Impulse Space
Tom Mueller
Data verified as of Jul 29, 2026
Summary
Impulse Space builds the vehicles that move payloads once a rocket has done its job, a business the company calls in-space mobility. It was founded in 2021 by Tom Mueller, SpaceX's founding propulsion engineer and the architect of the Merlin engine, and sells two vehicles: Mira, a highly maneuverable 300 kg-class orbital transfer and hosting spacecraft that has flown three missions since November 2023, and Helios, a high-energy kick stage powered by the 67 kN Deneb methalox engine that is designed to carry a payload from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit in under a day rather than the months an electric tug needs. In July 2026 the U.S. Space Force awarded Impulse a National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract, making it the first upper-stage provider ever to hold prime status in a program historically reserved for rocket companies, and in June 2026 the company raised a $500 million Series D that took total funding past $1 billion. Mira has already proven the harder operational trick: in December 2025 two Impulse Mira spacecraft performed a fully autonomous rendezvous in low Earth orbit with Starfish Space's Remora payload aboard. Helios is now targeted for its inaugural flight in 2027, and a third product line, the in-house Electra electric propulsion system, debuts alongside it.
Main Products
Orbital transfer and hosting spacecraft built for aggressive maneuvering, marketed as the most maneuverable vehicle on orbit. It delivers, deploys, and hosts payloads across LEO, MEO, GEO, and cislunar space.
Flight proven across three missions since November 2023. The debut flight raised its orbit 150 km in 75 seconds, and in December 2025 two Miras performed a fully autonomous rendezvous carrying Starfish Space's Remora payload. Bookable with a 12-month lead time.
High-energy kick stage powered by a single Deneb methalox engine, designed to take payloads from a medium-lift rocket's low Earth orbit drop-off to GEO, translunar injection, or Earth escape without waiting months on electric propulsion.
Not yet flown. Impulse expects Helios's inaugural launch in 2027, the same vehicle that will carry a Mira to geosynchronous orbit on the Space Force's VICTUS SURGO mission. It is designed to be compatible with Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, Starship, New Glenn, and Vulcan.
Impulse's first in-house electric propulsion system, built to handle long-duration stationkeeping so a spacecraft's chemical propellant stays reserved for rapid, responsive maneuvers.
Unveiled July 28, 2026 after going from concept to working system in under six months. Flight engines are being qualified for integration with Mira, and Electra is scheduled to debut in space on the GEO Express 1 mission flying as part of Caravan 1 in 2027.
What's Next
Bring the Deneb-powered high-energy kick stage through qualification to its inaugural launch. Helios is the vehicle the company's GEO and cislunar business depends on, and it also gates the Space Force's VICTUS SURGO mission, in which Helios carries a Mira from low Earth orbit to geosynchronous orbit. Impulse said in July 2026 that it expects the first Helios launch in 2027.
Fly the VICTUS SURGO and VICTUS SALO responsive missions
Execute both Tactically Responsive Space missions awarded under the $34.5M Space Systems Command contract: VICTUS SURGO, where Helios delivers a Mira carrying a commercial optical payload to geosynchronous orbit, and VICTUS SALO, a low Earth orbit mission with an MIT-built payload flying on a SpaceX Transporter rideshare.
Convert NSSL Lane 1 prime status into mission task orders
Complete the initial $5 million firm-fixed-price task order and compete for National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 missions as an upper-stage prime, the first time the program has contracted a company that does not build a rocket. The Space Force raised the Lane 1 ceiling to roughly $17 billion in July 2026.
Operations & Revenue
Mira is flight proven across three missions and bookable with a 12-month lead time, and in December 2025 two Miras completed an autonomous rendezvous on orbit. Helios has not flown; Impulse expects its inaugural launch in 2027, which also gates the VICTUS SURGO mission for Space Systems Command. The company closed a $500M Series D in June 2026, won NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 prime status in July 2026, and is scaling manufacturing across Redondo Beach, Boulder, Mojave, and a Washington DC office opened in March 2026.
Revenue Streams
Mira Orbital Transfer & Hosting Missions
Last-mile payload delivery, hosted payload operations, and on-orbit maneuvering services sold as dedicated Mira missions across LEO, MEO, GEO, and cislunar space.
Kick-stage services that lift payloads from a medium-lift rocket's LEO drop-off to GTO, GEO, translunar injection, or Earth escape, positioned as a cheaper alternative to buying a heavy-lift launch.
Annual dedicated Falcon 9 missions on which Impulse aggregates customer payloads and carries them to high-energy orbits, giving smaller operators scheduled access to GEO and beyond.
Key Metrics
Timeline
On June 3, 2026 Impulse closes a $500 million Series D co-led by 137 Ventures and BANNER VC with participation from Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Linse Capital, bringing total capital raised to more than $1 billion. The company says it more than doubled headcount over the prior year and is expanding facilities in Redondo Beach, Boulder, Mojave, and Washington DC.
On July 8, 2026 Space Systems Command awards Impulse a National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 IDIQ contract with an initial $5 million firm-fixed-price task order, making Impulse the first upper-stage provider to serve as a prime contractor in a program that had only ever contracted rocket companies. Pairing Helios with a medium-lift launcher is positioned as a cheaper route to high-energy orbits than a heavy-lift rocket.
On July 28, 2026 Impulse introduces Electra, its first in-house electric propulsion system, developed from concept to working system in under six months. Electra handles long-duration stationkeeping so Mira's chemical propellant stays available for rapid maneuvers, and is qualifying flight engines for integration with Mira.
In December 2025 Impulse and Starfish Space announce the completion of the Remora mission: Starfish payloads aboard the LEO Express 2 Mira guided it through a fully autonomous rendezvous and proximity operation with the LEO Express 1 Mira already in orbit, using a single lightweight camera and closed-loop guidance software. The mission went from concept to launch readiness in nine months.
The U.S. Space Force's Space Systems Command awards Impulse a $34.5 million SBIR Phase III contract covering two Tactically Responsive Space missions: VICTUS SURGO, in which Helios carries a Mira to geosynchronous orbit, and VICTUS SALO, a low Earth orbit mission carrying an MIT-built payload.
Tom Mueller, SpaceX's first employee on propulsion and the designer of the Merlin engine family, leaves to found Impulse Space in Redondo Beach with the thesis that the bottleneck in space is no longer reaching orbit but moving around once you are there.
Funding
Cumulative disclosed raise · dated rounds
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