Author Topic: Momentus Space  (Read 72316 times)

Online Ronsmytheiii

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Momentus Space
« on: 11/14/2018 05:16 pm »
Quote
Today we are excited to announce the details of our seed funding. Momentus provides in-space transportation services for satellites between various orbits out to deep space. Our mission is to provide the most efficient in-space transportation services powered by deep space resource utilization, and the individuals and organizations outlined below will help us achieve our goal.

We would like to especially thank Prime Movers Lab, who led the $8.3M round, with participation from Liquid 2 Ventures, One Way Ventures, Mountain Nazca, Y Combinator, and numerous others.

Quote
Momentus has not only developed groundbreaking and efficient water-powered, in-space rockets, but also validated the massive market demand for their services with hundreds of millions of dollars in LOIs.

Interesting company, looks like they are developing a water based in-space tug.

https://momentus.space/2018/11/14/proudly-announcing-8-3m-in-seed-funding/

Offline momerathe

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #1 on: 11/14/2018 09:39 pm »
God their website is annoying. "Just tell me the facts, ma'am."

Anyway, 700 seconds seems.. okay, I guess? I mean, it's an order of magnitude less than SEP is capable of, but I suppose they've traded-off for higher T/W, which is a legitimate concern if you're going to spend a lot of time climbing in and out of gravity wells.

I would like to see some considerably more detailed numbers, though.
thermodynamics will get you in the end

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #2 on: 11/15/2018 02:14 am »
Of note, Orbit Fab is going to do water tanker testing at ISS (inside?), so there is that interesting interplay between orbital propellant depots, tankers, and customer sats with water fueled propulsion.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #3 on: 11/15/2018 03:21 am »
Quote
Today we are excited to announce the details of our seed funding. Momentus provides in-space transportation services for satellites between various orbits out to deep space. Our mission is to provide the most efficient in-space transportation services powered by deep space resource utilization, and the individuals and organizations outlined below will help us achieve our goal.

We would like to especially thank Prime Movers Lab, who led the $8.3M round, with participation from Liquid 2 Ventures, One Way Ventures, Mountain Nazca, Y Combinator, and numerous others.

Quote
Momentus has not only developed groundbreaking and efficient water-powered, in-space rockets, but also validated the massive market demand for their services with hundreds of millions of dollars in LOIs.

Interesting company, looks like they are developing a water based in-space tug.

https://momentus.space/2018/11/14/proudly-announcing-8-3m-in-seed-funding/
God their website is annoying. "Just tell me the facts, ma'am."

Anyway, 700 seconds seems.. okay, I guess? I mean, it's an order of magnitude less than SEP is capable of, but I suppose they've traded-off for higher T/W, which is a legitimate concern if you're going to spend a lot of time climbing in and out of gravity wells.

I would like to see some considerably more detailed numbers, though.
I couldn't find 700 sec just x3 more than chemical.
Best I've seen for water propulsion is in 300s ISP, for solar concentrator system that super heats water.

 Still 700s is respectable if combined with moderate thrust. If they can do LEO - GEO in weeks not months of SEP then could be onto winner.

Maybe able to use it for lunar landers with power beaming to lander by laser or microwave.
« Last Edit: 11/15/2018 03:24 am by TrevorMonty »

Offline ncb1397

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #4 on: 11/15/2018 03:30 am »
I couldn't find 700 sec just x3 more than chemical.

If you mean you couldn't find a reference to 700 seconds, it is on their website:

Ardoride:
Quote
500-1250 KG WET MASS
180 KG PAYLOAD TO LUNAR ORBIT FROM LEO
250 KG PAYLOAD TO MARS ORBIT FROM GTO
UP TO 6 KM/SEC ∆V
2-3 KW SOLAR PANELS
SPECIFIC IMPULSE UP TO 700 SEC

Vigoride:
Quote
STARTING MASS 180 KG (ESPA)
OR 300 KG (ESPA GRANDE)
UP TO 6 KM/SEC ∆V
500 W SOLAR PANELS
SPECIFIC IMPULSE UP TO 700 SEC
https://momentus.space/services/



Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #5 on: 11/15/2018 03:58 am »
6km/s delta-v is a lot for a tiny spacecraft. If it takes its time, doing burns at perigee, it should be able to easily put itself in orbit around Mars even if it starts in LEO. That small one, Vigoride, should be capable of launch on Rocketlab's Electron with a 30kg payload all the way to Mars orbit.

Kinda neat to do a Mars orbiter with a launch of just $6 million (dunno the cost of Vigoride, tho), either as a Spaceflight Services Rideshare or Rocketlab. And soon a bunch of other providers for probably even cheaper (I think India has cheaper rideshares?), including from the ISS (via Nanoracks' new Bishop Airlock launching in 11 months on CRS-19 can handle 300kg microsats like this, so the full 61kg of payload to Mars orbit).

