AFRL Recovers Starfall Cargo Pods After Pacific Splashdown

The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory said it recovered Starfall’s cargo pods after the capsule splashed down in the Pacific Ocean. The pods carried equipment for testing as part of AFRL’s work on rapid, point-to-point cargo delivery.

Key details

• SpaceX launched Starfall aboard a Falcon 9 on October 20, 2026, as part of the Bandwagon-5 rideshare mission from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station.
• The pods carried representative military and emergency-response items, including medical supplies, food rations, survival equipment, batteries, a satellite-communications tracker and a water desalination device.
• Sensors recorded temperature, shock and vibration during launch and the return to Earth.
• Starfall measures about 3.1 meters in diameter and can return up to 1,000 kilograms of cargo, according to an FAA environmental assessment cited in reporting.

Starfall can return up to 1,000 kilograms of cargo, according to an FAA environmental assessment cited in reporting.

Why it matters

AFRL plans to assess the mission data through its Rocket Cargo work. Measurements of how equipment experienced launch and return can help the laboratory evaluate rocket-based transport for moving cargo between distant locations.

What happens next

AFRL’s review of the mission data will add to its Rocket Cargo work on point-to-point delivery. Which types of cargo would benefit most from this approach?