• Impulse Space started by SpaceX employee no. 1 Tom Mueller
  • Anduril founded by Oculus VR headset designer Palmer Luckey

Venture-backed Impulse Space Inc. and weapons maker Anduril Industries Inc. are developing a supercharged spy vehicle capable of carrying out national security missions in orbit for the US government and its allies.

Impulse Space, launched in 2021 by former SpaceX founding employee Tom Mueller, is contributing its Mira spacecraft to the partnership. Anduril will install infrared imaging components, electromagnetic warfare capabilities and other technology, the companies told Bloomberg News on Friday.

The partnership, which hasn’t been previously reported, comes at a time of growing competition among the US, Russia and China to develop attack capabilities in orbit. Officials in Washington have raised concerns over China’s efforts to counter American satellites. The US has separately told allies Russia is developing a space-based capability to knock out satellites using a nuclear weapon, Bloomberg has reported.

Anduril was founded by Palmer Luckey, inventor of the Oculus virtual reality headset, with backing from Founders Fund, a16z, General Catalyst and other investors. In April, Anduril beat several legacy defense players in a contest for a major contract to develop a fighter jet for the US Air Force.

It also builds surveillance towers, drones and software to automatically monitor borders and base perimeters, and was valued at $14 billion in an August fundraising round that raised $1.5 billion.

The companies are taking aim at lucrative national security contracts for the US Department of Defense, a space eyed by juggernauts like Lockheed Martin Corp., Boeing Co. and Elon Musk’s SpaceX, as well as relative newcomers like Sierra Space.

Anduril declined to disclose how much money the firms were investing in the endeavor, when the new spacecraft could be deployed commercially and what they’d charge for each mission.

The Mira spacecraft will deploy to high altitudes above Earth in what’s known as geosynchronous orbit and be able to monitor and engage with targets on Earth and in space, detect threats and protect assets, Anduril said.

Mira will use a chemical propulsion system that should enable the spacecraft to move quickly, said Impulse President Eric Romo. “A transit that might take a low-thrust solution months could take Mira hours or days.”

Anduril will also integrate Mira into its AI-enabled software platform called Lattice, which allows the operator to control and manage multiple spacecraft, granting faster response times in orbit, the company said.

Written by: — With assistance from Lizette Chapman @Bloomberg