"We are continuing to push the boundary to prove out how to quickly deliver on the warfighters' urgent needs," explained Col. Bryon McClain, SSC's program executive officer for Space Domain Awareness and Combat Power. "The collaboration with Impulse, MIT LL, and many others further enables our ability to rapidly integrate, deploy, and operate on tactically relevant timelines."
Impulse Space will deliver two Mira V2 orbital maneuver vehicles (OMVs) and two launches. One of these launches will debut the Helios high-energy kick stage.
The first OMV, named VICTUS SURGO, will be launched aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket and Helios upper stage to a Geosynchronous Transfer Orbit (GTO). This mission will feature a commercial off-the-shelf optical payload and will be co-sponsored by DIU, which will also use a rideshare slot on the Helios.
The second OMV, VICTUS SALO, will be launched to Low Earth Orbit (LEO) via SpaceX's Rideshare program, carrying a payload provided by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology's Lincoln Laboratory (MIT LL).
Both missions will use a modular interface, designed to streamline the integration and testing of new payloads, and feature advanced propulsion capabilities for space domain awareness (SDA) missions.
"The commercial space industry is delivering products we need to provide highly capable options for future TacRS operations," added Lt. Col. Kahoa Miller, SSC's materiel leader for Space Safari. "VICTUS SURGO and VICTUS SALO will offer more-responsive solutions to address urgent on-orbit needs."