WASHINGTON — Impulse Space, a startup specializing in in-space transportation services, has secured a $34.5 million contract to support two U.S. military space missions set for 2026, the Defense Department announced Oct. 3.
The deal, awarded under a Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) Phase 3 agreement, is funded by the U.S. Space Force and the Defense Innovation Unit (DIU).
Under the contract, Impulse Space will deploy two orbital transfer vehicles (OTVs) that will carry space surveillance payloads for missions intended to enhance U.S. military capabilities in space domain awareness. One mission will be launched to low Earth orbit (LEO) while the other will go to geosynchronous transfer orbit (GTO). These efforts are part of the U.S. Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program, which is designed to leverage commercial technologies for the rapid deployment of satellites and other assets in response to national security needs.
The announcement comes shortly after Impulse Space announced it raised $150 million in Series B funding. The company, founded in 2021 by former SpaceX rocket propulsion engineer Tom Mueller, counts RTX Ventures, the venture capital arm of Raytheon Technologies, among its investors.
Impulse Space’s core business revolves around the development of orbital transfer vehicles, which are used to move satellites and other payloads to specific orbits after they have been launched. The company developed Mira, a small OTV designed for last-mile satellite deliveries from LEO to their final orbital destinations, and is also working on Helios, a larger, high-energy kick stage designed to move payloads from LEO to GEO in under 24 hours.
‘Victus Surgo’ and ‘Victus Salo’
As part of the TacRS program, Impulse Space will support two missions: Victus Surgo and Victus Salo. For Victus Surgo, the Mira vehicle will carry a commercial optical payload that will operate in geosynchronous transfer orbit after…
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