Stratolaunch and Varda Space Industries Awarded MACH-TB 2.0 Task Area 3 for Hypersonic Flight Tests
The Department of War has awarded Task Area 3 of the MACH-TB 2.0 program to Stratolaunch and Varda Space Industries, aimed at achieving up to 50 hypersonic flight tests annually. The MACH-TB program provides a government-managed, commercially supported infrastructure for hypersonic systems, which exceed Mach 5 speeds.
Task Area 3 focuses on reusable and recoverable flight test concepts, moving beyond traditional one-time-use missile tests. Stratolaunch will utilize a large air-launched platform for high-speed vehicle deployment, while Varda will develop spacecraft and reentry vehicles.
This initiative supports repeated experiments and instrumentation recovery, enhancing the hypersonic testing ecosystem. The program also includes Task Area 1 awarded to Kratos Defense for systems engineering and testing, with a future Task Area 2 expected to expand test vehicle options.
