Overview
- Ray, a roughly 90 kg test craft, successfully raised and lowered its orbit, remains power positive, and will stay in space for long-term software testing rather than return to Earth.
- Arc is designed as a lifting-body vehicle with about 1,000 km cross-range during reentry and parachute recovery that eliminates the need for a runway.
- The propulsion system uses non-toxic materials so recovery teams can approach immediately after landing without protective gear.
- Inversion says it has built a full-scale manufacturing development unit for Arc’s primary structure and is scaling with a team of about 60 employees.
- The company targets a first Arc launch by the end of 2026 and pitches mission-enabling deliveries for defense customers, highlighting an actively controlled parachute, an in-house AI-guided flight computer for precise landings, and NASA collaboration on thermal protection systems.