USAF Tests Dropping Cargo Pods from Orbit with SpaceX Starfall Capsule

The point-to-point delivery approach could let forces resupply almost anywhere without sending aircraft and crews into harm's way.

The US Air Force Research Lab has run a test showing that cargo can be delivered from orbit to a chosen location, as part of its Rocket Cargo programme. A SpaceX Starfall capsule carrying a payload of rations, water, a satellite-linked tracker and spare batteries launched from Cape Canaveral on the Bandwagon-5 rideshare flight aboard a Falcon 9, then splashed down in the Pacific. The point-to-point approach could let forces resupply almost anywhere without putting aircraft and crews at risk, which matters most in active combat zones. The Starfall capsule holds up to 2,200 pounds, and the Air Force hopes to raise that to tens of tons, a step that depends on SpaceX's Starship, still in development. Sierra Space is pursuing a parallel system, the Ghost reentry vehicle, which has already completed drop tests from altitudes of 35,000 and 68,500 feet.