SpaceX launches Starfall return capsule for second time

SpaceX deployed its experimental Starfall capsule alongside 31 other payloads on the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Florida.

SpaceX launched the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission on October 20 at 7:04 a.m. EDT from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The Falcon 9 rocket carried 32 payloads, including the mysterious Starfall return capsule on its second flight ever.

Starfall, a disk-shaped vehicle measuring 10.2 feet wide and 2.5 feet tall, weighs approximately 4,600 pounds and can transport 2,200 pounds of payload back to Earth. According to SpaceX, the capsule will provide affordable access to microgravity for scientific research and in-space manufacturing.

The mission also carried Varda Space Industries' W-Series 7 mini-factory and Planet's Pelican-12 Earth-observation satellite among other cubesats and microsats. Payloads deployed over two hours, with Starfall separating last at two hours and 48 minutes post-launch. The Falcon 9's first stage successfully landed on a drone ship in the Atlantic Ocean.