NASA C-PICA heat shield enables Varda capsule to reenter atmosphere

Using C-PICA material licensed from NASA, a protective heat shield manufactured in-house by Varda Space Industries enabled one of its capsules to blaze through Earth’s atmosphere on Thursday, the agency says. Varda’s W-5 capsule launched to low Earth orbit on Nov. 28, 2025. C-PICA (Conformal Phenolic Impregnated Carbon Ablator) was developed at NASA’s Ames Research Center and is described as a stronger, less expensive, and more efficient thermal protection coating that helps capsules and their contents return to Earth safely.

The W-5 flight carried science and technology experiments from industry and government agencies into orbit, and Varda uses its W-series capsules as a platform to process pharmaceuticals and conduct other microgravity research. Greg Stover, associate administrator of NASA’s Space Technology Mission Directorate at Headquarters in Washington, said, “Heat shields allow us to bring the benefits of work done in space, including medical research, technology development, and scientific discovery, down to Earth to improve our everyday lives.” NASA says licensing the material to a commercial company helps make entry system materials more readily available across the space sector.

nasa, c-pica heat shield, varda space industries, varda w-5 capsule, w-series capsules, in-space manufacturing, thermal protection coating, nasa ames research center, flight opportunities program, tipping point award 2023, microgravity pharmaceutical processing