WORLDTECHSpace & Science SINGLE SOURCE
US Air Force lab completes SpaceX capsule test for orbital survival kit drop
The US Air Force Research Laboratory, AFRL, has finished a trial in which an orbital SpaceX Starfall reentry capsule was used to carry out a drop from space, according to a report.
Capsule used in the trial
The AFRL conducted the test using a Starfall reentry capsule from SpaceX while it was in orbit, an approach that bears on the long-standing idea of sending aid to people in need from above.
SpaceX is a space company based in Hawthorne and was founded in 2002.
Why the concept draws interest
Shipwrecked sailors have long wished that a survival kit including a liferaft could fall from the sky to reach them, and the trial speaks directly to that wish.
Open questions
- What did the test find beyond its completion?
- Under what conditions would such a delivery be used in practice?