BREAKING: Inside Impulse Space with Tom Mueller (@lrocket) (SpaceX's 1st Employee)
FULL TOUR
The famous engineer behind the Merlin engine, now Founder, CEO & CTO of Impulse Space (@GoToImpulse)
ICYMI: Merlin still powers Falcon 9 today, the most reliable rocket engine ever flown & the highest thrust-to-weight ever developed. It's the workhorse behind nearly every SpaceX mission: Starlink launches, Dragon crew & cargo flights to the ISS, & booster landings
Tom walks us through the factory floor, from the avionics clean room to a live rocket engine firing in the vacuum chamber
Impulse is building the in-space mobility layer: the vehicles & engines that move spacecraft after launch, from LEO to GEO, the Moon, infinity & beyond
We cover:
→ Mira: precision maneuvering spacecraft & its saiph thrusters (8 thrusters, ~50 lbs thrust, 5-yr orbit life)
→ Helios: long haul same-day delivery vehicle (12 tons of LOX/methane, LEO to GEO)
→ Deneb Engine: 15,000 lbs thrust engine that powers Helios, ox-rich staged combustion, carbon skirt running over 3,000°F
→ Why 3D printing is "almost a cheat code" for rocket engines
→ In-house composite tanks, Novaloy, & copper liners machined from 700 lbs down to 25
→ 3 spacecraft in orbit + a 1,200-meter rendezvous
→ Starlink, iterating Merlin & Raptor, & working with @elonmusk
→ Nuclear propulsion, the Moon, & why compute needs to move to space
𝐓𝐈𝐌𝐄𝐒𝐓𝐀𝐌𝐏𝐒
(00:00) Tom Mueller, Founder, CEO & CTO of Impulse Space
(00:49) Inside Impulse Space
(02:32) Avionics Bay floor
(02:59) Building rockets at home
(03:50) Mira and Helios
(08:00) Why Tom left SpaceX
(09:33) The Deneb Engine walkthrough
(11:42) Testing in Mojave
(12:23) Favorite part of the Engine
(13:30) How it's 3D Printed
(14:21) Why 3D Printing changes everything
(16:54) Finding Talent for COPVs
(17:28) No Modern hardware without software
(19:52) The Mill Turn explained
(22:42) Payload Deck Design
(25:28) Entering the Secret Area
(30:48) Thrust, Flow Rate, & 100 Sensors
(32:13) Collision avoidance in Orbit
(32:57) The Electric Propulsion Chamber
(34:28) Nuclear Electric is the future
(38:49) Data Centers in Space
(40:28) SpaceX & Starlink's Growth
(41:10) Working with Elon
(42:07) If not CEO, then what?
(42:32) Moon matters more than Mars
🚨 NOW: Scott Bessent just MIC DROPPED an enraged Rep. Boyle (D)
BOYLE: The people 3 to 1 disapprove of this president!
BESSENT: The Democratic House's 17% APPROVAL RATING, are they right or wrong? 🔥
BOYLE: Consumer sentiment is the LOWEST ever
BESSENT: Two thirds of those respondents are DEMOCRATS, you're citing the University of Michigan, the Democrats who listen to this kind of TWADDLE. They vote in the single digits, teens for Republicans.
BOYLE: I don't even know what you're saying
BESSENT: You don't know what YOU'RE saying!
BOYLE: I'm citing the facts!
BESSENT: I am citing DATA.
DEMS ARE AN UTTER CLOWN SHOW
California Democrats are preparing to ban essentially ALL after market tires
This is a real proposal from the California Energy Commission called the Replacement Tire Efficiency Program
“I mean pretty much every aftermarket tire sold in the state is going to be regulated, and no one is talking about it — Tires use energy, some more than others, and California wants to lower the energy use of tires on their vehicles so less CO2 goes into the atmosphere”
It’s for climate change….
I looked into what their plan is
It would require all replacement and aftermarket tires sold in California to meet strict low rolling resistance standards similar to those on new cars (OEM tires)
Tires that don’t meet the targets phased in starting 2028, with stricter rules in 2031 could not be legally sold in the state
OEM tires on new cars are optimized for low rolling resistance (better fuel economy/lower emissions), but this often means shallower tread depth, shorter lifespan, and sometimes reduced grip
Many popular aftermarket tires (especially performance, all-season, or longer-lasting ones) have higher rolling resistance for better handling, durability, or traction. So they will be banned
Here’s what it really means for every day people
Lower rolling resistance leads to more frequent tire replacements, increasing production emissions and costs
It does the exact opposite of what Democrats are saying. It’s a proposal that’s being prepared to be passed
You ever wonder where all of those crazy violent lunatics who protest everything come from?
This right here… that highlighted part… explains it.
