The Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL) tested point-to-point cargo delivery aboard SpaceX’s Starfall capsule, part of an effort to see whether commercial rockets can move materiel worldwide. The test flew on a commercial rideshare launch from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on Oct. 20.
Rocket Cargo is an AFRL research and development project to determine whether large commercial liquid-propellant rockets can rapidly deliver materiel anywhere on the globe on tactical timelines. A key difference from other efforts is its larger total delivery capacity of tens of tons per launch.
Inside the test capsule
The test used a SpaceX Starfall capsule fitted with instruments to measure the temperature, shock and vibration of the cargo environment. It carried AFRL agile cargo pod designs built to host various loads for point-to-point delivery anywhere on Earth.
Each pod held representative mission equipment and environmental sensors to evaluate payload integrity during launch and reentry. Researchers paid special attention to electronics and survival gear, including a SATCOM-enabled tracker, batteries, a reverse osmosis desalinator and emergency medical equipment. A SATCOM-enabled tracker reports its location over satellite links, and a reverse osmosis desalinator turns seawater into drinking water.
Engineers also checked whether a UNI-PAC III life raft would fit inside the Starfall capsule for potential use in future tests.
Brig. Gen. Douglas P. Wickert, AFRL commander and the Department of the Air Force Technology Executive Officer, called the launch another demonstration of AFRL’s partnership with industry. The goal, he said, is “to burn down risk, collect hard data and deliver war-winning technologies” for the operational force.
Adam Remaly, director of the AFRL Technology Transition Office, called the test a critical achievement in showing the potential of Rocket Cargo for rapid global mobility. He said cross-discipline collaboration and the speed of the defense industrial base are key to maximizing capability.
Built for austere sites
With tens of tons per launch, the concept could one day give the Joint Force rapid access to contested environments and austere sites without runways or roads. Potential uses include contested logistics, expeditionary operations, rescue operations, disaster relief and response to chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear hazards.
Industry partners join in
AFRL says iterative testing will aid the eventual delivery of critical cargo at speed and scale to any point on the globe. It is working with multiple commercial vendors and small businesses on near-term solutions, including SpaceX, Blue Origin, Rocket Lab, Sierra Space, Anduril, Inversion Space and Outpost Space.
AFRL is also exploring ways to leverage commercial investment in launch vehicles and commercial capsule reentry technologies for in-space manufacturing. It continues to assess rocket and reentry capsule capabilities across the commercial vendor base and is exploring uses for quickly moving critical Department of War materiel worldwide.