Impulse Space announced a $308M extension to its Series D round yesterday—bringing the round’s total to $808M.
The in-space mobility company announced the first $500M in June, at a $4.26B valuation. A source close to the company told Reuters that the valuation for the extension has risen to $5.4B.
The extension featured many returning faces, including 137 Ventures, BANNER VC, DFJ Growth, Linse Capital, Lux Capital, and Valor Equity Partners, among others.
“The extension reflects the demand we’re seeing from both our customers and investors, and the momentum across the business even in the last few weeks,” Impulse founder and CEO Tom Mueller told Payload via email.
The fleet: Impulse is pitching end-to-end mobility after launch. Its lineup spans high-thrust chemical and low-thrust electric propulsion, so that customers can match the vehicle to the mission.
- Mira: Two of the flight-proven maneuvering vehicles, LEO-2 and LEO-3, recently flew within ~200 meters of each other. Next up is LEO Express 4, Mira’s fourth flight.
- Helios: The high-energy kick stage is designed to move payloads from LEO to GEO in under a day, and is slated to launch for the first time in 2027.
- Electra: Impulse’s new electric-propulsion system complements its chemical engines—widening the range of missions Impulse can fly.
Much of the new money will go to building those vehicles. Impulse plans to spend it chiefly on hiring and manufacturing, after selling out its Caravan 2 and 3 Helios rideshare missions for 2028.
“That first [Helios] flight is really the starting point and not the finish line, because in addition to several years of Caravan missions, Helios is also on tap to support customers like Astranis and SES with dedicated flights,” Mueller said. “Just as we’ve ramped production of Mira, with about half a dozen in our factory at the moment, we’ll be increasing production for Helios, too.”
On duty: The new cash also lands as Impulse’s national security work grows:
- NSSL: Space Systems Command (SSC) awarded Impulse an NSSL Phase 3 Lane 1 in July, making Impulse the program’s first upper-stage prime.
- VICTUS SALO: SSC’s Space Safari Office awarded Impulse a $28M SBIR Phase III contract extension in August to support the VICTUS SALO 2 and 3 missions—building on existing Mira awards.
- Golden Dome: Anduril tapped Impulse in May as one of its partners on its Space Force space-based interceptor award.
Hiring alert: Business is “really booming,” so Impulse needed a C-level financial expert, Mueller said. The company hired its first CFO—Adam Townsend, the former CFO and head of HR operations at smart TV company VIZIO.
“Right now, we’re focused on building the best business possible, executing for our customers, and meeting the demand we’re seeing,” Mueller added, noting that Townsend’s experience will be valuable as the company looks to the long term.
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EnduroSat has raised $205M to ramp up its production lines for standardized sats, the company announced yesterday.
Riot Ventures and Atreides Management co-led the round for the Bulgarian satellite manufacturer. It was the third nine-figure fundraise announced by a European company during the past two weeks, following Open Cosmos’ €300M ($348.6M) raise and The Exploration Company’s $450M Series C.
Talk shop: The funding will allow EnduroSat to open a new manufacturing facility in the US. In addition, the Sofia, Bulgaria-based company will build “the EU’s largest and defense hub,” according to a press release. In October, the company announced the opening of a 188,000 sq. ft. Space Center aiming to churn out two sats per day. EnduroSat did not share specific information on the US factory location.
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