Impulse Space, a space logistics company founded by a former SpaceX propulsion leader, has announced an ambitious plan to deliver tons of cargo to the lunar surface annually, with missions slated to begin as early as 2028. The company aims to establish a new class of lunar delivery service for mid-sized payloads, addressing a significant gap in the current market.
A New Class of Lunar Delivery
Impulse Space is targeting what it identifies as a “critical gap” in lunar logistics for payloads ranging from 0.5 to 13 tons. This category is often too large for landers in NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program but too small to be cost-effective for the large, human-rated landers being developed by companies like SpaceX and Blue Origin. This service could facilitate the transport of critical infrastructure such as rovers, habitat modules, power generators, and communication systems, paving the way for a more robust lunar economy.
The Helios and Lander System
The company’s proposed architecture pairs a new, high-performance lunar lander with its “Helios” kick stage. The system is designed to launch on a standard rocket into low Earth orbit. From there, the Helios stage will propel the lander toward the moon, a journey expected to take approximately seven days. Once in low lunar orbit, the lander will separate and execute a controlled descent to the surface. This approach is designed to be highly efficient, eliminating the need for complex on-orbit refueling. Impulse plans to deliver up to 6 tons of payload to the moon across two missions per year.
Timeline and Technical Hurdles
The Helios kick stage is already in advanced development, with its first flight scheduled for late 2026. The company anticipates reaching a cadence of multiple Helios flights per year by 2028, enabling the lunar delivery service. However, significant technical challenges remain, particularly in developing the lander’s engine, which must be throttleable and restartable for precise control in the vacuum of space. The company acknowledges these execution risks but is confident in its deep expertise in spacecraft propulsion to overcome them.
Relevance for the MENA Space Sector
This development in commercial lunar logistics is highly relevant for the rapidly advancing space sector in the MENA region. Nations like the UAE and Saudi Arabia have established ambitious national space programs with long-term lunar exploration goals. A cost-effective, mid-sized payload delivery service like the one proposed by Impulse Space could provide a crucial pathway for these nations to deploy their own scientific instruments, rovers, and even precursor habitat modules on the lunar surface. For the region’s burgeoning space-tech startups, it opens up new commercial opportunities and lowers the barrier to entry for participating in the cislunar economy.
About Impulse Space
Founded by former SpaceX propulsion chief Tom Mueller, Impulse Space is a US-based company focused on developing in-space transportation services for the inner solar system. The company is developing a suite of orbital transfer vehicles and a lunar lander to provide agile, economical, and reliable logistics services to a wide range of customers in the growing space economy.
Source: TechCrunch
