Inversion Space aims to deliver cargo anywhere on Earth in under an hour 

A Los Angeles-based startup wants to make same-hour global delivery a reality using spacecraft.

Inversion Space revealed its Arc spacecraft on October 2, 2025, describing it as the world’s first orbital delivery vehicle. The company says Arc could drop up to 500 pounds of cargo to almost any point on the planet in less than an hour.

The idea sounds like science fiction, but Inversion insists it’s within reach. The spacecraft will sit parked in low Earth orbit with its pre-loaded cargo, waiting for a signal to re-enter the atmosphere and parachute to its destination. That could be a battlefield, a remote research station, or a disaster zone cut off from traditional supply lines.

Inversion Space CEO Justin Fiaschetti said the goal is to deliver cargo when and where it matters most, adding that the company’s focus is on “mission-enabling cargo or effects” such as medical supplies, drones, or communications gear.

Founded in 2021 by Fiaschetti and Austin Briggs, both former Boston University students, Inversion has grown from a student project into a 60-person company backed by investors including Y Combinator, Spark Capital, and Lockheed Martin Ventures. The pair met while studying aerospace engineering and set out to build reusable reentry vehicles capable of returning materials — and now, cargo — from orbit.

The Arc spacecraft is four feet wide and eight feet tall and shaped like a lifting body, which allows it to maneuver as it reenters the atmosphere. It doesn’t need a runway; instead, it descends under parachutes and uses non-toxic propellants so personnel can approach it immediately after it touches down.

The company tested many of Arc’s core systems earlier this year using a smaller demonstration spacecraft called Ray. That vehicle launched aboard a SpaceX rideshare mission in January 2025. Although Ray did not complete a controlled landing, Inversion said it successfully demonstrated orbital operations and propulsion, providing key data for the Arc program.

The company has since built a full-scale manufacturing development unit of Arc’s primary structure and completed drop tests to validate its design. Inversion plans to launch the first Arc mission by the end of 2026.

According to the company, the spacecraft could support defense, commercial, and humanitarian operations by providing rapid access to supplies from orbit. The US military has explored similar concepts for years, seeking faster global logistics options that bypass traditional transport routes.

Still, turning that concept into a reliable system won’t be easy. Returning spacecraft safely through Earth’s atmosphere is one of aerospace’s toughest challenges, and Inversion will have to show it can do so repeatedly, precisely, and affordably.

Other startups, including Varda Space Industries and Outpost, are also developing small reusable capsules for orbital return missions. Inversion’s approach focuses squarely on logistics — transforming low Earth orbit into a high-speed global delivery network.

“Space is hard,” Fiaschetti said. “But if we can make this work, it will change how the world moves things.”The post Inversion Space aims to deliver cargo anywhere on Earth in under an hour  appeared first on AeroTime.

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