The newest entrant in the military’s launch competition isn’t actually a launch company

美国军方发射竞标赛的最新入局者，竟然不是一家发射公司

This week the US Space Force brought two more companies into the pool of bidders eligible to compete for its launch contracts—Impulse Space and Relativity Space. For a rocket company, cracking into the lucrative US military launch market is both a sign of maturity, as well as an important source of revenue. 本周，美国太空军（US Space Force）将两家新公司纳入了有资格竞标其发射合同的供应商池中——它们分别是 Impulse Space 和 Relativity Space。对于一家火箭公司而言，打入利润丰厚的美国军方发射市场，既是其技术成熟的标志，也是重要的收入来源。

The inclusion of Relativity Space, which is making credible progress toward the launch of its heavy-lift Terran R rocket, is perhaps not a huge surprise. Under the leadership of former Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, the company has continued to work toward bringing the partly reusable rocket to the launch pad. Relativity Space 的入选或许并不令人意外，该公司在研发其重型运载火箭 Terran R 方面正取得实质性进展。在前谷歌首席执行官埃里克·施密特（Eric Schmidt）的领导下，该公司一直致力于将这款部分可重复使用的火箭推向发射台。

The addition of Impulse Space, however, was something of a surprise. The company specializes in building spacecraft for in-space operations, rather than launching from Earth. “I think it’s fair to say that Phase 3 did not contemplate this,” said Eric Romo, president and chief operating officer of Impulse Space, in an interview. “However, the Space Force has been really clear that they’ve got a lot of demands for high-energy launch, especially at GEO, and they don’t have a lot of supply.” 然而，Impulse Space 的加入则有些出人意料。该公司专注于制造用于太空作业的航天器，而非从地球进行发射。Impulse Space 总裁兼首席运营官埃里克·罗莫（Eric Romo）在接受采访时表示：“我认为可以公平地说，‘第三阶段’（Phase 3）计划最初并未考虑到这一点。但太空军非常明确地表示，他们对高能轨道发射有大量需求，特别是在地球静止轨道（GEO）方面，而目前的供应却十分有限。”

How the competition works

竞标机制如何运作

Phase 3 refers to the third iteration of the military’s launch program, known as National Security Space Launch Phase 3. It allows companies to bid on “task orders” for launches between the period of 2025 and 2029. Launches typically take place one to three years after a contract is awarded. “第三阶段”指的是军方发射计划的第三次迭代，即“国家安全太空发射第三阶段”（National Security Space Launch Phase 3）。该计划允许公司竞标 2025 年至 2029 年期间的发射“任务订单”。通常情况下，发射任务会在合同授予后的一到三年内执行。

To further complicate things, there are two lanes of this program. “Lane 2” is for more established rocket companies, SpaceX and United Launch Alliance, to handle the military’s most valuable payloads. “Lane 1” was created to bring newer launch companies into the competition and allow them to bid for more “risk tolerant” missions. The military has set aside about 30 launches to be awarded to Lane 1 bidders, worth a total of about $5.6 billion. 为了进一步细化，该计划分为两个通道。“通道 2”（Lane 2）面向 SpaceX 和联合发射联盟（ULA）等更成熟的火箭公司，负责处理军方价值最高的载荷。“通道 1”（Lane 1）则是为了引入较新的发射公司参与竞争，并允许它们竞标风险承受度更高的任务。军方已预留了约 30 次发射任务给“通道 1”的竞标者，总价值约为 56 亿美元。

Romo said Impulse Space has been speaking with the government about the possibility of joining Lane 1 for a couple of years, and said US military officers have shown a great willingness to be flexible in order to meet their launch needs, particularly to reach high-energy orbits such as geostationary space. 罗莫表示，Impulse Space 与政府就加入“通道 1”的可能性已经沟通了几年。他提到，美国军方官员表现出了极大的灵活性，以满足其发射需求，特别是针对地球静止轨道等高能轨道的进入需求。

