Tom Mueller, who once spearheaded SpaceX's rocket engine and reusability development, is betting on the in-space services economy with his new company.So far, Impulse Space has raised $30 million in seed funding last year from investors such as Peter Thiel's Founders Fund and Lux Capital. It's currently embarking on a Series A round.Though SpaceX founder Elon Musk most often commands headline, the story of the private space startup hinges on a collection of key early figures.
"The whole point of SpaceX is to move payloads into space, and with Starship coming online [and] able to take 100 tons at a time, I realized there's going to be huge opportunity for moving things around in space." While the small launch market was more enticing several years ago, according to Mueller, rideshare missions are far more cost-effective. Once the tugs are in orbit, and factoring in Starship capabilities, Mueller estimates the total addressable market to be roughly $8 billion by the end of the decade., hosted by Morgan Brennan, wherever you get your podcasts.
But that pedigree doesn't mean Impulse is closed off to other startups in the space space – including rocket makers.