On November 7, 2026, Impulse Space announced two NASA Moon Base task orders, with missions scheduled by the company to begin in 2028. The plans describe two different routes for moving NASA payloads toward the Moon: one involving SpaceX’s Falcon 9, the other Relativity Space’s Terran R and Impulse vehicles. Impulse Space outlined the orders.
Two mission profiles for lunar transportation
Impulse describes both task orders as firm-fixed-price awards under NASA’s VADR launch-services contract. The company says it will serve as prime contractor for each mission.
| Task order | Launch vehicle | Impulse vehicles and planned roles | Intended mission task |
| First | SpaceX Falcon 9 | Mira may deliver alternative payloads as an option. | Launch a NASA payload; the optional Mira mission would carry alternative payloads into cislunar space. |
| Second | Relativity Space Terran R | Helios is planned as a kick stage, a propulsion stage that moves payloads after launch. An Impulse lander is also planned. | Carry the vehicles to orbit, then use them to deliver NASA payloads to target cislunar orbits. The lander is also planned to conduct a descent profile to test larger-scale cargo delivery to the lunar surface. |
The first profile centers on a NASA payload launched by Falcon 9; Mira’s alternative-payload delivery is an option, not a stated part of every mission. In the second, Terran R carries Impulse’s vehicles to orbit, and Helios and the lander have roles in the onward delivery. The lander’s planned descent profile is a test of cargo delivery, not a report of a completed lunar landing.
NASA’s dollar figures cover a wider award package
NASA announced six VADR task orders worth approximately $1.3 billion combined, naming Arrow Science and Technology, Blue Origin and Impulse Space as recipients. Separately, NASA gives the broader VADR contract a maximum total value of $5 billion. NASA’s announcement describes both figures.
Read the $1.3 billion as the value of NASA’s six-order package; it is not a price for Impulse Space’s two orders.
Impulse’s schedule and NASA’s Moon Base goal
Impulse said its missions were scheduled to begin in 2028. NASA describes Moon Base as an infrastructure program intended to support a sustained human presence near the lunar South Pole. The task orders concern planned transportation and cargo-delivery work within that broader effort.