Impulse Space is developing a “kick stage” it calls Helios, which can provide up to 9 km/s of delta-V to a payload, rapidly boosting it from low-Earth orbit to geostationary orbit about 36,000 km above the Earth’s surface. Essentially, this allows the company to transform a medium-lift rocket, such as SpaceX’s Falcon 9 vehicle, and give it the performance of a larger and more powerful rocket. Impulse Space 正在开发一种名为“Helios”的“末级推进器”（kick stage），它能为载荷提供高达 9 km/s 的速度增量（delta-V），将其从近地轨道迅速提升至距离地球表面约 36,000 公里的地球静止轨道。从本质上讲，这使得该公司能够将中型运载火箭（如 SpaceX 的猎鹰 9 号）的性能提升至大型、更强力火箭的水平。

Helios still under development

Helios 仍在研发中

Under Lane 1, Impulse Space will contract with the Space Force to provide end-to-end service, procuring a launch vehicle and then stacking the Helios stage and designated satellite into the payload fairing of the rocket. Helios is compatible with a range of rockets, from the Falcon 9 to boosters built by United Launch Alliance, Rocket Lab, Relativity Space, and more. 在“通道 1”框架下，Impulse Space 将与太空军签订合同，提供端到端服务：采购运载火箭，然后将 Helios 推进器和指定的卫星安装到火箭的载荷整流罩中。Helios 兼容多种火箭，从猎鹰 9 号到联合发射联盟、Rocket Lab、Relativity Space 等公司制造的助推器均可适配。

To be eligible to bid on Lane 1 contracts, Impulse Space must first successfully demonstrate Helios in flight. Following a post-flight review by the US Space Force, Impulse can seek to win task orders. Launches could follow 18 to 24 months later. 要获得“通道 1”合同的竞标资格，Impulse Space 必须首先成功完成 Helios 的飞行演示。在通过美国太空军的飞行后审查后，Impulse 才能争取任务订单。随后的发射任务可能在 18 到 24 个月后执行。

According to Romo, the development of Helios continues to progress well. The company recently shipped a “run tank” to its test stand at the Mojave Air & Space Port in Mojave, California. A run tank is designed to be loaded with propellant many times and put through a series of rigorous tests to ensure its ability to hold pressure and perform in flight. A flight tank is typically lighter, as it will not be subjected to the wear and tear of multiple uses in flight. 据罗莫介绍，Helios 的研发进展顺利。该公司最近将一个“运行罐”（run tank）运往位于加利福尼亚州莫哈韦航空航天港的测试台。运行罐的设计目的是多次加注推进剂，并经过一系列严格测试，以确保其承压能力和飞行性能。相比之下，飞行罐通常更轻，因为它不会经受多次使用带来的磨损。

Romo also said the “Deneb” engine that powers the Helios vehicle is doing well in testing. Powered by liquid oxygen and methane, Deneb has a thrust of 15,000 pounds. The company is targeting a 2027 debut of Helios in flight, launching on a Falcon 9 rocket. 罗莫还表示，为 Helios 提供动力的“Deneb”发动机在测试中表现良好。Deneb 以液氧和甲烷为燃料，推力为 15,000 磅。该公司计划在 2027 年实现 Helios 的首次飞行，届时将搭载猎鹰 9 号火箭发射。

Impulse Space and Relativity Space are the newest companies to be on-ramped to Lane 1 of the national security launch program. Rocket Lab, with its Neutron rocket, and Stoke Space, with the Nova vehicle, were added in March 2025. SpaceX, United Launch Alliance, and Blue Origin were the original awardees in 2024. Impulse Space 和 Relativity Space 是最新被纳入国家安全发射计划“通道 1”的公司。此前，拥有“中子”（Neutron）火箭的 Rocket Lab 和拥有“新星”（Nova）运载工具的 Stoke Space 已于 2025 年 3 月加入。SpaceX、联合发射联盟和蓝色起源（Blue Origin）则是 2024 年的首批入选者。