SpaceX Launches Its First Starfall Capsule (Demo) for Drug and Material Development in Microgravity

Shortly before going public, SpaceX submitted documents with various information on past, present, and future activities for analysts and investors/future shareholders. Among the new developments was the launch of Starfall capsules dedicated to the development of drugs and new materials in microgravity. This is not a new idea in itself. Tests of this kind have been conducted aboard the International Space Station, and subsequently, small capsules have also been launched by companies like Varda Space (and others).

Watch Falcon 9 launch the Starfall Demo mission to orbit from Florida. Link to Tweet

At 12:53 PM on June 23, a Falcon 9 rocket was launched from the Space Launch Complex 40 (SLC-40) at the Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida. On board was the first prototype of a Starfall capsule to begin launch and re-entry tests from orbit presumably without any production system inside but to validate the hardware. The first stage of the rocket used has completed 29 missions, bringing Crew-6, SES O3b mPOWER-B, USSF-124, BlueBird 1-5, Nusantara Lima (PSN N5), and 23 Starlink missions into orbit. The first stage successfully returned to the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas (ASOG) in the Atlantic Ocean.

As the company explained, "today's mission [June 23] includes a demonstration of a new vehicle that will enable economical and routine access to the microgravity environment for scientific research and production in space. After demonstrating controlled flight, the capsule will splash down in the Pacific Ocean."

This Starfall mission was shorter than those that will be launched into orbit in the future. In particular, the prototype capsule re-entered the Pacific Ocean around 4:40 PM the same day. Operational missions, however, will remain in space for more orbits thanks to the thrust of the Falcon 9's second stage engine (the capsule does not have its own propulsion systems), allowing SpaceX's customers to conduct tests and develop new solutions while reducing costs of sending to the ISS.

One of the particularities of this first Starfall mission is that the known payload (the capsule) had a reduced mass compared to the capabilities of the vehicle. SpaceX chose a landing on the droneship rather than returning to the launch site (RTLS), even though the first stage would have had the opportunity to do so, reducing timing and costs. Additionally, the second stage had a color typical of missions that last longer. This led to speculation that the capsule was not the only payload, although the company did not reveal further information and the payload was never shown during the streaming, leaving an air of mystery around the launch operations.