HUNTSVILLE, Ala. - The U.S. Space Force has decided that two extra maneuverable spacecraft are exactly what it needs, adding $28 million to an existing contract with Impulse Space. This brings the total to about $62.8 million and expands the startup's role in the military's quest to respond to orbital shenanigans with unprecedented speed.

The contract modification will fund Victus Salo 2 and Victus Salo 3, which will use Impulse's Mira spacecraft to host government-provided payloads in low Earth orbit. Because why have one Victus Salo when you can have three? The original $34.8 million Small Business Innovation Research Phase 3 agreement, awarded in 2024 by Space Systems Command's Space Safari office in partnership with the Defense Innovation Unit, covered Victus Surgo and Victus Salo 1.

Victus Salo is part of the Space Force's broader Tactically Responsive Space (TacRS) effort, which aims to shorten the time between 'Hey, we need a satellite' and 'Satellite is now doing the thing.' The program is moving beyond rapid launch to test spacecraft that can loiter in orbit and maneuver quickly when circumstances change - because in space, as in life, the ability to change your mind at the last minute is a valuable asset.

The first Victus Salo mission will see a Mira vehicle operating in low Earth orbit carrying a government payload from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology Lincoln Laboratory. Victus Salo 1 is expected to launch in 2027, giving everyone involved ample time to practice patience. The more ambitious Victus Surgo will use an Impulse Helios high-energy kick stage to carry another Mira from low Earth orbit toward geosynchronous transfer orbit, where Mira will maneuver independently. Because one spacecraft is never enough.

Mira is a high-thrust spacecraft that can host and deploy payloads and perform relatively rapid orbital maneuvers using chemical propulsion. It can carry payloads up to 300 kilograms and uses eight thrusters burning nitrous oxide and ethane - a combination that sounds like a party trick but is actually rocket science. Impulse has flown Mira on three missions so far, so it's not exactly a stranger to space.

Impulse, founded in 2021 by former SpaceX propulsion executive Tom Mueller, is building spacecraft and propulsion systems to provide transportation after a payload has separated from its launch vehicle. The company has been cozying up to the Pentagon's launch and space-mobility market, and last month the Space Force added it to the National Security Space Launch Phase 3 Lane 1 contract, allowing Impulse to compete as an upper-stage provider. Because apparently, there's always room for one more rocket in the driveway.