A new spacecraft company called Inversion has unveiled its innovative “on-demand” delivery vehicle, Arc. This spacecraft is designed to provide the US military with the ability to deliver up to 500 pounds (225 kg) of supplies almost anywhere in the world in under an hour. Inversion was founded in 2021 by Justin Fiaschetti and Austin Briggs, both former students at Boston University.
With backgrounds at SpaceX and Relativity Space, they decided to start Inversion to leverage the economic value of space by using it to deliver physical cargo. Three years after its launch, the company, now with 25 employees, created a small demonstration spacecraft named “Ray.” Ray launched with SpaceX’s Transporter-12 mission earlier this year. The 200-pound (90 kg) test spacecraft performed well but will not make a controlled landing, instead continuing to test software in orbit.
With the Ray test deemed successful, Inversion is moving forward with the production of the larger Arc vehicle.
Inversion’s innovative Arc spacecraft logistics
Arc, about the size of a large tabletop at 4 feet wide and 8 feet tall, is targeted for launch by the end of 2026.
“The nominal mission for us is pre-positioning Arcs in orbit, having them stay up there for up to five years, ready to be called upon and autonomously land wherever and whenever they’re needed,” said Justin Fiaschetti, co-founder and chief executive of Inversion. The Arc spacecraft is a lifting body vehicle designed to maneuver in the atmosphere and land under parachutes without needing a runway. Its propulsion system uses non-toxic materials, allowing immediate handling after landing.
The military sees potential in Arc for delivering a variety of mission-critical supplies, from medical equipment to drones. Fiaschetti emphasized the importance of the cargo making a difference at the moment it’s needed. Inversion has already built a “full-scale manufacturing development unit of the primary structure” for the first Arc vehicle.
With a team now 60 people strong, Inversion is determined to bring the Arc spacecraft to market—a challenging yet potentially transformative endeavor in the field of space logistics.
