SpaceX Starfall is an uncrewed capsule built to return up to 1,000 kg of cargo from orbit and splash down under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is the source for most of what is public about it, through an environmental assessment signed on 15 May 2026 that covers two Starfall landings.
SpaceX has said little in public. Flight reporting comes mainly from Spaceflight Now, which covered the first launch on 23 June 2026 and the Bandwagon-5 rideshare in October 2026, the flight that news headlines call Starfall’s second launch.
What SpaceX Starfall Is
SpaceX Starfall is an uncrewed cargo capsule designed to carry up to 1,000 kg back from orbit and land under parachutes in the Pacific Ocean. The figures come from the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) Final Environmental Assessment (EA) for Starfall reentry vehicle operations, dated May 2026. The responsible FAA official signed it on 15 May 2026.
| Attribute | Figure from the FAA EA |
|---|---|
| Shape | Cylindrical capsule |
| Height | About 0.75 m (2.5 ft) |
| Diameter | About 3.1 m (10.2 ft) |
| Empty mass | About 2,100 kg (4,600 lb) |
| Payload capacity | 1,000 kg (2,200 lb) |
| Loaded mass | About 3,100 kg (6,800 lb) |
| Propulsion | No traditional propulsion system |
| Attitude control | Compressed inert gas (nitrogen) |
| Parachutes | One pilot, one drogue, one main |
| Launch vehicles | Falcon 9 or Starship-Super Heavy |
| Crew | Not designed or intended for human spaceflight |
The numbers describe a flat capsule. Divide the diameter by the height (3.1 ÷ 0.75) and Starfall comes out about 4.1 times as wide as it is tall. Payload makes up about a third of the loaded mass, since 1,000 kg of a 3,100 kg total is roughly 32 percent.
Starfall has no traditional propulsion, so SpaceX would launch it as a payload on Falcon 9 or Starship-Super Heavy, either to low Earth orbit (LEO) or on a direct sub-orbital trajectory. Launch would happen from an FAA-licensed site or another government facility under a separate license.
Coming back is regulated separately. SpaceX needs an FAA vehicle operator license to reenter Starfall, and the EA covers a Proposed Action of two Starfall landings in the Pacific, including reentry, splashdown and recovery. The FAA is the lead agency, and the U.S. Coast Guard is a cooperating agency.
Starfall on the Bandwagon-5 Rideshare
Several news headlines describe Bandwagon-5 as Starfall’s second launch, but the main published account of the flight does not confirm by name that Starfall was deployed. Spaceflight Now reported that the Falcon 9 rideshare carried 32 payloads from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral. Starfall was one of them, alongside 31 other customer payloads.
The first attempt did not fly. On Monday 19 October, SpaceX scrubbed at 4:07 a.m. EDT (08:07 UTC) because of poor weather in the booster recovery zone. The new target was Tuesday 20 October at 7:04 a.m. EDT (11:04 UTC).
Booster B1085 flew the mission on its 19th flight and targeted the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about nine minutes after liftoff. Spaceflight Now’s update says SpaceX deployed all customer payloads at 8:45 a.m. EDT (12:45 UTC) on 20 October.
| Claim about Bandwagon-5 | Status in Spaceflight Now’s report |
|---|---|
| Starfall was manifested on the flight | Stated |
| 19 October attempt scrubbed for recovery-zone weather | Stated |
| All customer payloads deployed at 8:45 a.m. EDT on 20 October | Stated |
| Liftoff time | Not reported |
| Booster landing result | Not reported |
| Starfall itself deployed | Not explicitly confirmed |
| What Starfall carried | SpaceX did not say which payloads, if any, flew |
| Starfall splashdown or recovery | Not reported |
The same flight carried a second reentry capsule. Varda’s W-7 is about one-third the size of Starfall, according to Spaceflight Now, and is Varda’s ninth capsule. It carried a Protac solubility experiment.
The full payload list is in the Bandwagon-5 explainer. How SpaceX’s rideshare flights work in general is covered in the SpaceX rideshare program explainer.
How a SpaceX Starfall Reentry Works
A Starfall reentry depends on attitude control, a heat shield and three parachutes, and the capsule has no traditional propulsion system. The EA states that capsules of this kind cannot de-orbit themselves and can only control their attitude. The EA mentions “de-orbit propulsion of the capsule attitude control system” only in its air-emissions section.
The EA’s steps run in this order:
- Pointing. A compressed inert gas system, using nitrogen, turns Starfall so the heat shield faces the right way for reentry.
- Venting. Pressurized systems are vented before splashdown.
- Descent. The pilot parachute deploys the drogue parachute. The main parachute then slows Starfall for splashdown.
- Splashdown. Starfall lands in a reentry area about 700 nautical miles (nm) off the U.S. west coast, in international waters. Specific splashdown points depend on the mission.
- Recovery. A locator beacon helps crews find Starfall. A pre-positioned recovery vessel of up to 200 ft (61 m) and rigid-hulled inflatable boats of about 3.7 m are used.
The reentry area has set limits. The EA places it outside marine protected areas and more than 200 nm from other countries and from Hawaii.
Recovery covers more than the capsule body. SpaceX plans to retrieve the major components, including the pilot, drogue and main parachutes, the top plate and the heat shield. If recovery fails, the EA allows those components to be fully expended.
The June 23 First Flight
Starfall first flew on 23 June 2026, lifting off at 6:53 a.m. EDT (1053 UTC) on a Falcon 9 from Space Launch Complex 40 at Cape Canaveral, according to Spaceflight Now. Booster B1078 flew its 29th mission. It landed on the droneship A Shortfall of Gravitas about nine minutes after liftoff.
SpaceX’s update said it confirmed deployment of the Starfall capsule. SpaceX ended its public timeline after the booster landing and did not show the upper stage or the payload. Spaceflight Now reported that SpaceX had not said how long Starfall would stay in orbit or whether it carried customer payloads.
The broadcast gave one description of Starfall’s role. SpaceX commentator Zachary Luppen called it “a new spacecraft called Starfall” and described it as a microgravity lab for researchers and entrepreneurs, per Spaceflight Now. Spaceflight Now’s coverage does not report a reentry, splashdown or recovery for that flight.
What Starfall Is For
Starfall is meant to return goods from space, and the FAA EA gives two stated purposes for the program. The first is to enable point-to-point delivery of critical cargo through space on rapid timelines. The second is to create a self-sustaining commercial in-space manufacturing market.
The two planned reentries are framed as a test. The EA says SpaceX seeks to perform them “to demonstrate capabilities for future transport and delivery of goods through space.”
Spaceflight Now described a SpaceX IPO roadshow graphic labeled “In-orbit manufacturing” that appears to show a satellite bus with slots for up to four Starfall capsules, and Redwire reportedly said on 6 August 2026 that SpaceMD will carry up to 32 PIL-BOX units on Starfall, with launch timing targeted for 2028.
The wider market for factories in orbit is covered in the in-space manufacturing explainer. SpaceX’s company finances are covered separately in the SpaceX Q3 2026 earnings explainer.
What SpaceX Has Not Published About Starfall
SpaceX has not published several commercial and operational details about Starfall:
- Price per flight
- Customer list
- Payload manifests for either flight
- Planned flight cadence
- Who funds the program
- Reentry and recovery results, if any
Spaceflight Now’s coverage does not state that a Starfall capsule has splashed down or been recovered. The EA describes recovery as planned, and the flights are known through launch reports and, for the first flight, SpaceX’s deployment confirmation.