Wind tunnels have been part of aviation research since before the first powered aircraft took to the skies. And there are a huge range of capabilities available to researchers, including the ability to test models are mach numbers close to orbital velocity.

I discovered the thumbnail image on a NASA page showing a Mach 20 helium wind tunnel testing a model of the Space Shuttle Orbiter and thought it was worth explaining how all this comes together to create the image.
https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/shuttle/flyout/unflyable.html

If you want to read more about the evolution of wind tunnels there's a book which primarily covers NASA's (and NACA's) wind tunnels
https://history.nasa.gov/SP-440/contents.htm

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