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Company

Impulse Space

US in-space logistics and propulsion company founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller. Builds orbital transfer vehicles (Mira), high-energy kick stages (Helios), chemical thrusters (Saiph, Rigel, Deneb), and planetary landers. Focus: last-mile payload delivery, GEO direct-insertion, and Mars access.

Based in Redondo Beach, California, USA · Founded 2021 · 6 models on record


Machine-readable surfaces

Key facts

Product
In-space mobility infrastructure: Mira orbital service vehicle, Saiph/Rigel thrusters, Helios kick stage, Mars lander
Founder/CEO
Tom Mueller — SpaceX employee #1 (2002-2020), CTO of Propulsion, lead developer of Merlin/Draco/SuperDraco engines
Founded
2021, Redondo Beach, California
Funding
Seed $20M (2022, Founders Fund); Seed Extension $10M (2022, Lux Capital); Series A $45M (2023, RTX Ventures lead); Series D $500M (2026, $4.26B valuation)
Board
General John W. Raymond (ret.) — joined Feb 2024; inaugural Chief of Space Operations, US Space Force
Partners
Relativity Space (Mars mission); Vast Space (Haven-1 propulsion); Anduril (space-based interceptors)
Contracts
Two SBIR awards via SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space Challenge (2023)
Patents
Honest-absence: no USPTO patents found under Impulse Space assignee name (proprietary propulsion tech reported as in-house development; may hold patents under subsidiary or in pre-publication phase)
HQ
Redondo Beach, California, USA
Founded
2021
Status
private (venture-backed)
Type
hardware
ID
90becab7-664d-4140-8b1e-2703d1be7e91

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Models (6)

Current leadership (1)

Founders (1)

Board (1)

Funding rounds (4)

  • Series D2026-06-02

    $500M(reported)

  • Series A2023-07-24

    $45M

  • Seed Extension2022-06-16

    $10M(reported)

  • Seed2022-03-01

    $20M(reported)

Sources (1)

  1. https://www.impulsespace.com/

Common questions

What is Impulse Space?
US in-space logistics and propulsion company founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller. Builds orbital transfer vehicles (Mira), high-energy kick stages (Helios), chemical thrusters (Saiph, Rigel, Deneb), and planetary landers. Focus: last-mile payload delivery, GEO direct-insertion, and Mars access.
Where is Impulse Space based?
Impulse Space is based in Redondo Beach, California, USA.
When was Impulse Space founded?
Impulse Space was founded in 2021.
What does Impulse Space make?
Impulse Space has 6 robot models on the DEPLOY registry: Mars Lander, Deneb, Rigel and 3 others (Impulse Space builds physical robots).
Where does Impulse Space operate robots?
Impulse Space is a robot manufacturer and does not directly operate deployments on the DEPLOY registry. Its products are deployed by customer operators; see the company page for the verified deployment record.
Methodology: Verified · 1 source (no primary) · last reviewed 2026-06-07

Verification posture

Verified

Low confidence

Review state

Stable

Last reviewed 2026-06-07

Sources by quality tier

1
unclassified
Unclassified source

The framework is documented at /methodology. Corrections at /corrections. Reviewer: DEPLOY editorial team.

Methodology surface for Impulse Space.

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