Fresh on the heels of a large funding spherical, Impulse Space has landed a $34.5 million contract from the Space Force for 2 ultra-mobile spacecraft missions.
Under the Space Force’s Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) program, the 2 missions will reveal how extremely maneuverable spacecraft can assist the army quickly reply to threats in house.
For the primary mission, known as Victus Surgo, considered one of Impulse’s Mira spacecraft will journey to a really excessive orbit utilizing a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and an Impulse Space Helios kick stage. This would be the first time Helios operates on orbit. For the second mission, known as Victus Salo, a second Mira spacecraft will launch to low Earth orbit on a SpaceX Transporter ride-share mission. Both spacecraft will combine a modular payload interface to scale back the time it takes to combine payloads to the spacecraft.
Once on orbit, the 2 spacecraft “will be capable of rapidly conduct house area consciousness,” the Space Force stated in an announcement, referring to a large sweep of operations together with surveillance and reconnaissance on orbit. It is unclear when these missions are scheduled to happen, however Impulse has beforehand that Helios is slated for its inaugural flight in 2026.
If this mission is something like the opposite contracted missions beneath the TacRS program, the mission must undergo successive phases, together with a “sizzling standby” part the place the startup will primarily have to face prepared to reply to the Space Force’s instruction to get the satellite tv for pc prepared for launch. TechCrunch has reached out to the Space Force for remark and can replace the story if it responds.
The TacRS program is the Space Force’s sweeping effort to domesticate ultra-fast launch and spacecraft operations from non-public trade. The first mission contracted beneath this system, known as Victus Nox, noticed awardees Millennium Space Systems and Firefly Aerospace break information for satellite tv for pc integration and launch, respectively. The rocket launched the payload to orbit simply 27 hours after receiving the ‘go’ to launch from the Space Force.
Impulse Space is an apparent selection for such missions. The startup, which was based by SpaceX’s former CTO of propulsion Tom Mueller, is creating a line of orbital switch automobiles that may transfer satellites round on orbit after they’ve been launched by a rocket. These spacecraft use chemical propulsion methods that afford giant quantities of excessive delta-v, or change in velocity.
The Vicus Surgo and Victus Salo missions are funded by the Space Force’s Space Systems Command in partnership with the Pentagon’s Defense Innovation Unit.
