John Carmack founds Armadillo Aerospace, a company dedicated to developing reusable launch vehicles for suborbital spaceflight. He self-funds the company, driven by his personal passion for space exploration.

Armadillo Aerospace participates in NASA's Lunar Lander Challenge, a competition designed to encourage the development of reusable lunar landers. The company achieves significant progress and wins several stages of the competition.

Armadillo Aerospace is renamed Exos Aerospace. The company shifts its focus towards developing suborbital reusable rockets for research and development purposes.

Exos Aerospace continues to develop and test reusable rockets, aiming to provide affordable and reliable access to suborbital space for researchers and other organizations. While Carmack's direct involvement decreases as his focus shifts to AGI, his initial vision and funding continue to influence the company's direction.