...the latter option is kind of interesting as you could just launch water anytime a Dragon or Cygnus launch is volume-limited. Using ISS as a sort of ad hoc propellant depot.
« Last Edit: 11/15/2018 03:58 am by Robotbeat »
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Offline ncb1397

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #6 on: 11/15/2018 04:23 am »
It would be an interesting technology to look into for human Mars missions. You essentially have the propellant mass fractions of dense non cryogenic propellants with the ISP of nuclear thermal(700-900 seconds), but with more easily accommodated power requirements than with higher ISP electric propulsion and no radiological issues. You also have commonality between life support(O2 and water) and fuel, with the ability to dynamically trade one for the other.
« Last Edit: 11/15/2018 04:28 am by ncb1397 »

Online catdlr

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #7 on: 11/15/2018 05:19 am »
For those wanting to subscribe to any videos from them:

MOMENTUS

It's Tony De La Rosa, ...I don't create this stuff, I just report it.

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #8 on: 11/15/2018 05:47 am »
...the latter option is kind of interesting as you could just launch water anytime a Dragon or Cygnus launch is volume-limited. Using ISS as a sort of ad hoc propellant depot.

That's an interesting thought, relative to Orbit Fab and their water tanker testing to be done at ISS, and in the context of Jon Goff's 3 burn departure concept, which allows start at ISS orbit. By definition the propulsion stages need to be long lived for electric propulsion, though there is the deviation from the original 3 burn concept (refuel an existing upper stage for first burn).

Offline momerathe

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #9 on: 11/15/2018 07:11 am »
Ardoride:
Quote
500-1250 KG WET MASS
180 KG PAYLOAD TO LUNAR ORBIT FROM LEO
250 KG PAYLOAD TO MARS ORBIT FROM GTO
UP TO 6 KM/SEC ∆V
2-3 KW SOLAR PANELS
SPECIFIC IMPULSE UP TO 700 SEC

Let's plug in some numbers. Assuming an overall system efficiency of 50% (just a ballpark figure obviously), that gives a mass flow rate of

(3000*0.5)/(0.5*(700*9.8 )^2) = ~60 mg/s

and a thrust of ~0.4 N.

Plugging the maximum wet mass and delta-v into the rocket equation, gives a maximum dry mass of ~520kg (presumably including extra tankage, which is why it's above the minimum listed wet mass), and thus a fuel mass of 730 kg.

Combining the two gives a maximum burn time of ~140 days.

One question I would have is whether this thrust is high enough to get meaningful benefit from the oberth effect.. you would require many perigee burns. According to wikipedia, the delta-v required for LEO to Lunar orbit is 8km/s for a continuous burn spiral trajectory..



 
« Last Edit: 11/15/2018 07:11 am by momerathe »
thermodynamics will get you in the end

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #10 on: 11/15/2018 07:33 am »
For those wanting to subscribe to any videos from them:

MOMENTUS
Spacecraft looks lite, donut fuel tank, arrays and propulsion.

Offline momerathe

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #11 on: 11/15/2018 12:05 pm »
So, because I can't leave well-enough alone, I decided to poke into the code that's driving the "mission calculator" on their website.

here's the salient parts: https://pastebin.com/eNWnqiAD

Things to note:
For the Adoride they're using Isp of 800 seconds, not 700.
Mass flow rate is ~195 mg/s (> triple my estimate). Together that makes a jet power of ~6kw. So barring magic, the figure of 2-3kw from the solar panels must be per panel, with multiples installed. Thrust would be 1.5N.

On second thoughts, I'm not sure. There's a weird factor of 10 multiplying the burn time at the end of the calculation, so maybe the mass flow rate is a tenth of what's listed in "h"? That would drop the jet power to 600W and thrust to 0.15N. Assuming 2-3kWe, that gives an overall system efficiency of 20-30%.

Dry mass = 105 kg ex tankage + 7.5 kg per tank. Each tank (max 6) has a 90kg propellant capacity. Based on this they could actually go much higher that 6km/s delta-v if they wanted, by reducing the payload mass.

One thing to note: the delta-v numbers they're using for different destinations are the standard ones you see listed for impulsive trajectories. As I said before, I'm not sure how well this assumption holds up.


Overall, I'm more convinced of this concept now than I was when I started digging. Assuming they don't blow their mass budget, of course. I would love to see more details of their thruster, and what TRL it's at.
thermodynamics will get you in the end

Offline ncb1397

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #12 on: 11/15/2018 06:08 pm »
The weird factor of 10 probably means it only will thrust ~10% of the time. The 6 KW power requirements for the ISP and mass flow rate probably means there is a couple KWh battery (3 KWh is probably on the order or 15 kg) that provides an extra couple KW for an hour or so. Thrusting is then done during perigee which explains the near chemical delta-v numbers for orbit transfers.

