SpaceX Launches Secretive New Spacecraft Shaped Like Flying Saucer

SpaceX has launched a new, saucer-shaped reentry spacecraft in a highly secretive mission that departs from its usual livestream-heavy tests. In the early hours of Tuesday, a Falcon 9 rocket launched the flying saucer-shaped capsule dubbed Starfall from the Space Force Station in Cape Canaveral. While SpaceX provided a brief livestream of the initial launch, it did not show the upper stage reaching space, leaving critical parts of the mission undisclosed. The capsule measures about 10 feet across and 2 feet tall, and an FAA environmental assessment from last month described it as a microgravity lab for in-space manufacturing and products development. SpaceX later posted that Starfall deployment was confirmed, but it did not say whether the capsule survived reentry or was recovered. The Pentagon has long shown interest in related concepts, and SpaceX has defense contracts such as Project Cargo that could use Starship to deliver supplies globally.