Spacex happily shakes the space world, but should not obscure the new actors who try to impose ideas and services. The last investment has just submitted a delivery vehicle on request, called ARC.
However, this system does not intend to deliver its latest online purchases, at least not, but to provide customer armies what they need in an emergency. “The ARC redefines the defensive reactivity by giving access to any point in the world in less than an hour,” explains the company in a message about X. The charges delivered must obviously be essential and destined to areas where the limits of infrastructure and the complex environment avoid more conventional logistics.
Therefore, ARC takes the form of a kind of reusable module. Internally developed for less than one million dollars, this capsule of approximately 1.2 m wide for 2.5 m long is capable of transporting up to 225 kg of equipment.
“The nominal mission for us is the preposition arches in low orbit, and keep them there up to five years,” said Justin Fiaschetti, co -founder and general manager of the company in an interview with Ars Technica. “Then they can be called and, therefore, descend and land independently there and when you need them.” A module can cover a wide area of one thousand kilometers, move at a hypersonic speed, beyond Mach 5, to the approach point. Important point, the propulsion system uses non -toxic materials, which will allow soldiers to be able to approach the module directly, without special equipment.
He arrived at the site, Arc opens a parachute and lets himself descend to the ground as close as possible from where the team that called it is located.
A versatile module
When in space, the ARC module can play the role of the reusable satellite. Can you also capture, as in James Bond? – o Implement elements. It is able to arise from other spacecraft and, of course, vary its orbit thanks to the propellants.
To the question that the army could put in space while waiting to need it, Justin Fiaschetti indicates that its module can transport a wide variety of positions, medical equipment, drones, etc. For him, the essential criteria of choice is “What makes the difference when we need it and when he returns to the ground? What does soldiers and national security need before the fight?”
At the moment, the investment has begun to produce the first modules in an industrial way, but its long -term objective is “to create a global logistics network on request.” We are still far enough from 2 Tloys Helldivers, but if the investment manages to populate the sky of its modules, military operations could change deeply and the star of the stars knows a new turn.
A few years ago, Elon Musk talked about his desire to create reusable rockets that could allow troops to be deployed anywhere in the world in less than an hour. A first strategic use, before opening this service to some rich users. The Spacex chief also seems to consider that space is the best way to access the earth as quickly as possible.
Source: BFM TV
