SpaceX rideshare mission that launched 32 payloads, including cubesats, microsats and reentry vehicles, on a Falcon 9 from SLC-40 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Among them was SpaceX's Starfall return capsule on its second flight, the last payload to deploy. The first stage booster, on its 19th flight, landed on the A Shortfall of Gravitas droneship.
The launch date was Tuesday, October 20, 2026 at 11:04 AM (UTC).
Starfall Demo
Starfall is SpaceX's uncrewed, mass-producible reentry capsule designed to return up to 1,000 kg of customer payloads from orbit, aimed at in-space manufacturing and experiment recovery. The disk-shaped vehicle measures 3.1 m across and 0.75 m tall, carries no propulsion of its own, only some attitude control thrusters, and it first flew on a Falcon 9 demo mission in June 2026 with a successful Pacific splashdown and recovery.
On Bandwagon 5, the Starfall capsule is expected to be last payload to be deployed, 2 hours and 48 minutes after liftoff.