Impulse Space’s Post

🚀 MISSION CONCLUDED: LEO Express-1 🚀 After successfully completing all mission objectives, the active phase of our LEO Express-1 mission is now concluded. On its inaugural flight over the past 9 months, our Orbital Transfer Vehicle, Mira, has achieved several exciting milestones: 📈 Rapid Development: Progressed from clean-sheet design to successful in-space operations in just 15 months – a testament to our team's dedication and innovation. 🔧 Strong Performance of In-House Designs: An example of Impulse's vertically-integrated approach, Mira features numerous parts and systems created in-house, including thrusters, valves, ignitors, pressure transducers, star trackers, cameras, core avionics, flight software (FSW), and guidance, navigation, and control (GNC) capabilities. 🌞 Immediate Autonomous Operations: Achieved sun-pointing and establishing command and control right after deployment. 📡 Successful Payload Deployment: Deployed the customer’s 3U CubeSat with precision. 🚀 Record-Breaking Maneuvers: Completed what we believe are the two largest orbital maneuvers ever made by a nitrous-based system, including the largest orbit raise (150 km in 75 seconds) ever by an OTV on its debut mission. 🗓️ Responsible Operations: Operated successfully on orbit during the mission, while also demonstrating a successful collision avoidance maneuver within 48 hours of notice. Operations concluded with a 62-second burn to lower the vehicle back to its initial drop-off orbit. Since reaching this orbit, communications challenges we’ve experienced intermittently since the start of the mission have degraded to a point that we can no longer consistently communicate with the vehicle. As a result, we’ve concluded the active part of our mission, with our revamped comms system already prepared for the next Mira mission. LEO Express-2, scheduled to launch in October, will feature two new radios (dual-redundant S- and X-band), new software, and 10x the amount of ground testing. We’re immensely proud of and grateful to the team whose hard work made LEO Express-1 such a huge success. Thank you to everyone who followed and supported LEO Express-1, and stay tuned for updates on our next mission! 💫 https://lnkd.in/gj_nbvC7

Join our CEO Thomas Mueller at Small Satellite Conference (SmallSat)!  Tom will give a personal update on a new program we plan to launch for small GEO satellites, alongside important company and vehicle updates. Tuesday, 3:30 pm August 6th @ ESLC 130 Exact location 👉 https://lnkd.in/ezhyzbhM #SmallSat

Thanks for stopping by City of Redondo Beach #Mayor Jim Light, City Manager Mike Witzansky, Council Member Scott Behrendt, and Waterfront and Economic Development Director Greg Kapovich.  Being part of the Redondo Beach community is a real source of pride, and we look forward to our continued partnership!

Thanks for visiting, Eliana! https://lnkd.in/eB6y5KN4

Exciting insights into the future of space exploration! While in Washington, DC, our founder and CEO, Thomas Mueller, sat down with Chairman of Defense Appropriations Ken Calvert and Founders Fund Partner Delian Asparouhov at The Hill & Valley Forum. From the current state of the “new space age 2.0” to the critical role of government and commercial collaboration in national security, Tom and Ken covered a spectrum of topics.    Curious about the future of space exploration (the Moon, Mars, and beyond)? Who are the key players in the space race? Why space matters to military and civilian life? Check out the full conversation to learn more: https://lnkd.in/dZqxueNt

We are proud to announce that NASA - National Aeronautics and Space Administration has selected us to conduct an early-stage study that supports lower-cost, higher-frequency missions to #Mars. “We’re in an exciting new era of space exploration, with rapid growth of commercial interest and capabilities,” said Eric Ianson, Director of NASA’s Mars Exploration Program. “Now is the right time for NASA to begin looking at how public-private partnerships could support science at Mars in the coming decades.” Through the study, we'll explore adapting our orbital transfer vehicle's payload hosting and delivery capabilities to advance science on the Red Planet. Read the NASA press release here: https://lnkd.in/dBZNNWpt

After four months navigating orbit, #Mira — our first orbital transfer vehicle — has successfully completed all of its primary mission objectives!   We celebrated the final milestone on Thursday with our eighth and most significant burn: 75 seconds in duration, achieving a 150 km apogee raise. We think this is the largest single maneuver to date by a nitrous-based propulsion system and the largest orbit raise by any #OTV on its debut mission. The ability to change an orbit by hundreds of kilometers within minutes demonstrates the type of rapid maneuvering capability Impulse wants to bring to the industry. Mira's time in orbit isn't over yet — we are continuing to test and fly, prepping for our next mission launching later this year.   All of this underscores the exceptional capabilities of the team we're building. If you'd like to join it, check our careers page (https://lnkd.in/ek4UudhE), or if you're attending the #SpaceSymposium next week, talk with one of the team in person: Margaret Abernathy, Jeff Rowlison, Joshua Rea, Gary Li, or Patrick Gearhart. #GoMira

📸: Day and night shots of Mira and its Saiph thrusters in Earth eclipse. The night image, captured last Tuesday, shows our seventh burn, where all eight thrusters fired for ~60 seconds. They imparted 34 m/s delta-v, performed a plane change, and lowered Mira's orbit by ~30 km.

Come see our CEO, Thomas Mueller, talk next Thursday morning at #Satellite2024. Details 👉 March 21, 9:45 to 10:15 am at the Via Satellite Exhibit Hall Theater, SATELLITE Conference & Exhibition, covering: 🚀 What makes Impulse Space unique 🔥 Why the space industry is hot right now 💡 How his experiences at SpaceX benefit current endeavors ➡️ What the next chapter looks like for Impulse Space And if you're wandering the floor, say hi to the team @ Booth 908! https://lnkd.in/eYUAd5ZX