Job
Helios kick stage (lunar cruise stage)
Built in-house by Impulse Space
Impulse Space builds the Helios kick stage in-house; Helios flies as a payload on a medium-lift rocket and fires its engine after deployment in low Earth orbit (LEO) to carry up to 4,000 kg to geostationary orbit (GEO) in under 24 hours. In Impulse's lunar plan Helios is the cruise stage that carries the Impulse lunar lander to low lunar orbit within one week, with first flights beginning in 2027.
Who built it
Hardware
Sources
- Meet Helios: Bringing Same-Day Delivery to Space Impulse Space, 16 April 2026
- To the Moon (and Beyond): How Impulse Can Deliver More Mass to the Lunar Surface Impulse Space, 14 October 2025
- Impulse Space raises $500 million as orbital maneuvering race heats up Ars Technica, 2 June 2026