SpaceX launches Starfall, a disk-shaped capsule built to return cargo from orbit
SpaceX has launched Starfall, a flat, disk-shaped capsule designed to return cargo from orbit and, in time, deliver critical supplies almost anywhere on Earth fast. The demo aims to prove fast, reliable return from space and to open up commercial in-space manufacturing. The capsu
SpaceX has put a brand new kind of spacecraft in orbit. Called Starfall, it is a flat disk about three meters across and under a meter tall, launched on a Falcon 9 from Cape Canaveral. SpaceX confirmed the capsule separated and reached orbit roughly three hours after liftoff. The empty vehicle weighs around 2,100 kilograms and can carry up to 1,000 kilograms of payload. The demo has two goals: to show that cargo can be returned safely and on a fast schedule from orbit, and to open up in-space manufacturing by giving companies access to microgravity and vacuum plus a reliable way to bring their products home. SpaceX wants to offer return from orbit as a service, and further down the line the same design could deliver critical cargo point to point through space. The capsule is set to splash down in the Pacific, where recovery teams will retrieve it by boat.