projects like TAPI, IPI and other railway projects. On the other hand, non-traditional security challenges continue to pose difficulties, which include climate change, population growth, and religious extremism, in some cases sponsored by the state, remain a serious challenge. While talking about the midnight aggression by India, he said that it was unprovoked and India has tried to link Pakistan with the incident in Pahalgam without any proof, as has also been stated by the international media. Blaming Pakistan has been their previous pattern; however, some redlines were crossed and Pakistan was giving befitting response. Pakistani civilians have been attacked, resulting in the martyrdom of many and injuring several others. He also cautioned about the RSS ideology/mindset, which was another form of non-traditional security threat in the region. Arno Kirchhof emphasised that this conference serves a vital purpose in exploring how nations can address security risks and work towards achieving peace through dialogues that focus on key regional security issues, such as stability, climate change, regional connectivity, humanitarian challenges, and countering terrorism. He noted that the world is in a reflective period, with countries like Germany still seeking solutions to these complex challenges. Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Associated Press
15-03-2025
- Science
- Associated Press
Varda Announces Third Mission Launch, the Company's Second Launch this Year
Varda aims to have a monthly launch and reentry cadence, developing a foundation layer for a thriving orbital economy EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Varda Space Industries, Inc., a microgravity-enabled life sciences and reentry company, today announced the successful launch of its third orbital processing and reentry capsule, W-3, just 15 days after the reentry of the company's second mission, which landed in Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. The W-3 vehicle, supported by a Rocket Lab-developed Pioneer satellite like its predecessors, lifted off aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. W-3's payload is an advanced navigation system called an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) developed by the US Air Force and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI). This payload will be tested at reentry speeds it was designed to withstand but has never encountered before. IMUs are electronics that can measure an object's motion, orientation, and velocity. For example, everything from cars to wearable fitness trackers have similar devices to tell their computer the orientation and location without the aid of an external signal like a GPS, though commercial IMUs are notoriously inaccurate at high-speed conditions. Varda's capsule can help test these devices for our government and commercial partners to advance research into high-hypersonic technologies. 'The need for robust, plug-and-play IMU technology is a growing capability area that will significantly advance the current state-of-the-art for domain awareness and control of future systems,' said Dr. Steve NeVille, senior scientist at ISSI. 'The W-3 reentry flight test with Varda provides an exciting and unique proto-qualification platform to rapidly advance our IMU technology readiness level in a relevant reentry environment, which is the pinnacle of early development testing.' Varda's capsule reenters the Earth's atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 25, a unique environment that offers researchers a chance to gather data for multiple applications, expanding the possibilities for the orbital economy and supporting US national security interests in low Earth orbit. 'Varda's commercial dual-use reentry capability is a game-changer for enabling rapid technology maturation for future systems,' said Technical Lead for AFRL's Prometheus reentry testbed program, Dr. Erin Vaughan. 'Affordable, frequent reentry flight test opportunities support S&T development for early risk reduction studies, reducing cost and schedule for novel technologies.' The W-3 capsule's payload is funded through the Prometheus program, an initiative from AFRL in partnership with Varda. The program addresses a national security need to accelerate testing and modernization of high-hypersonic systems and reentry technologies through a low-cost, high-cadence commercial flight testbed. 'High-cadence, routine operations is our goal. We are working to make reentry as commonplace as launch,' said Varda Vice President for Mission Management, Brandi Sippel. 'We are looking forward to the day when sending capsules into orbit and back to Earth is seen as routine.' W-3 will spend a few weeks on orbit before reentering and landing safely at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. Varda's second capsule, W-2, was Australia's first-ever commercial land reentry. Distribution Unlimited; Approved for Public Release. Public Affairs Release # AFRL-2025-1094 Varda Space Industries is making reentry as common as launch. We are building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn.
Yahoo
15-03-2025
- Science
- Yahoo
Varda Announces Third Mission Launch, the Company's Second Launch this Year
Varda aims to have a monthly launch and reentry cadence, developing a foundation layer for a thriving orbital economy EL SEGUNDO, Calif., March 15, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Varda Space Industries, Inc., a microgravity-enabled life sciences and reentry company, today announced the successful launch of its third orbital processing and reentry capsule, W-3, just 15 days after the reentry of the company's second mission, which landed in Australia on Feb. 27, 2025. The W-3 vehicle, supported by a Rocket Lab-developed Pioneer satellite like its predecessors, lifted off aboard the Transporter-13 rideshare mission with SpaceX from Vandenberg Space Force Base in California. W-3's payload is an advanced navigation system called an Inertial Measurement Unit (IMU) developed by the US Air Force and Innovative Scientific Solutions Incorporated (ISSI). This payload will be tested at reentry speeds it was designed to withstand but has never encountered before. IMUs are electronics that can measure an object's motion, orientation, and velocity. For example, everything from cars to wearable fitness trackers have similar devices to tell their computer the orientation and location without the aid of an external signal like a GPS, though commercial IMUs are notoriously inaccurate at high-speed conditions. Varda's capsule can help test these devices for our government and commercial partners to advance research into high-hypersonic technologies. "The need for robust, plug-and-play IMU technology is a growing capability area that will significantly advance the current state-of-the-art for domain awareness and control of future systems," said Dr. Steve NeVille, senior scientist at ISSI. "The W-3 reentry flight test with Varda provides an exciting and unique proto-qualification platform to rapidly advance our IMU technology readiness level in a relevant reentry environment, which is the pinnacle of early development testing." Varda's capsule reenters the Earth's atmosphere at speeds exceeding Mach 25, a unique environment that offers researchers a chance to gather data for multiple applications, expanding the possibilities for the orbital economy and supporting US national security interests in low Earth orbit. "Varda's commercial dual-use reentry capability is a game-changer for enabling rapid technology maturation for future systems," said Technical Lead for AFRL's Prometheus reentry testbed program, Dr. Erin Vaughan. "Affordable, frequent reentry flight test opportunities support S&T development for early risk reduction studies, reducing cost and schedule for novel technologies." The W-3 capsule's payload is funded through the Prometheus program, an initiative from AFRL in partnership with Varda. The program addresses a national security need to accelerate testing and modernization of high-hypersonic systems and reentry technologies through a low-cost, high-cadence commercial flight testbed. "High-cadence, routine operations is our goal. We are working to make reentry as commonplace as launch," said Varda Vice President for Mission Management, Brandi Sippel. "We are looking forward to the day when sending capsules into orbit and back to Earth is seen as routine." W-3 will spend a few weeks on orbit before reentering and landing safely at the Koonibba Test Range in South Australia, operated by Southern Launch. Varda's second capsule, W-2, was Australia's first-ever commercial land reentry. Distribution Unlimited; Approved for Public Release. Public Affairs Release # AFRL-2025-1094 About Varda Varda Space Industries is making reentry as common as launch. We are building the infrastructure for a thriving orbital economy, from in-orbit pharmaceutical processing to reliable and economical reentry capsules. The company operates out of El Segundo, California with office and industrial production space. Follow Varda on X (@vardaspace), Instagram (@vardaspaceindustries), and LinkedIn. For Investor Inquires: ir@ For Media Inquiries: media@ View original content to download multimedia: SOURCE Varda Space Industries Inc. Sign in to access your portfolio
