Halfway through the Obama Administration, findings from the Augustine Commission led to public-private partnerships for orbital transportation, marking a significant policy change, opening up the floodgates for the commercial space industry. As a result, the falling costs of launches have created a thriving space economy. Much of the focus has been on commercial launch providers that are enabling smaller satellites and more rocket missions to reach space. But what happens once you get into orbit? Impulse Space Propulsion is focused on in-space transportation services for the inner solar system to complement the ever-increasing number of launches. While costs per payload have significantly decreased, by extending “last-mile” capabilities, orbital missions can be grouped together resulting in more efficiency and accessibility – essentially building a hub-spoke model for space. The company is initially focused on Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to handle a wide array of uses beyond launch like payload delivery, servicing, deorbiting, and space station repositioning including support for LEO Express-1, a refueling missions and an upcoming mission to Mars and the Moon. In order to support these missions, Impulse has developed two different types of vehicles: Mira for smaller intra-orbit transfers and Helios for inter-orbit transfers.
LA TechWatch caught up with Impulse Space COO Barry Matsumori to learn more about the business, the company’s strategic plans, latest round of funding, which brings the company’s funding total to $75M, and much, much more…
Who were your investors and how much did you raise?
In Impulse Space’s Series A funding round, they raised $45 million. The round was led by RTX Ventures and also included Founders Fund, Lux Capital, Airbus Ventures, and Space Capital.
Tell us about your product or service.
Founded in 2021, Impulse Space is a Space 2.0 pioneer providing agile, economical space logistics services. With a near-term focus on Low Earth Orbit (LEO), services include in-space transportation to custom orbits, in-space payload hosting and precision re-entry trajectory injection. Long-term, Impulse will offer delivery services for all classes of payloads to distant destinations such as Geostationary Earth Orbit (GEO), the Moon, and Mars.
What inspired the start of Impulse Space?
Tom Mueller (Founder) was a founding member of SpaceX back in 2002. Tom left SpaceX in 2020 and in mid-2021 decided to create Impulse Space. Tom recognized that the next developmental step for space companies was going to be in-space transportation and other services. Therefore, he developed a company focused on that mission.
How is it different?
Impulse will be among the first companies to demonstrate rapid in-space transportation services through high-thrust chemical propulsion. The service offering is unique with a smaller intra-orbit transfer vehicle name Mira and an inter-orbit transfer vehicle named Helios.
What market you are targeting and how big is it?
Impulse Space will address both the commercial space market as well as the national security space market, which supports the U.S. government. Logistics and services in space will further develop this market that is already recognized as a tens of billions dollar market.
What’s your business model?
The model is to provide transportation and other services to customers with payloads. For those services provided, Impulse will charge their customers.
How are you preparing for a potential economic slowdown?
Impulse has been well funded and positioned to service customers and complete product development regardless of the current economic condition.
What was the funding process like?
The funding process for Impulse Space is very similar to any number of tech startups. We will discuss the opportunity with venture capitalists that render support depending on the attractiveness of the opportunity.
What are the biggest challenges that you faced while raising capital?
Impulse Space has been fortunate in having a good fundraising set of activities for our Series A. There are many meetings that must take place, but that is part of the normal process.
What factors about your business led your investors to write the check?
All investors felt that Impulse Space had a very strong team including the management. The product and the vision were also very well thought out, but the team was crucial.
What are the milestones you plan to achieve in the next six months?
Impulse is focused on our first orbital mission, LEO Express-1. This mission will perform in-space services, including last-mile orbital payload delivery, payload hosting, very low altitude maneuvers and controlled atmospheric re-entry. LEO Express-1 is set for November 2023.
Where do you see the company going now over the near term?
The plans that have been set are to execute our current programs and develop the Helios vehicle to service the geostationary payload market.
What’s your favorite outdoor activity in LA?
I enjoy doing anything outdoors including biking and running.