The Southern Poverty Law Center was PAYING EVERYDAY LIVING EXPENSES for their violent extremists so they could focus on their violent extremist groups rather than seeking employment elsewhere.
SPLC is just one entity… how much you wanna bet there are hundreds more doing exactly the same thing?
Nothing is organic..
I am deeply honored by, and grateful for, President Donald J. Trump’s nomination to lead the U.S. Agency for Global Media – a role I will hold concurrently with this one if confirmed. I am excited to get started, and look forward to engaging with the Hill.
Truth-telling and censorship circumvention, including in closed societies, are critical causes for me. They are critical functions for State. They are critical reasons why America continues to fund the media entities housed within USAGM, even in an age of flourishing private-sector media.
Deputy CEO @KariLake and Acting CEO @DepSecStateMR will continue to lead USAGM pending my confirmation. I applaud their energy and dedication, and I look forward to meeting the rest of the USAGM team.
I will work hard to gain the confidence of the Senate in this dual role. Fortunately, I’ve learned from the best in this regard – my current boss, @SecRubio.
“We” are the international consensus who care about freedom. You know — the one NATO member nations invoke when they want defense subsidies.
And “we” still agree on something: nations should apply their own sovereign laws. Which is why pathetic censorship flailing by foreign bureaucrats directed at American speech, on American platforms, protected by America’s First Amendment gets you sanctioned.
Sorry you can’t control the conversation anymore.
🚨 OMG. Secretary Bessent just BRUTALLY EMBARRASSED this RUDE Democrat congressman
LARSON (D): Are you in favor of eliminating the gas tax?!
BESSENT: We have moved to—
LARSON: —Are you IN FAVOR of ELIMINATING the gas tax?! Answer!
BESSENT: Well if I'm NOT INTERRUPTED I CAN!
LARSON: I'm waiting for your answer!
BESSENT: We ASKED CONGRESS to eliminate the gas tax. That's done through statute.
*Pause*
LARSON: ...you moved that? You're in favor of eliminating the gas tax?
BESSENT: We have ASKED for that.
LARSON: You're in favor to eliminate the gas tax?
BESSENT: AGAIN, the White House ASKED for it.
LARSON: They have?! Why isn't it before the committee for a vote?
BESSENT: I don't run the agenda. 😂💀
Clueless dolt!
The people who literally ran a world-wide energy extortion/market manipulation racket for over 100 years are frantically trying to figure out a way to stop him.
And failing, thus far.
Everything about the Left is fake.
Once you understand it, everything makes sense.
>Eat the rich... from your mansion
>Save the planet... from your private jet
>Everyone is racist... while you fund the racism.
>Billionaires are evil... unless you fund our candidates.
>Words are violence... but my violence is actually speech
>Wrong pronouns are assault... but burning a courthouse in a protest is mostly peaceful
>We love immigrants... unless you send them to Martha's Vineyard then we call ICE too
>Democracy is sacred... unless we lose, then it was stolen by Russia, misinformation, or Elon
>Diversity is our strength... unless you're a Black conservative, then you're a race traitor who needs to be destroyed
>Tax the wealthy... while your foundation, your trust, and your three LLCs are structured specifically to avoid paying a dime of it
>Capitalism is oppression... posted from an iPhone, on a platform worth a trillion dollars, while wearing merch sold through the your merch store linked in your bio
It's all fake, it's all performative and should be endlessly mocked into oblivion.
Give them zero comfort.
The doctrine is always designed so the cost lands on someone else.
The cashier pays for your protest. The suburban parents pays for your sanctuary city. The trade school kid pays for your student loan forgiveness. The taxpayer pays for your foundation's tax shelter. The working mom pays for your gas stove ban. The factory town pays for your Green New Deal. The girl on the swim team pays for your pronouns. The cop's widow pays for your bail reform.
It's a massive, evil, cost-transfer operation that pretends the evil they are pushing, is moral.
...and it's just evil
Guy did a digital forensic audit of Minnesota in 2018, found $100+ BILLION in fraud, told everyone and no one did anything about it.
Tim Walz belongs in prison.
Any area under complete Democrat control will make it more and more impossible to change leadership the longer they’re in control. Because the communists will use their power to put systems in place that ensure they keep it.
This is true.
Everyone can see it.
Watch what the US Attorney for LA does.
He's spent MONTHS proving Newsom and the local corrupticrats have no control of him.
Also watch Harmeet Dhillon and Todd Blanche.
Races for federal offices MUST COMPLY with federal election laws.
Just because NOBODY WAS ENFORCING THEM before this year literally DOES NOT FUCKING MATTER.
It is NOT a winning argument at SCOTUS that "Well shit, judge, we got away with breaking the federal election laws in all those OTHER ELECTIONS WE RAN FOR THE LAST 50 YEARS! How is this not SELECTIVE PROSECUTION?!"
But watch them try it any way...