Saiph Thruster Qualified Ahead of First Flight
The Impulse Space Saiph thruster has been space qualified and now ready to support the LEO Express-1 mission, set to launch in October 2023. LEO Express-1, the first Impulse Space orbital mission, was announced earlier this year and will utilize Mira, Impulse’s first spacecraft, to perform in-space services.
“The completion of the Saiph thruster qualification is validation of Impulse’s in-house capabilities and rapid development approach.”
Impulse Space vice president of Propulsion Kevin Miller.
“The completion of the Saiph thruster qualification is validation of Impulse’s in-house capabilities and rapid development approach,” said Impulse Space vice president of Propulsion Kevin Miller. “This thruster is one of the key building blocks for our current and future propulsion systems.”
Saiph thruster qualification testing was efficiently accomplished within 17 days. Impulse Space has completed 50,000 pulses of the Saiph propulsion system and operated the thruster for a total of 65,000 seconds. The Saiph thruster has demonstrated up to 12 continuous minutes of burn duration.
Saiph Thruster to be Launched on SpaceX Transporter-9 Mission
Impulse has procured a launch slot for this mission on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket as part of SpaceX’s Transporter-9 mission and is committed to meeting the current launch timeline of Q4 2023. Impulse will be among the first companies to demonstrate rapid in-space transportation services through high-thrust chemical propulsion using its Saiph thruster.
While the primary payload of LEO Express-1 is currently undisclosed, there is additional payload space available for secondary customers to join the mission. More details on Impulse’s vehicles and services will be announced on a later date. “Our team is thrilled to announce LEO Express-1 as our first mission and the implications it brings to affordable space access,” Miller said when the mission was announced earlier this year. “Currently, smallsat operators with custom orbit requirements need to pay a premium or compromise their spacecraft designs to include additional on-board propulsion capability. Impulse’s LEO Express missions will provide the industry with a reliable, rapid and consistent service for precisely delivering payloads to custom orbits in low earth orbit.”
(Source: Impulse Space news releases. Images provided and from file)