At the World Space Business Week (WSBW) conference in Paris, Impulse Space, an in-space transportation company, announced a new partnership with French satellite developer Space Network Services (SNS). The agreement will allow SNS to leverage Impulse’s GEO Rideshare Program for launching multiple satellites at once.
The SNS-developed satellite, named Kaon, is a small telecommunications satellite designed for both government and commercial use. It offers flexible and cost-effective solutions for sovereign satellite communication (SATCOM) systems or enhanced capacity over high-demand areas.
The agreement enables SNS to launch up to six Kaon satellites simultaneously through the rideshare program, reducing launch costs compared to traditional dedicated launch services.
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The right solution
Impulse Space, founded by Tom Mueller, one of the first SpaceX’s employee, is expanding access beyond Low Earth Orbit (LEO) through its fleet of in-space transportation vehicles. The Helios vehicle, which uses the powerful Deneb engine, will be central to this program.
This vehicle can deliver payloads to Medium Earth Orbit (MEO), GEO, and even lunar and planetary destinations. Additionally, the company’s flight-proven Mira vehicle offers transport services within LEO, utilizing a nontoxic chemical propulsion system for precision reentry and constellation deployment.
“Before, if we wanted to launch four or six satellites direct to GEO at once, our only option was to buy a dedicated launch,” said Yann Le Du, Co-Founder of Space Network Services. “Through Impulse’s Rideshare Program, we can quickly get to GEO at a fraction of the cost and have the flexibility to launch as many Kaons as we want based on our manifest.”
SNS advertises the Kaon series of satellites as a dual-use, agile platform, providing nations with a more affordable route to sovereign SATCOM systems. Established operators, including ministries of defense, could benefit from the Kaon satellite’s ability to offer increased fleet resilience and flexibility in responding to high-demand areas and dynamic operational environments.
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Regular service, reduced cost
The rideshare program is designed to offer regular, cost-effective satellite deployments to GEO using Impulse’s Helios vehicle. Unlike traditional methods that require months of orbit-raising after deployment in geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), the GEO Rideshare approach allows operators to reach GEO more quickly, while also reducing costs associated with electric propulsion systems and the additional hardware required for GTO transit.
Eric Romo, President and COO of Impulse Space, remarked on the broader implications of the program: “Space Network Services’ Kaon satellite is a great example of the kind of model that can really benefit from GEO Rideshare because it allows them to lower costs and achieve faster time-to-revenue, all while simplifying mission operations. It’s rewarding to see how they can take advantage of those benefits even at the design stage for Kaon.”
The first flight of Helios is scheduled for Q2 2026, and the GEO Rideshare Program is expected to begin offering services in 2027 aboard a dedicated U.S. launch vehicle. “We see this as a safe bet,” said Le Du, “Impulse has a team we trust that has an unbeatable pedigree in the domain. We’re excited for the bright future this partnership holds.”
For our complete coverage of the WSBW, please click here.
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