Technical Details
The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has revealed new details about SpaceX's Starfall project. The project involves a reusable space capsule that can return cargo from orbit to Earth. In the future, such capsules could be used for conducting experiments and producing materials in space, as well as for quickly delivering cargo between different points on the planet.
Background and Context
On May 15, the FAA approved the environmental assessment of two test missions for Starfall, and on May 29, it published the relevant documents. This has made the first details of the program known, about which SpaceX had previously said almost nothing.
Industry Impact
According to the published materials, Starfall is a pilotless capsule of a disc-like shape. It is planned to be launched on Falcon 9 and Starship rockets. After being put into orbit, the apparatus will be able to perform scientific and production tasks in microgravity conditions, and then return to Earth together with the payload. The FAA documents state that SpaceX considers Starfall as the basis for a whole family of serial returnable devices.