Impulse Space

Recognized under Tier 1 — Interplanetary Logistics, Impulse Space builds in-space transportation hardware rather than launch vehicles, focusing on the "last mile" between a rocket's drop-off orbit and a payload's final destination. Its Mira orbital transfer vehicle has flown multiple missions, executing precision orbit changes and autonomous rendezvous and proximity operations. Helios, a high-energy kick stage designed to move payloads to distant orbits faster and more affordably than conventional propulsion, is scheduled for its first flight in 2027. In July 2026, the U.S. Space Force awarded Impulse Space an NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 contract, making it the first company to serve as prime contractor for an upper stage under that program; the following month it closed a $500 million Series D round, bringing total funding raised to over $1 billion. This in-space mobility layer — moving payloads from low Earth orbit to higher and more distant orbits — is the connective infrastructure that cislunar and Mars-bound logistics chains depend on between launch and arrival.