A capsule containing the first products manufactured in space by Varda Space Industries and protected by a heat shield made at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley lands at the Utah Test and Training Range on Feb. 21, 2024.
NASA works to encourage commercial growth. With an increasing number of start-ups who have smart ideas but limited funding and spaceflight experience, NASA experts at Ames and Langley Research Center in Hampton, Virginia, are doing their part to help. And success is already in the air – or passing safely through it.On Feb.
NASA’s partnership with Varda will continue through a Tipping Point award from the agency’s Space Technology Mission Directorate . Managed by STMD’s, this award will leverage technology transfer from Ames of the C-PICA production process, helping the small business establish its heat shield production and fully enter the space market, as well as a flight test to evaluate the material’s performance.