Overview
- Space Systems Command added Impulse Space and Relativity Federal Wednesday and issued each a $5 million firm‑fixed‑price task order to fund initial capability assessments and tailored mission‑assurance planning.
- Both companies are now eligible to compete for lower‑risk Lane 1 mission task orders only after completing required flight demonstrations and passing post‑flight Space Force reviews.
- Impulse Space is developing the reusable Helios kick stage and its Deneb LOX/methane engine and says it has moved a run tank to its Mojave test stand with a 2027 target for a flight demonstration on a Falcon 9, which the Space Force must review.
- Relativity Federal plans a near‑term first flight of its reusable two‑stage Terran R from Cape Canaveral later in 2026 but must still meet flight‑readiness and tailored mission‑assurance milestones before winning operational launches.
- The Lane 1 expansion increases the pool of qualified providers to shorten award‑to‑launch timelines as the Space Force projects roughly 100 national security missions over the next five years and seeks greater launch resilience and capacity.