W-6

W-6 carried a suite of advanced payloads designed to expand the technical foundation for autonomous hypersonic flight and next-generation thermal protection systems. The mission was funded through a partnership between the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) and commercial space entities.

Autonomous Navigation in Hypersonic Flight

The vehicle carried a payload from Rhea Space Activity (RSA) to further test the company’s proprietary AutoNav autonomous navigation system. AutoNav traces its heritage to software originally developed for NASA’s Deep Impact program, where it autonomously guided a projectile into a comet at 22,000 miles per hour — generating an explosion equivalent to 4.8 tons of TNT.

On W-6, the algorithm operated aboard Varda’s hypersonic reentry capsule, using onboard imagery to identify resident space objects, including stars and low Earth orbit satellites, to determine precise vehicle position. The mission represented a critical step toward fully autonomous navigation for hypersonic and reentry vehicles operating in dynamic environments.

“Celestial navigation through the plasma sheath is a reliable way to navigate during GPS and radio blackout periods,” said Elliott M. Sanders, National Security Coordinator at RSA.  

Advancing Thermal Protection Systems

W-6 also carried a nose tile developed by Sandia National Laboratory embedded with small samples of advanced thermal protection materials. The mission enabled researchers to evaluate material performance under real life hypersonic heating conditions.  

In addition, two instrumented shoulder tiles on the heatshield collected in-flight thermal and performance data for NASA. These tiles were made at NASA’s Ames Research Center in California’s Silicon Valley using an alternative production technique called “eChar.”  

Varda manufactures C-PICA heatshields at the company’s headquarters in El Segundo. Originally developed at NASA's Ames Research Center in Silicon Valley, C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator) is an ablative material that has been used on all six W-series capsules.  

Building the Infrastructure for Reliable Return

Together, the three payloads (from Rhea, NASA, and Sandia) generated valuable flight data to support continued innovation in thermal protection systems for reusable reentry vehicles and hypersonic platforms. The data will also contribute to strengthening the technical foundation required for resilient U.S. national security space capabilities.

W-6 continued Varda’s mission to design, build, and return reentry vehicles that expand commercial activity in low Earth orbit. As Varda increases mission cadence in 2026 and into the future, the company is scaling both vehicle production and flight testing to support a growing range of commercial and government customers.

“W-6 demonstrates the ways we support our partners in validating critical technologies. By flying through hypersonic conditions that are impossible to replicate on the ground, we can enable rapid advancement of flight platforms." said Jordan Croom, Vice President of Payloads at Varda. “Frequent, reliable reentry is foundational to building a thriving LEO economy — and to ensuring the United States leads in hypersonic capabilities.”

More updates to come as Varda’s fleet continues to grow.

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Approved for public release; distribution is unlimited. AFRL Public Affairs release approval #AFRL-2026-1301.

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