Offline momerathe

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #13 on: 11/15/2018 10:41 pm »
Maybe? ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I wish they'd just tell us. It's not as if anyone's going to spend money on this without knowing the details..
« Last Edit: 11/15/2018 10:41 pm by momerathe »
thermodynamics will get you in the end

Offline momerathe

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #14 on: 11/17/2018 11:58 am »
A recent-ish journal article on a very similar looking propulsion technology: The microwave electro-thermal (MET) thruster using water vapor propellant

Differences are that the linked article describes a magnetron rather than a helicon antenna as a microwave source, but the Isp and power levels line up - even down to the description of using a vortex for plasma containment.
thermodynamics will get you in the end

Online jongoff

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #15 on: 11/21/2018 05:03 am »
...the latter option is kind of interesting as you could just launch water anytime a Dragon or Cygnus launch is volume-limited. Using ISS as a sort of ad hoc propellant depot.

That's an interesting thought, relative to Orbit Fab and their water tanker testing to be done at ISS, and in the context of Jon Goff's 3 burn departure concept, which allows start at ISS orbit. By definition the propulsion stages need to be long lived for electric propulsion, though there is the deviation from the original 3 burn concept (refuel an existing upper stage for first burn).

Yeah, if you were leaving from ISS with a low-thrust system like this, there are different maneuvers you would do than the 3-burn departure. I've seen some good papers on the tricks you can do for a low-thrust hyperbolic departure.

~Jon

Offline Tywin

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Offline Davidthefat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #17 on: 02/05/2019 11:56 pm »
What's stopping Rocket Lab from expanding the capabilities of the kick stage, and effectively do what this company is trying to do by marketing it? Curie has the flight heritage under its belt.

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #18 on: 02/06/2019 02:03 am »
What's stopping Rocket Lab from expanding the capabilities of the kick stage, and effectively do what this company is trying to do by marketing it? Curie has the flight heritage under its belt.
....because Rocketlab's kick stage Isp is much lower. And dry mass fraction probably worse as well.
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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #19 on: 02/06/2019 02:11 am »
What's stopping Rocket Lab from expanding the capabilities of the kick stage, and effectively do what this company is trying to do by marketing it? Curie has the flight heritage under its belt.

Electron's performance. 150–225 kg to LEO leaves almost zero margin for hardware that isn't payload. Vigoride will weigh no less than 80 kg wet per Momentus' website, meaning that the limits of Electron would be ~140 kg to a 700 km elliptical orbit with Vigoride providing a max of 1 km/s dV (for a 50 kg payload) from there. That is by no means shabby but it's really hard to conceive of more than a tiny handful of customers for something like that.


Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #20 on: 02/06/2019 07:48 am »


What's stopping Rocket Lab from expanding the capabilities of the kick stage, and effectively do what this company is trying to do by marketing it? Curie has the flight heritage under its belt.

Electron's performance. 150–225 kg to LEO leaves almost zero margin for hardware that isn't payload. Vigoride will weigh no less than 80 kg wet per Momentus' website, meaning that the limits of Electron would be ~140 kg to a 700 km elliptical orbit with Vigoride providing a max of 1 km/s dV (for a 50 kg payload) from there. That is by no means shabby but it's really hard to conceive of more than a tiny handful of customers for something like that.



Electron market may not be that big for them especially as Curie does alot of what Vigoride does. Their larger tugs when used with new range of 1000-1250kg LVs is lot more interesting. Delivering smallsats to GEO and Lunar orbit.

Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #21 on: 02/06/2019 02:12 pm »
First contract for Vigoride with a german company, ECM Space...

https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

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Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #22 on: 02/08/2019 04:08 am »
First contract for Vigoride with a german company, ECM Space...

https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

Would be good to know the name of their test satellite and launch vehicle.

"Momentus plans to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of its key technology, a water-plasma engine, in March or April."
« Last Edit: 02/08/2019 04:09 am by Steven Pietrobon »
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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #23 on: 02/08/2019 04:24 am »
First contract for Vigoride with a german company, ECM Space...

https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

Would be good to know the name of their test satellite and launch vehicle.

"Momentus plans to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of its key technology, a water-plasma engine, in March or April."

IIRC, Astro Digital (another company the Momentus CEO is financially involved with) is building the bus for their demo flight. Based on past history, my guess is they'd be going up on either a Soyuz or a PSLV.

