Impulse Space laid out an ambitious plan Tuesday to use its tech to haul tons of cargo to the moon as early as 2028, aiming to fill what it sees as a gap in today’s market for mid-sized surface deliveries.
The company says it will pair a new lunar lander with its “Helios” high-energy kick stage to move tons to the surface without needing to refuel on orbit. The aim is to deliver up to 6 tons of payload to the moon across two missions “at a cost-effective price point.”
The startup, founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller, argues this capacity would fill a “critical gap” in lunar payload logistics, for cargo too big to fit on landers part of NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program and too small for the forthcoming human-rated landers that are being developed by SpaceX and Blue Origin.
Impulse says payloads that hit this mark are roughly 0.5 to 13 tons, a range that could include rovers, habitat modules, power generators, comms systems or even a lunar terrain vehicle.
Under the proposed architecture, the lander and kick stage would launch on a standard rocket where they would be deployed in low Earth orbit. Helios would transport the lander to low lunar orbit within seven days, after which the two vehicles would separate, and the lander would descend to the surface.
Impulse is bringing to the table deep expertise in spacecraft engine development; it is already at work on the lunar lander engine, which using the same fuel combination as the Saiph thrusters used on the company’s small spacecraft Mira.
Meanwhile, Helios is “already well into development,” with the first flight scheduled for late 2026. The company estimates it will be flying Helios multiple times per year by 2028.
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Execution risks remain. As the company points out, a lunar lander engine needs to be throttleable, able to restart, and with a high specific impulse to provide ultra-control in the vacuum of space. Impulse seemed to be hedging its bets in a press release, saying, “we stand ready to execute as dictated by industry demand and interest.” But if the company can deliver, it would open up an entirely new lunar delivery schedule.
