Impulse Field It has purchased three Falcon 9 launches for the Helios transporter, including one for the Space Force, for missions starting in 2026. On November 14, the company Impulse Space announced the signing of a contract with SpaceX for launches hawk 9. Each launch will be carried out by the Helios vehicle, a high-energy launch stage the company introduced in January to quickly transport payloads between orbits.

The first launch, planned for mid-2026, will be Helios’ first flight. The transfer vehicle will carry the company’s smaller Mira commercial optical payload vehicle from low Earth orbit to geostationary orbit as part of the Space Force and Defense Innovation Division’s Victus Surgo mission. Impulse Space signed a $34.5 million contract for Victus Surgo and another mission, Victus Salo, on October 3. Impulse Space said the schedule and payload for the other two Helios launches will be determined at a later date.

“Securing these launches allows us to demonstrate the full potential of Helios,” Eric Romo, president and chief operating officer of Impulse Space, said in a statement from the company. “Fast and cost-effective delivery of spacecraft into high-energy orbits changes the equation for commercial communications operators and national security missions like Victus Surgo.”

Helios is powered by a liquid oxygen and liquid methane engine called Deneb, which produces 15,000 pounds of thrust. Impulse Space separately unveiled the development version of Deneb on November 14, claiming the engine is “one of the most efficient liquid oxygen/liquid methane engines ever developed.” The company said Deneb trials will begin in the near future.

In the statement, the company said that at least the first launch will come from Florida, where Helios will be filled with fuel before launch. SpaceX It is capable of refueling with liquid oxygen and methane the payloads at Launch Complex 39A that it used on the IM-1 lunar landing mission for Intuitive Machines. hawk 9 in february

Impulse Space itself is backed by a $150 million Series B round announced on October 1, which the company said will support work on Helios and Mira.