{"id":583962,"date":"2026-07-13T20:37:11","date_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:37:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/583962\/"},"modified":"2026-07-13T20:37:11","modified_gmt":"2026-07-13T20:37:11","slug":"why-elon-musks-spacex-wants-to-keep-starfall-capsules-in-orbit-before-sending-supplies-back-to-earth","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/583962\/","title":{"rendered":"Why Elon Musk\u2019s SpaceX wants to keep Starfall capsules in orbit before sending supplies back to Earth"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Why SpaceX<\/a> is developing a new spacecraft called Starfall that could keep cargo in low-Earth orbit before delivering it to Earth when needed. The company launched the vehicle on a test flight last month, describing it as a platform designed to support scientific research, in-space manufacturing and future cargo transportation. According to documents filed as part of a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) environmental assessment, Starfall is also intended to demonstrate capabilities for transporting and delivering goods through space.During the launch, SpaceX streamed part of the mission on X but ended the broadcast after the Falcon 9 first-stage booster separated and landed. On the day of the launch, the company said, \u201cToday’s mission includes a demo of a new vehicle that will enable affordable, routine access to the microgravity environment for scientific research and in-space manufacturing. After demonstrating controlled flight, the spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean.\u201d<\/p>\n

Starfall is designed to transport cargo from orbit<\/p>\n

According to the FAA’s environmental assessment, the Starfall capsule measures approximately 2.4 feet in height, has a diameter of 10.1 feet, weighs about 4,600 pounds and can carry up to 2,200 pounds of cargo.The report states, \u201cSpaceX seeks to perform two Starfall reentries to demonstrate capabilities for future transport and delivery of goods through space.\u201dThe concept would allow a Starfall capsule to remain in low Earth orbit before re-entering the atmosphere to deliver supplies to a specific location. Such a system could be used to transport equipment, emergency supplies or other cargo to remote areas within a relatively short time after receiving a deployment command.According to information submitted to the FAA, SpaceX plans to conduct two Starfall launch-and-reentry demonstrations in the Pacific Ocean as part of the programme.<\/p>\n

Spacecraft could also support research and manufacturing in space<\/p>\n

In addition to cargo transportation, SpaceX said Starfall is intended to provide routine access to the microgravity environment for scientific research and manufacturing.Microgravity allows researchers to conduct experiments that cannot be replicated under Earth’s gravity. Research conducted in space has included studies on fuel combustion, crystal formation and dark matter, while companies have also explored manufacturing pharmaceuticals and specialised materials in orbit.The spacecraft could also support the production of materials such as Zirconium, Barium, Lanthanum, Aluminium, and Sodium (ZBLAN) optical fibre, which has been studied in microgravity because of its optical properties.By providing a reusable platform for research missions and manufacturing, Starfall could expand access to microgravity experiments beyond facilities such as the International Space Station, allowing universities, research institutions and commercial organisations to conduct space-based projects using dedicated spacecraft.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SpaceX is developing a new spacecraft called Starfall that could keep cargo in low-Earth orbit before delivering it…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":583963,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[270],"tags":[18,19,133906,17,248117,133,248120,451,2731,248116,233929,248114,248118,248119,248115],"class_list":["post-583962","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-space","tag-eire","tag-ie","tag-in-space-manufacturing","tag-ireland","tag-low-earth-orbit-cargo","tag-science","tag-scientific-research-in-space","tag-space","tag-spacex","tag-spacex-cargo-transportation","tag-spacex-starfall","tag-spacex-starfall-capsules","tag-starfall","tag-starfall-capsule-features","tag-starfall-spacecraft"],"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/pubeurope.com\/@ie\/116914596054364424","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583962","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=583962"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/583962\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/583963"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=583962"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=583962"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/ie\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=583962"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}