Starfall drops the goods

The success of the SpaceX reusable rocket, Starship, has given them a unique capability: to hold cargo in orbit, ready to be delivered anywhere in the world at a moment’s notice. Not just to landing zones or spaceports.

They call it Starfall and this is how it works. Specially adapted Starship freighters are fitted with dozens of re-entry pods loaded with supplies. When the need arises, a pod can be released to de-orbit and land at a target location, using parachutes, similar to an airdrop. Within 30 minutes. Anywhere.

Naturally the military was one of the first customers for Starfall, but it’s also proving to be invaluable for responding to natural disasters and emergencies like floods and earthquakes. And the pods are reusable, so it’s cost effective.

But the bigger opportunity is delivering specialized products to Earth that are made in space. Like semiconductor crystals and retinal implants, that are almost impossible to manufacture under normal gravity conditions. Starfall has reduced the cost of retrieving these products by a hundredfold, making them commercially viable, and very profitable.

Not to be outdone, China has started build-to-order fabbing on their newest space station module. Although China’s Landspace rocket can’t match Starship’s capabilities, they are offering similar delivery pricing with their SkyPod service. It remains to be seen if SkyPod will be able to sustain their schedules, as the pods aren’t fully reusable, but for now, customers are welcoming the competition.

With Starfall and SkyPod delivering the goods, the business of space freight and orbital factories is set to boom. And the space economy is taking off.