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March 11, 2025 – Impulse Space, the California-based startup founded by former SpaceX propulsion lead Tom Mueller, today announced the close of a massive $308 million Series B funding round. The capital will be used to accelerate the development of its orbital transportation network—a series of specialized vehicles designed to move satellites, cargo, and eventually humans between different orbits, enabling what the company calls "roads in space."
The idea of building highways in orbit has moved from science fiction to a concrete business plan. Impulse Space’s core fleet consists of two main vehicles: the Mira orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) and the larger LEO Express, a reusable space tug designed for rapid point-to-point delivery within low Earth orbit. The Mira already flew on SpaceX’s Transporter-10 mission in March 2024, demonstrating on-orbit propulsion and maneuvering. With this new funding, the company aims to scale production, conduct more demonstration flights, and push toward regular commercial service by 2026.
“Space is more than just a destination—it’s a place to work, and you need reliable transportation to get around,” Mueller said in a press call. “We’re building the trucks, the highways, and the service stations so that satellite operators and future space stations can focus on their missions.” The funding round was led by major investors including Founders Fund, Lux Capital, and new strategic partner Lockheed Martin, signaling strong confidence in the orbital logistics market.
The $308 million Series B brings Impulse Space’s total funding to over $400 million. The company was previously valued at around $1.2 billion after its Series A in 2023. While current valuation was not disclosed, sources close to the deal suggest it has more than doubled. The round also includes participation from DCVC, Tribe Capital, and alumni from SpaceX and Blue Origin.
The sheer size of the round—larger than most early-stage aerospace startups—reflects the growing appetite for in-space services. Analysts at Northern Sky Research project the orbital transportation market could reach $15 billion annually by 2030, driven by the rise of commercial space stations, large satellite constellations, and debris removal needs. Impulse Space is positioning itself to capture a significant slice of that pie.
What sets Impulse Space apart from competitors like Momentus or Astroscale is its focus on high-performance chemical propulsion and the use of storable propellants. While many OTVs rely on electric propulsion (efficient but slow), Impulse’s vehicles use a bipropellant system derived from the engines Mueller helped design for the SpaceX Falcon 9’s upper stage. This allows for rapid orbit transfers—hours instead of months.
The company’s “Propulsion as a Service” model means customers pay per delivery, with no upfront hardware costs. For satellite operators, this eliminates the need to integrate complex propulsion systems onto their own buses, reducing mass and cost. With the new funding, Impulse plans to open a dedicated manufacturing facility in Southern California, capable of producing up to 20 OTVs per year.
Since its founding in 2021, Impulse Space has achieved several firsts: The Mira vehicle successfully completed a series of burns and payload deployments in 2024, including a free-flying demonstration for the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA). More recently, in January 2025, the company announced a contract with Axiom Space to deliver small cargo modules to the future Axiom Station starting in 2027.
The company is also developing the “Impulse Depot,” a refueling hub that could be attached to existing space stations or launched as a standalone module. While still in the conceptual stage, the depot would allow OTVs to top off propellants, extending their range and enabling multi-stop routes—essential for a true orbital highway system.
Momentus, its closest rival, raised a smaller round and has struggled with regulatory hurdles. Astroscale focuses
