Inversion Space targets military market with ‘space warehouse’

WASHINGTON — Inversion Space, a startup founded in 2021, aims to revolutionize military logistics with its “warehouse in space” concept. The company envisions deploying reusable reentry capsules to store cargo in orbit and deliver it to any point on Earth within an hour.

The Pathfinder mission, dubbed Ray, is scheduled to launch as early as October on a SpaceX Transporter-12 rideshare mission. Funded by Inversion $10 million seed roundco-founder and CEO Justin Fiaschetti said Ray plans to test technology to support the development of larger capsules.

Inversion envisions itself as a “warehousing and transportation company,” Fiaschetti said. space news. “We store cargo in space and deliver it within an hour when needed,” he said. Capsules can carry everything from medical supplies and battlefield equipment to small surveillance drones.

Department of Defense wants speed and autonomy

“The military always needs fast and accurate cargo delivery around the world,” Fiaschetti said, highlighting why the company considers the Department of Defense a key customer. Following successful deployment to military customers, Inversion expects to reduce costs and enable commercialization in sectors such as civil aviation and cruise lines.

Mr. Fiaschetti declined to disclose specific customers, but the U.S. Air Force Identify potential hires. “Close communication with potential customers was very important,” he said. “We understand what kind of cargo they need and the most important thing is speed and autonomy.” He said that autonomy is key to ensuring accurate landings even in the face of severe weather conditions.

Inversion is designing the capsule to be interoperable with commercial launch vehicles, but payload details have not yet been disclosed.

Even though the company is developing products for military use, Inversion did not seek government funding for its development, Fiaschetti said.

“I don’t see the risk of adoption. I don’t see the risk that customers won’t want this,” he said, placing the key challenge as one of execution rather than generating interest.

“Building the product, scaling production, reducing costs, and getting it in the air regularly and reliably for our customers, this is execution,” Fiaschetti said.

Upcoming test missions

For the upcoming Ray mission, the compact capsule will remain in orbit for several weeks undergoing checkouts before initiating a deorbit burn with its onboard rocket engine.

If all goes according to plan, it will re-enter the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds, deploying a pair of parachutes developed in-house by Inversion, and fall gently off the coast of California.

The flight is intended to verify critical reentry technology ahead of construction of Inversion’s heavy cargo vehicle, the specifications of which have not yet been disclosed.

The 25-employee startup believes its vision of orbital warehouses and rapid delivery has a viable future. “People are already spending money on transportation,” Fiaschetti said. “Let’s give them a better way.”

Mr. Fiaschetti is a former SpaceX and Relativity Space propulsion engineer. Austin Briggs, Inversion’s co-founder and chief technology officer, was a propulsion engineer at ABL Space Systems.