2026.06.02 15:57

.@elonmusk was not the first employee at SpaceX. According to @_Eric_Romo, employee 001 (at least officially in the payroll system) was @lrocket: "[Elon] found Tom, and I think that was really the impetus for saying, 'Okay, I actually think I can make a company around this.'" " The engines are the thing that fail. They're the thing that's the hardest to build. They're the thing that is always the critical path in the schedule." "Without Tom, I don't think that company goes in the first days."

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Molly O’Shea@MollySOShea

2026.06.02 14:23

BREAKING: Impulse Space Raises $500M Series D Reaching $1+ Billion in Total Funding to Build In-Space Mobility Infrastructure aka "Move Things in Space" Full interview w/ President & COO Eric Romo (@_Eric_Romo) (SpaceX Employee #13#) Founder & CEO Tom Mueller (@lrocket) (SpaceX Employee #1#): "We're building more than spacecraft: we're building the economic & technical engine that will power humanity's expansion into space. From Earth orbit to the Moon & beyond, the ability to move quickly, precisely, & affordably on orbit is the fundamental capability that will unlock a true space age." We cover: → The $500M raise → Mira: precision maneuvering → Helios: same-day delivery → Caravan: GEO rideshare → Commercial vs defense → Space Force demand → SpaceX origins → Hiring 200+ roles The Series D was co-led by @137ventures & BANNER VC. Additional participating investors include Founder’s Fund, Lux Capital, & Linse Capital. 𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒 (00:00) Eric Romo, President & COO at Impulse Space (00:58) Fueling the next phase with a $500M Series D (04:30) Crossing the $1B funding mark (06:00) The freedom to execute (07:09) Why startups d*e from indigestion (08:30) Building beyond SpaceX (13:32) How defense became the real opportunity (16:19) Impulse’s product stack: Mira, Helios & Caravan (23:43) The economics of urgency (26:23) "Closer to a fighter jet than a tugboat" (30:40) The new era of space defense (37:33) The SpaceX DNA at Impulse (38:27) The biggest lesson from SpaceX (44:23) Hiring world class engineers (45:38) If not COO, then what? (46:43) The road to first Helios launch

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