ReX orbital return vehicles recover commercial and government payloads from orbit beneath a deployable heat shield.
ReX is a series of orbital return vehicles built on a cable-tensioned hypersonic decelerator and a deployable thermal protection system, which return payload mass and volume from orbit beneath a heat shield spanning 10 to 40 metres. The line runs from the small ReX-ITD, sized for 3U cubesats, through the ReX-Heavy at 1,250 kilograms and 30 cubic metres, to the ReX-Super Heavy at 12,000 kilograms and 60 cubic metres, with capacity across the family reaching twelve tonnes.
Its differentiation is mechanical: against rigid-body capsules and mechanically deployed heat shields, ReX deploys a wider shield to return larger and bulkier payloads. The missions it targets include contested logistics, nuclear power, asset recovery, hypersonic testbed work, space station logistics, and interplanetary cargo, sold to government and commercial customers.
