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2h ago

SpaceX Readies First Starfall Reentry Capsule Demo

A successful test would give SpaceX a path to sell mass-produced return logistics for in‑orbit manufacturing and rapid cargo delivery, creating a new revenue stream.

Katalyst Space’s LINK spacecraft sits inside the payload fairing of the Northrop Grumman Pegasus XL rocket at NASA's Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia ahead of its launch to boost the orbit of NASA's Neil Gehrels Swift Observatory. Credit: NASA/Ron Beard
A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket climbs on a bright exhaust plume against a clear blue sky
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Overview

  • SpaceX is targeting a demonstration launch at 6:43 a.m. ET on Tuesday, June 23, aboard a Falcon 9 using booster B1078 on its 29th flight, with a backup window the same time on June 24.
  • Federal Aviation Administration filings describe Starfall as a disk-shaped capsule about 3.1 meters wide and 0.75 meters tall that weighs roughly 2,100 kg and can carry up to 1,000 kg of payload.
  • The capsule is built from two separable halves—a 1,400 kg aluminum top plate and a 700 kg carbon-fiber heat shield that houses compressed-gas pressure vessels—and uses inert cold gas for attitude control rather than a main engine.
  • For the demo, reporting indicates Starfall will stay attached to Falcon 9’s second stage for about 1.5 orbits before the stage deorbits, Starfall is jettisoned, deploys drogue and main parachutes, and is recovered by splashdown roughly 1,300 km off the U.S. West Coast.
  • Key operational details remain unconfirmed by SpaceX, including how many capsules or customer payloads are aboard, how long the demo will stay in orbit, and the mission’s precise success criteria, while the FAA environmental assessment limits flights to two demos and supplies most technical info.