Retired U.S. Space Force General John “Jay” Raymond. Photo: Axiom Space

Retired Space Force General John “Jay” Raymond is joining the Impulse Space board of directors, the company announced this week. Raymond was responsible for leading the establishment of the U.S. Space Force, and he was the first Chief of Space Operations from 2019 to 2022. 

“This innovative company, led by our nation’s leading propulsion experts, is focused on responsive space mobility,” Gen. Raymond said.  “I look forward to working closely with the team to advance our nation’s freedom to maneuver in the domain which is so vital to our national security.”

Raymond is also on the board of commercial space station company Axiom Space, which he joined last year. 

Impulse Space is led by Tom Mueller, a founding member of SpaceX and creator of the Merlin engine. The company offers a last-mile orbital transfer vehicle for smallsats and cubesats called Mira, and recently shared plans for Helios, a kick stage to take spacecraft from Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) to Geostationary Orbit in less than a day. 

Impulse Space also announced it was selected in January for two Small Business Innovation Research Program (SBIR) contracts via the 2023 SpaceWERX Tactically Responsive Space Challenge. The company was one of 19 awardees. One will focus on demonstrating rapid refueling operations with the Mira OTV, and the other will fund engine development for Helios.