AFRL flies cargo capsule on SpaceX Falcon 9 in Rocket Cargo test
AFRL put a capsule of survival and medical gear on a 20 October Falcon 9 to test space cargo delivery.
A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station, Florida, on 20 October carrying a capsule with a reverse osmosis desalinator, survival gear, and emergency medical equipment. The capsule was not bound for the International Space Station. It was a test under the Air Force Research Laboratory's Rocket Cargo initiative.
AFRL said the mission used a SpaceX capsule with instrumentation to measure temperature, shock, and vibration. It carried agile cargo pod designs built for various delivery loads. The lab did not specify how many pods or how much equipment were included.
AFRL launched Rocket Cargo in 2021 to explore moving large amounts of cargo through space. The aim is a faster process that lets the Pentagon more easily reach remote or contested areas. AFRL had not announced any experiments or tests for the project until now.
Sourceairandspaceforces.com