Impulse Space announces first mission piggybacking off SpaceX flight

Mar 22, 2024

Space transportation developer Impulse Space Inc. is taking flight in its first orbital mission, LEO Express-1.

Impulse will use Mira, the company’s first orbital service vehicle, on a low-Earth-orbit mission to perform in-space services with last-mile orbital payload delivery and payload hosting, carrying devices onboard to relay data back to Earth. The mission will also perform low-altitude maneuvers and controlled atmospheric reentry, facets of space travel necessary for orbital vehicles.

Founded in 2021, El Segundo, California-based Impulse will launch its vehicle on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission in Q4 2023. Impulse will be one of the first companies to demonstrate rapid in-space transportation services through high-thrust chemical propulsion.

Impulse Space founder and CEO Tom Mueller said the mission is indicative of future affordable spade access.

“Currently, [small satellite] operators with custom orbit requirements need to pay a premium or compromise their spacecraft designs to include additional onboard propulsion capability,” he said. “Impulse’s LEO Express missions will provide the industry with a reliable, rapid and consistent service for precisely delivering payloads to custom orbits in low earth orbit.”

The primary payload of LEO Express-1 was not disclosed, but Impulse said additional payload space is available for secondary customers to join the mission.