LEOStartups

Vast Partners with Impulse for Haven-1 LEO Station Propulsion

Image: Vast illustration

Space habitat startup Vast tapped Impulse Space to develop the propulsion system for its Haven-1 LEO space station.

“Our qualified Saiph thruster is a perfect fit for Haven-1’s propulsion requirements. We look forward to collaborating with such a dedicated and like-minded team,” said Impulse chief Tom Mueller. 

Orbital workshop: Vast intends to deploy Haven-1 to LEO by 2025, which would likely make it the first commercial space station. In May, the company unveiled its Haven-1 station, announcing that SpaceX would launch the spacecraft and provide taxi services to the future habitat. Crews will stay at the station for up to 30 days, carrying out scientific research and machining.

  • “We want to support research. We also think of ourselves as an orbital machine shop, where people can build things in orbit,” Jed McCaleb told Payload last year. 

The large commercial station will need to be equipped with an effective propulsion system to maintain a stable orbit, which is where Impulse comes in. 

Firing in: Established in 2021 by SpaceX founding member Tom Mueller, Impulse is developing in-space propulsion capabilities to support a suite of transportation services. The company qualified its Saiph thruster in May and will be commissioned in space for the first time on an October mission.

“To support our goal to launch Haven-1 in just over two years and become the world’s first commercial space station, we decided to partner on multiple subsystems to increase the likelihood of meeting our timeline with full mission success,” McCaleb said. 

Related Stories
EOLEO

Spire Emerges Anew After Nine Months Of Uncertainty 

Inside CEO Theresa Condor’s plans for a revitalized satellite company.

LEOStartups

Apex Unveils Larger Satellite Bus, Dubbed Comet

“From cell phone towers in space for consumer technology [to] unique sensing missions, or as an interceptor platform for Golden Dome, Comet is the clear choice to accelerate the most ambitious space missions,” Apex CEO Ian Cinnamon said in a statement.  

LEOPolicyScience

Dark Sky Advocates Fight Against a Bright Future

Advocates for dark and quiet skies are outgunned.  Many would call the rise of constellations in LEO an economic and tech boon for everything from connectivity to EO. Astronomers, however, call them a nuisance getting in the way of their clear shot of the night sky. Without any robust regulations to protect astronomical observations from […]

StartupsVC/PE

PiLogic Raises $4M Seed Round For Faster Inference

A space-friendly flavor of AI could help satellites diagnose themselves on orbit.