SpaceX Launches Starfall Cargo Delivery Capsule
June 23rd, 2026Via: Ars Technica:
Most of what we know about Starfall comes from the FAA’s environmental assessment. In that document, the FAA writes that Starfall will “enable point-to-point delivery of critical cargo through space on rapid timelines” and provide access to space for commercial in-space manufacturing, a nascent market that, so far, is largely geared toward pharmaceuticals. Starfall could bring those materials back to Earth for commercial use. A private company named Varda Space Industries is already working in this area.
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The Starfall vehicle is cylindrical in shape, with a diameter of 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) and a height of 2.5 feet (0.75 meters). Starfall weighs approximately 4,600 pounds (2.1 metric tons) with a capacity for about 2,200 pounds (1 metric ton) of payload, for a total weight of 6,800 pounds (3.1 metric tons). Designed exclusively for cargo, Starfall is smaller than SpaceX’s human-rated Crew Dragon spacecraft, which ferries astronauts to and from the International Space Station.
