Impulse Space raises $500M in Series D, total over $1B

Impulse Space, a startup developing orbital transfer vehicles, has secured $500 million in a Series D funding round, bringing its total capital raised to over $1 billion. The round was co-led by venture capital firms 137 Ventures and Banner VC, with participation from existing investors including Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and Linse Capital.

Founded in 2021 by Tom Mueller, SpaceX’s first employee and a key propulsion engineer behind the Merlin and Raptor engines, the company aims to address the growing need for efficient movement of payloads after they reach orbit. While launch costs have decreased significantly, Mueller explained that the challenge now lies in transporting satellites and other hardware to their precise final destinations, a process he described as foundational for a true space economy.

The company’s technology portfolio includes the Mira vehicle, a maneuverable spacecraft that has completed three missions since its first launch in 2023. Mira can deploy satellites, host payloads, and perform orbital adjustments. A larger vehicle, Helios, is under development and designed to transport heavier payloads from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit and beyond....