Overview
- A Falcon 9 lifted from Cape Canaveral on Tuesday, June 23, 2026, carrying at least one Starfall capsule that will complete two orbits before a planned Pacific water reentry and recovery.
- FAA filings describe the capsule as roughly 3 meters across and 0.75 meters tall with a vehicle mass near 1.4 tonnes, a heat shield of about 700 kg, cold-gas attitude thrusters, and room for about 1,000 kg of payload.
- The FAA initially approved two demonstration flights with Pacific splashdowns roughly 1,300 kilometers off the coasts of California and Mexico and required boat teams to recover the capsule, heat shield and parachute systems after water landings.
- SpaceX has offered few public details about Starfall, so most operational and technical information in public reporting comes from FAA environmental and approval documents rather than company disclosures.
- Industry and defense analysts see Starfall as part of a growing market for orbital manufacturing and fast rocket logistics, with potential uses for high-value goods and Pentagon programs exploring rapid global delivery by rocket.