Impulse Space Announces Availability of New GEO Rideshare Program and Design Upgrade for Mira Vehicle

The new GEO Rideshare Program will leverage Impulse’s high-performance kick stage, Helios, to lower the cost of transporting small satellites to orbits beyond LEO; the updated Mira design will be capable of deploying, hosting, and repositioning assets in GEO and other high-energy orbits.

REDONDO BEACH, CA, August 6, 2024 — Impulse Space, a leader in in-space transportation services, announced two new offerings today to provide additional access to and maneuverability within Geostationary Earth Orbit and other high-energy orbits. The first offering is a new GEO Rideshare Program for small satellites, featuring Impulse’s high-performance kick stage, Helios. The second is an updated design for the Mira spacecraft, Impulse’s original orbital transfer vehicle (OTV). This upgrade will enable operations in GEO and other high-energy orbits, providing a reliable, high delta-v vehicle for missions requiring enhanced maneuverability and rapid repositioning.

Impulse’s GEO Rideshare Program plans to provide reliable and rapid deployment of small satellites in GEO for a fraction of today’s cost. Operators will no longer have to spend many months orbit-raising to GEO after a GTO drop-off or purchase a dedicated launch on an expensive, low-supply heavy launcher. The first GEO Rideshare mission is targeted for 2027 on a dedicated launch vehicle. Payload ports start at 300 kg and accommodate both 24-inch rings and 40-by-40-inch four-point separation systems.

Impulse will sell spaces on GEO Rideshare Program missions both directly and via a partner, Exolaunch. As a global leader in launch mission management, integration, and satellite deployment services, Exolaunch will offer rideshare availability and satellite deployment solutions for customers looking for end-to-end support.

“Impulse’s introduction of the GEO Rideshare Program marks a transformative milestone for the satellite industry, making cost-effective and timely access to GEO a reality,” said Kier Fortier, vice president of global business development at Exolaunch. “Our collaboration with Impulse is a testament to the strong synergies between our teams and exemplifies our commitment to providing cutting-edge launch and deployment solutions. Having successfully launched nearly 400 satellites across 29 rideshare missions, including a 16U to GEO in 2023, we’re excited to see this innovative solution brought to GEO. This program will revolutionize market dynamics and expand access to high-energy orbits, and we’re proud to support this forward-looking initiative.”

The upgraded Mira vehicle is designed to maximize performance from the Impulse GEO Rideshare Program and other launch vehicle offerings. For operators looking to focus solely on their payloads, the upgraded Mira vehicle will provide an ideal option for hosting, capable of integrating as a GEO Rideshare passenger on Helios and then enable precise deployment or hosting on arrival on orbit.

Mira has already proven its reliability and performance following a successful LEO Express-1 mission, which included the deployment of a customer payload in Low Earth Orbit (LEO) and a 150 km apogee raise completed in only 75 seconds—an achievement believed to be the largest single maneuver at the time by a nitrous-based propulsion system. The upgraded Mira retains its core capabilities, such as the powerful Saiph thrusters (6 lbf each), the use of storable and nontoxic propellants, a 300 kg payload capacity, six-degree-of-freedom (6DOF) and fine pointing capabilities for unparalleled spacecraft attitude control, and compatibility with a variety of launch providers and payload integrations. The refreshed design also introduces significant enhancements, including radiation hardening, improved avionics, and a more robust power supply. The payload interface supports a variety of integration options, such as multiple small satellite clusters, up to nine 16U CubeSat dispensers, and many custom configurations. The updated Mira vehicle will become the new base model, with customizations available on a case-by-case basis for specific mission needs.

These upgrades unlock new applications in GEO, such as payload hosting and constellation deployment. Mira’s high delta-v capability (500 m/s for a 300 kg payload or 900 m/s for a 100 kg payload) and 6DOF control provide exceptional versatility for rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and space situational awareness (SSA). With these advancements, Mira continues to set the standard for OTV performance, offering unparalleled dexterity and a broad range of mission capabilities.

“As access to GEO continues opening up, we’re seeing demand shift from static to dynamic operations for assets in these high-energy orbits,” said Impulse Space CEO and founder Tom Mueller. “Mira has demonstrated success with rapid, responsive repositioning thanks to its powerful engines, and we’re confident our updated design will meet the evolving GEO needs of our customers in commercial, scientific, and defense sectors.”

Production will leverage the same vertical integration approach that enabled the original Mira to move from a clean-sheet design to successful in-space operations in just 15 months. By maintaining in-house control over vehicle design, manufacturing, and assembly, Impulse can deliver improvements in cost, efficiency, innovation, and reliability for customers.

The updated Mira design is set for its first launch in late 2025. Impulse has already attracted interest from several potential customers and partners, including a planned Orbit Fab GEO refueling mission.

About Impulse Space

Impulse Space, the in-space transportation company founded by Tom Mueller, is opening access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) with its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The flight-proven Mira vehicle uses a nontoxic, high-impulse chemical propulsion system to offer orbital transport, constellation deployment, and precision reentry services to customers from LEO to GEO. The high-energy Helios vehicle unlocks orbits beyond LEO with its powerful Deneb engine, dropping off payloads in MEO, GEO, heliocentric, lunar, and other planetary orbits. Led by a team that delivered the most reliable rockets in history, Impulse provides economical and efficient in-space transportation by reliably and rapidly getting customers where they want to go.