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Helios In-Space Vehicle Revolutionizes Access to MEO and GEO from LEO

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January 25, 2024

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Impulse Space, a Californian in-space transportation startup, has revealed the design specifications for its Helios high-performance "kick stage" vehicle. The vehicle is designed to transport payloads of over 5 tons directly from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Orbit (GEO) in less than 24 hours, according to the company.

"The Helios vehicle unlocks the capability to move from LEO to MEO or GEO in a matter of hours - not days or months, as is currently the norm using conventional orbit raising methods," said Martin Halliwell, former CTO of SES Satellites. "This changes the mission value proposition significantly in several ways, including decreasing the time to reach operational status, limiting potential radiation exposure, and reducing the overall payload mass by decreasing the size of thrusters and amount of fuel required. Helios will open new opportunities for MEO and GEO operators beyond today's limited mission choice criteria."

Helios will be powered by a 15,000 lbf (67 kN) engine called Deneb, which will burn up to 14,000 kg of propellant across each mission. The engine has been designed by Tom Mueller, a co-founder of SpaceX. The vehicle will be compatible with Falcon 9, Falcon Heavy, New Glenn, and other medium-lift and super-heavy rockets, using standard payload interfaces. Helios services are aimed at the communications, imaging, defense, and scientific sectors.

"Today, the status quo for many satellites launched to LEO is to use electric propulsion to slowly arrive at their target orbit over a period of months; the alternatives are to either include extra propulsion in the satellite itself, complicating the design and increasing mass and cost, or to pay for a much more expensive launch directly to MEO or GEO," explained the company.

Helios will utilize a nontoxic, high-performance propellant combination of liquid oxygen and liquid methane, similar to Starship and Relativity's Terran R. The first engine test-fires for Deneb are scheduled for mid-2024, with the first demo launch of the vehicle targeted for early 2026. Impulse Space's design and development team includes many veterans of the SpaceX Merlin engine.

Helios joins Mira as the second vehicle developed by Impulse Space. While Mira focuses on "last-mile delivery" services, Helios is meant to be the "long-haul" complement. The company, founded in 2021, is based in Redondo Beach.

For more information about Helios, visit the Impulse Space website.

Source: Example News

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