The company said Arc will allow the rapid delivery of mission-critical cargo and effects to remote, infrastructure-limited or denied environments, establishing space as a new logistics domain that offers unmatched speed, reach and resilience for national security.
Featuring a flexible payload bay, Arc is built to carry a wide range of defence and commercial payloads. Once deployed into low-Earth orbit, constellations of Arc spacecraft can be positioned and scaled to meet customer needs. On command, the vehicles autonomously descend from orbit, manoeuvre through hypersonic re-entry, and land safely under parachutes.
“With massive cross-range to cover great distances during re-entry and high manoeuvrability throughout every phase of flight, Arc delivers a transportation capability that has never existed before,” said Justin Fiaschetti, co-founder and chief executive officer of Inversion. “We see a future where thousands of Arc spacecraft form a logistics network that provides transformative reach, resilience and deterrence for the United States and its allies.”
Beyond its logistics role, Arc also offers advanced hypersonic testing capabilities including manoeuvrability at Mach 20+, extended time on condition and sustained high g-loading. As the United States makes hypersonic testing a national priority, Arc’s unique performance allows for more accurate simulation of next-generation threat trajectories.
Fully reusable and capable of precise landings for rapid recovery, Arc makes hypersonic testing faster, repeatable and more cost-effective. Inversion’s selection for the Kratos-led MACH-TB 2.0 Program of Record highlighted the spacecraft’s growing importance within the US hypersonic testing ecosystem.
Arc builds on the proven foundation of Inversion’s first spacecraft, Ray, which reached orbit in January 2025. Ray validated key technical subsystems, including avionics, solar panels, propulsion and a proprietary separation system. Remarkably, the spacecraft was designed and built by a 25-person team for under US$1 million (AU$1.5 million), demonstrating Inversion’s capacity to deliver high-performance space systems at exceptionally low cost.
At the official unveiling, Inversion co-founders Justin Fiaschetti and Austin Briggs revealed a full-scale mock-up of Arc, showcased engineering hardware and detailed the spacecraft’s unique mission applications and technical milestones.
“Our team is on track to fly Arc’s first mission in 2026,” said Austin Briggs, co-founder and chief technology officer. “We’ve built a full-scale manufacturing development unit, completed our first mission profile and conducted dozens of drop tests to refine precision landings. We’ve also finalised advanced aerodynamic modelling, detailed component design, and partnered with NASA to develop a next-generation thermal protection system for extreme re-entry conditions. Every milestone brings Arc closer to operational readiness.”
While defence remains the immediate focus, Inversion’s long-term ambition is to create a global logistics network in space, enabling the rapid movement of goods, data and materials anywhere on Earth. Over time, the same infrastructure could support commercial markets, providing a logistics backbone that connects communities and economies at unprecedented speed.
“History shows that every leap in logistics – from railways to aviation – has reshaped economies and created industries few could have imagined at the start,” Fiaschetti said. “Arc represents the next leap, establishing a logistics network in space that will make Earth radically more accessible.”
Headquartered in Los Angeles, Inversion is pioneering a new generation of highly manoeuvrable re-entry vehicles to make Earth more connected and resilient. Backed by Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures, and working alongside the US Space Force and NASA, the company is redefining what’s possible in space-based logistics, defence readiness and hypersonic research.