Company - Impulse Space Propulsion
Product/Service - Mira, LEO Express, Helios
- Classification
- In-Space Transportation
- Category
- Space Tug
Commercial Lander
Commercial Mars Lander
- Fields
- In-Space Transportation
- Status
- Demonstrated
- First launch
- 2023
Space Tug
- LEO Express-1 will carry a primary payload for an undisclosed customer. The mission profile is still being finalized, but he said the vehicle, after making some initial deployments, may raise its orbit, then lower it to demonstrate operations in what’s known as very low Earth orbit, around 300 kilometers.
- The performance of Mira depends on how much payload it is carrying, but he estimated that the vehicle can provide about 1,000 meters per second of delta-v, or change in velocity, with a payload of 300 kilograms. Its propulsion system, using storable propellants, has been extensively tested, with more than 1,000 seconds of runtime, while other elements of the vehicle are in various stages of design and manufacturing.
- Mira is the first in a series of vehicles Impulse Space is developing, with future vehicles capable of placing payloads into geostationary transfer orbits or direct insertions into geostationary orbit.
HEO Announces Partnership with Impulse Space for Non-Earth Imaging Services, 2024-02-06.
- HEO, a space technology company specializing in non-Earth imaging (NEI) and in-orbit satellite inspection, announced a partnership with Impulse Space, a leader in in-space transportation services.
- Under the agreement, Impulse will host HEO’s in-space imager, HOLMES-007, onboard a Mira orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) as part of the LEO Express-2 mission. This will be HEO’s third Holmes Imager in space and the first commercial camera dedicated to non-Earth imaging in high Low Earth Orbit (High LEO), presenting new prospects for satellite inspection.
- Exolaunch will supply advanced separation systems for cubesats and microsats, such as the industry-leading EXOpod Nova and CarboNIX, as well as integration and mission management services.
- Impulse Space will contribute its suite of OTVs, including Mira for delivering satellites in LEO, MEO, GEO, Cislunar or beyond; Helios, their high-performance kick stage, will also service satellites targeting Geostationary Orbit. Together, using hardware and services, the companies can offer customers detailed mission design analysis and solutions for unique orbital requirements.
- Exolaunch and Impulse Space will jointly support a launch as early as fall 2024 with the LEO Express-2, where multiple customer satellites will be deployed throughout the mission. The companies will continue to collaborate on missions in 2025 and beyond under the terms of the agreement.
Helios
Engines
Mars Missions
- Relativity is scheduled to launch Impulse’s Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander in Terran R from Cape Canaveral, FL in an exclusive arrangement until 2029. Terran R will deliver Impulse’s Mars Cruise Vehicle and Mars Lander on a trans-Mars injection (TMI) orbit launched from Earth to Mars.
- Once in Mars orbit, the aeroshell-equipped Mars Lander will enter the red planet's atmosphere and propulsively land on Mars’ surface. Impulse’s Mars Lander will have its own payload capacity to the Martian surface, supporting the research and development needed to build toward humanity’s multiplanetary future.
NASA Selects Commercial Service Studies to Enable Mars Robotic Science, 2024-05-01.
- Small payload delivery and hosting services.
- Impulse Space, Inc., Redondo Beach, California — adapt an Earth-vicinity orbital transfer vehicle (space tug).
Status Comment / Notes
Sources
Most sources should be linked in the texts and headings as revealed by mouse-over, but here are they listed for visibility.
News, Research, Projects and Patents
| Title | Type | Date | Summary |
|---|---|---|---|
| Impulse Space announces first orbital transfer vehicle mission | News | 2023-01-05 |
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