Momentus Deploys All Payloads from Vigoride-6 Mission
28 Julho 2023 - 8:31AM
Business Wire
Hosted Payload Services for Caltech Continues
on Vigoride-5
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a
U.S. commercial space company that offers orbital transportation
and in-space infrastructure services, has deployed all customer
payloads from its Vigoride-6 Orbital Service Vehicle launched in
April 2023 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-7 mission.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230727650272/en/
To date, Momentus has deployed a total of 15 customer satellites
over three missions conducted over the past year and has also
placed three Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicles (OSVs) into orbit.
While these initial three missions were demonstration missions
focused on testing the performance of the Vigoride OSV, Momentus is
proud to have orbited a number of customer satellites in the
missions summarized below:
Vigoride-3 launched in May 2022: Momentus’ inaugural
mission deployed six satellites for FOSSA Space Sytems and the
SelfieSat satellite for Orbit NTNU from Vigoride. The Company also
used a third-party deployer to deliver a satellite to orbit for
CalPoly Pomona for a total of eight satellites deployed from
Vigoride-3 and a third-party deployer.
Vigoride-5 launched in January 2023: Momentus’ second
mission included the deployment of the Qosmosys Zeus-1 payload. The
Company is providing ongoing hosted payload services to Caltech’s
Solar Power Project Demonstrator (SSPD) mission. Caltech reports
that its payload recently demonstrated its ability to wirelessly
transmit power in space and to beam detectable power to Earth.
Momentus will continue to provide hosted payload support to SSPD
over the coming months as it continues its operations.
During the Vigoride-5 mission, the Momentus team also tested its
Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) that uses water as a
propellant. This included 35 firings of the thruster that
demonstrated its ability to perform its intended use cases in
Low-Earth Orbit (LEO).
Vigoride-6 launched in April 2023: The Vigoride-6 mission
successfully deployed the REVELA payload for ARCA Dynamics, the
VIREO CubeSat for C3S LLC., the DISCO-1 CubeSat for Aarhus
University, and the IRIS-C payload for an Asian customer booked
through ISILAUNCH.
During the Vigoride-6 mission, Momentus also deployed two
CubeSats into Low-Earth Orbit as part of the NASA LLITED
(Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density)
mission. These two CubeSats, housed behind a single deployer door,
were released from the Vigoride OSV earlier than scheduled. While
the CubeSats were deployed at the intended altitude of 495km, they
were deployed at a different inclination than the intended target
orbit needed for the science experiment. NASA has confirmed the two
CubeSats are functional, and the team will be able to operate the
science instruments onboard. Momentus conducted a thorough
investigation and identified the root cause as human error in the
mapping of a software command. The Company is implementing
corrective actions to prevent a recurrence.
LLITED launched in April as ELaNa 40 (Educational Launch of a
Nanosatellite) managed by NASA’s CubeSat Launch Initiative.
“One of the upcoming events that we are looking forward to
conducting on the Vigoride-6 mission is a test of the Tape Spring
Solar Array (TASSA), a Momentus technology demonstration of a new
kind of solar array,” said Momentus Vice President of Program
Management Krishnan Anand.
The TASSA features 11-meter-long metal sheets with flexible
solar cells bonded to them. To stow, they are tightly coiled around
a mandrel. After launch, motors unroll the mandrel, deploying the
solar array. The goal of the TASSA program is to reduce the cost
per watt of power generated by 50% over arrays currently on the
market. Momentus aims to drive down vehicle production costs and
streamline on-orbit operations, while reducing the cost of power
for the satellite, with this technology once operational.
Along with Vigoride-6, Momentus is concurrently operating its
Vigoride-5 spacecraft that launched in January 2023. As mentioned
above, the Vigoride-5 spacecraft is providing ongoing hosted
payload services to Caltech’s Solar Power Project Demonstrator
(SSPD) mission.
The Company’s next flight is targeted for no earlier than
November 2023 aboard the SpaceX Transporter-9 mission. During this
mission, Momentus will use a deployer to place three satellites
into Low-Earth Orbit for three different customers:
- The AMAN-1 Earth Observation satellite will be deployed for
SatRev. The satellite can also be used for other services such as
land survey, precision agriculture, weather, environmental and
smart cities.
- The JINJUSat-1 satellite will be deployed for CONTEC Co. of the
Republic of Korea. JINJUSat-1 is spearheaded by three entities:
Jinju City, Korea Testing Laboratory, and Gyeongsang National
University. Once in orbit, cameras mounted on the satellite will
carry out a mission to take pictures of the Earth.
- The Picacho satellite will be deployed for Lunasonde - a U.S.
sub-surface imaging company with the goal of making underground
resources – like water and minerals – easier to find. The Picacho
CubeSat is a technology demonstration of Lunasonde’s sensors. It
will measure the power spectral density of low-frequency radio
signals in the ionosphere, which will help inform designs for the
company’s future satellites.
Additionally, Momentus now plans to launch its Vigoride-7 OSV,
originally scheduled for launch in October 2023, on SpaceX’s
Transporter-10 mission targeted for no earlier than February 2024.
On the Vigoride-7 mission, Momentus will aim to deploy several
customer satellites in Low-Earth Orbit and provide services to a
hosted payload. The Company will also release a target satellite
and maneuver the OSV into proximity with the target satellite for a
Remote Proximity Operations demonstration. The revised mission
plans will enable Momentus to launch Vigoride-7 with a fuller load
of payloads for deployment in LEO with better mission economics,
while still meeting the needs of customers requiring orbital
delivery in 2023.
About Momentus
Momentus is a U.S. commercial space company that offers in-space
infrastructure services, including in-space transportation, hosted
payloads and in-orbit services. Momentus believes it can make new
ways of operating in space possible with its planned in-space
transfer and service vehicles that will be powered by an innovative
water plasma-based propulsion system.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release contains certain statements which may
constitute “forward-looking statements” for purposes of the federal
securities laws. Forward-looking statements include, but are not
limited to, statements regarding Momentus or its management team’s
expectations, hopes, beliefs, intentions or strategies regarding
the future, projections, forecasts or other characterizations of
future events or circumstances, including any underlying
assumptions, and are not guarantees of future performance. Because
forward-looking statements relate to the future, they are subject
to inherent uncertainties, risks and changes in circumstances that
are difficult to predict and many of which are outside of Momentus’
control. Many factors could cause actual future events to differ
materially from the forward-looking statements in this press
release, including but not limited to risks and uncertainties
included under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Annual Report on
Form 10-K filed by the Company on March 8, 2023, as such factors
may be updated from time to time in our other filings with the
Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”), accessible on the
SEC’s website at www.sec.gov and the Investor Relations section of
our website at investors.momentus.space. Forward-looking statements
speak only as of the date they are made. Readers are cautioned not
to put undue reliance on forward-looking statements, and, except as
required by law, the Company assumes no obligation and does not
intend to update or revise these forward-looking statements,
whether as a result of new information, future events, or
otherwise.
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230727650272/en/
Investors: investors@momentus.space
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