Arc
A reusable lifting-body spacecraft that would store about 500 pounds of cargo in orbit for years and then fly it down to a precise landing spot on demand.
Why it matters
Supplies staged in orbit could reach a spot anywhere on Earth faster than an aircraft could fly there. The same vehicle can carry hypersonic experiments through reentry and be flown again.
How the technology works
Arc sits in orbit until called. It fires a deorbit engine, steers through reentry at more than Mach 20 using control flaps and thrusters, then deploys a steerable parachute.
Inversion says it can travel more than 1,000 km during reentry and land within 50 feet of its target.
Sources
Updated Oct 21, 2026 · How we source facts · Suggest a correction