CAPE CANAVERAL — A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station in Florida on Tuesday at 6:53 am EDT (10:53 UTC). The rocket carried a new reentry vehicle named Starfall.

The Starfall vehicle is designed exclusively for cargo, according to a Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) environmental assessment published last month. The assessment states that Starfall is designed to support the "transport and delivery of goods through space." The document further notes that the vehicle will "enable point-to-point delivery of critical cargo through space on rapid timelines."

The Falcon 9 upper stage released the Starfall vehicle after circling the Earth two times. The vehicle targeted a parachute-assisted splashdown in the Pacific Ocean, approximately 800 miles west of California. SpaceX posted on X: "After demonstrating controlled flight, the spacecraft will splash down in the Pacific Ocean."

The Starfall vehicle is saucer-shaped and measures 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) in diameter and 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) in height. It weighs approximately 4,600 pounds (2.1 metric tons) and has a payload capacity of about 2,200 pounds (1 metric ton), bringing its total weight with payload to 6,800 pounds (3.1 metric tons). This version of the Starfall vehicle is smaller than SpaceX's Crew Dragon spacecraft and relies on its launch vehicle to guide it back into the atmosphere as it is not capable of de-orbiting itself.

The vehicle uses compressed nitrogen gas to orient its heat shield for reentry after separating from its launch vehicle. The FAA approved SpaceX's proposal for two Starfall reentry demonstrations and stated that SpaceX intends to recover the Starfall vehicle, including parachutes and heat shields, "to the maximum extent practicable." SpaceX also posted on X: "Today's mission includes a demo of a new vehicle that will enable affordable, routine access to the microgravity environment for scientific research and in-space manufacturing."