SpaceX is getting ready to test reentry vehicles that could be used for in-orbit manufacturing, tapping into a potentially lucrative industry that’s slowly gaining momentum.

The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) approved test flights of SpaceX’s Starfall, an uncrewed capsule designed to perform research and development in the microgravity environment, as well as provide point-to-point cargo delivery. SpaceX has shared little information about Starfall, but recent FAA documents reveal some new details about the ongoing project.

An early look at Starfall

Bloomberg first reported on the Starfall program last year, describing plans to use SpaceX’s Starship rocket to launch the capsules and develop commercial products, like pharmaceutical components, in space.

Based on the FAA documents, the capsules are shaped like a disk measuring 10.2 feet (3.1 meters) wide and 2.5 feet (0.75 meters) tall. They are made of an aluminum top plate and a carbon-fiber heat shield to protect the payload during reentry.

The capsules will be able to carry up to 2,205 pounds (1,000 kilograms) worth of payloads each within a volume of 8.2 by 4.9 by 1.6 feet (2.5 by 1.5 by 0.5 meters). SpaceX plans on using either its Falcon 9 or Starship rocket to launch the capsules to orbit. The capsules will complete reentry using a single main parachute, along with pilot and drogue parachutes, while the heat shield jettisons off before splashdown.

The FAA approved two reentries of the Starfall capsules into the Pacific Ocean off the coast of California. Once the capsules splash down, SpaceX teams will recover them from the water.

New business

While the FAA documents do not state when the test flights are set to take place or mention follow-up missions, the agency describes “a mass producible reentry vehicle.” SpaceX plans on making Starfall operational by the end of the decade, according to the Bloomberg report.

With Starfall, SpaceX would add in-orbit manufacturing to its business portfolio. The idea of in-orbit manufacturing has been around for decades, using the microgravity environment to manufacture materials that would otherwise be impossible to produce on Earth.

California-based startup Varda Space Industries is currently pioneering the in-orbit manufacturing industry. Varda has flown six of its W-series in-space manufacturing capsules to Earth orbit and recently signed a deal with a pharmaceutical company to explore developing new, improved versions of its drugs in space.

The industry, however, is still in its infancy. SpaceX is not only developing its own capsules, but it also has a major advantage over competitors thanks to its fleet of rockets, which gives the company easy access to orbit. Varda, on the other hand, relies on SpaceX to launch its W-series capsules.

Although still in the beginning phases of development, Starfall has the potential to make a big splash with its reentry.