SpaceX launched a demonstration mission Tuesday to send a reusable capsule into space and then recover it, part of a new program that may allow the Elon Musk-led company to tap into the emerging market of in-space manufacturing.
Under the Starfall program, which Bloomberg first reported on last year, SpaceX would bring products such as pharmaceutical components to space in small, uncrewed capsules atop its workhorse Falcon 9 rocket. Eventually, SpaceX aims to use its massive Starship launch system for the program.
The Starfall capsules would spend time in orbit before reentering the atmosphere, where they could be recovered back on Earth. SpaceX launched the first of these capsules shortly before 6:55 a.m. local time from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida.
The cylinder-shaped capsule, designed to carry as much as 2,200 pounds (1,000 kilograms), is expected to land off the US West Coast with the assistance of parachutes.
The Starfall program would allow companies to take advantage of the unique conditions of space, specifically microgravity and higher radiation levels, which can provide a new environment for manufacturing pharmaceutical drugs, semiconductors, food and beauty products.
