Inversion Space

Ray

Retired

The 20-inch pathfinder capsule that flew Inversion's first orbital mission on SpaceX's Transporter-12 in January 2025. It validated avionics, solar power, the propulsion system, and an in-house separation mechanism on orbit, but a short circuit prevented the deorbit engine from igniting, so the planned reentry and recovery never happened. Its flight data underpins the Arc design.

Latest update Jul 29, 2026

Ray

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Current status

Flew January 2025; subsystems validated on orbit, reentry objective not achieved

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Upcoming milestones1

Announced next steps from Inversion Space that mention Ray.

  1. 2027

    First orbital flight of Arc

    Target2027 (no earlier than)

    The mission that decides whether the company has a product: launching Arc, holding it on orbit, deorbiting under control, surviving a Mach 20-plus reentry, and landing under parachute close to a target. Ray never got past the deorbit burn, so this is the first real test of the reentry stack end to end. At the October 2025 unveiling Inversion targeted 2026; on September 10, 2026 CEO Justin Fiaschetti told Payload the first in-space demonstration is now planned no earlier than 2027. Watch for a launch assignment and an FAA reentry license for the Arc configuration.

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