~Jon

Offline brickmack

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #24 on: 02/16/2019 12:17 am »

Offline TorenAltair

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #25 on: 03/29/2019 02:25 pm »
First contract for Vigoride with a german company, ECM Space...

https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

Would be good to know the name of their test satellite and launch vehicle.

"Momentus plans to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of its key technology, a water-plasma engine, in March or April."

They used only Soyuz rockets so far. They have 5 missions scheduled this year. The price is 30000 Euros per kg.
„[...] including a 16-unit cubesat for in-space transportation startup Momentus, into orbit on a Russian Soyuz rocket. [...]“

Offline Bananas_on_Mars

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #26 on: 03/29/2019 08:55 pm »
.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #27 on: 04/20/2019 10:20 pm »
.
Just listen to interview, they are a company worth watching.

I don't see them using Electron with Vigoride for SSO missions as Curie already this covered.

Here aresome  more interesting BLEO possibilities are.

The Vigoride Extended on LauncherOne can deliver 100kg to GEO or Lunar Orbit.

Using Firefly Alpha or Relativity Terran1, +200kg (guess) to earth escape, that is useful size interplanetary smallsat. With combined Vigorode and LV cost likely to be under $20m.

Ardoride on Vega C can deliver 500kg to GEO and Lunar Orbit.

Vigoride is built waiting for maiden launch this year. Extended should be avaliable next year.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #28 on: 05/18/2019 11:15 pm »
With Fervoride OTV the F9R could deliver 6-8t to lunar gateway.

No way around chemical engines for landers and HSF but for cargo and fuel between LEO -LLO -LEO Fervoride OTV would ideal, especially if lunar water is avaliable in LLO.
There is issue of solar panel degradation every time OTV passes through Van Allen belt, but this should be lot less compared to normal SEP, due to faster trip time.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #29 on: 07/05/2019 07:58 pm »
Their demostrator mission was on yesterdays Soyzu launch.

https://spaceflightnow.com/2019/07/05/soyuz-rocket-and-fregat-upper-stage-deliver-33-satellites-to-three-different-orbits/

One of the rideshare satellites launched Friday is owned by a Silicon Valley-based company named Momentus, which is developing a line of Vigoride orbital transfer vehicles that are designed to ferry CubeSats and other small payloads from low Earth orbit to higher altitudes.

Momentus’s first mission will demonstrate a novel water-based propulsion system. Momentus developed the microwave electrothermal thruster, which uses water as a propellant, to power the company’s Vigoride space tugs. Momentus named its first mission, based on a 16-unit CubeSat built by Astro Digital, “El Camino Real”after the route built by early Spanish settlers in California.

“On this mission we will be the first to fly a microwave electrothermal plasma rocket in space to prove the technical feasibility of our high performance water rockets,” wrote Joel Sercel, chief technology officer at Momentus, in an updated on the company’s website.

The El Camino Real spacecraft is about the size of a suitcase.

“We will be flying our technology demonstration of water based microwave electrothermal propulsion on a CubeSat even though the in space rockets, or orbit transfer vehicles, we are building are bigger than that and can carry many CubeSats on a single mission,” Sercel wrote. “El Camino Real is flying on a CubeSat because it is the most cost effective way to do this key technology demonstration.”


Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #30 on: 07/05/2019 08:08 pm »
Momentus will be providing propulsion for this TransAstra demo mission. These are sister companies which Joel seems to float between. Listen Dec2018 FISO podcast few posts above for more information about their relationship.


https://newatlas.com/nasa-asteroid-lunar-mining-projects/60074/

The second mission is the Mini Bee prototype. Part of the broader Apis mission by Joel Sercel of the TransAstra Corporation, the goal is to build a flight demonstration satellite that will show the practicality of using mirrors to focus sunlight on asteroids to boil off water and other volatiles so they can be collected for use as propellants and other applications.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #31 on: 07/05/2019 08:28 pm »
They plan to start services with expendable vehicles, long term plan is to make them reuseable by refuelling.

ISS orbit is likely location for refuelling also good place to pickup satellites for deployment. Other companies are working assembling satellites in orbit, most likely at ISS or nearby commercial station.



Offline brickmack

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #32 on: 07/05/2019 10:43 pm »
Has anyone seen any studies on how large a fluid tank ISS could support (within structural/attitude control/physical volume limits)? Initial Momentus vehicles would need only a few hundred kg of water aggregation at ISS, but at several tons slosh dynamics and such seem likely problematic.

Offline Robotbeat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #33 on: 07/06/2019 12:59 am »
Has anyone seen any studies on how large a fluid tank ISS could support (within structural/attitude control/physical volume limits)? Initial Momentus vehicles would need only a few hundred kg of water aggregation at ISS, but at several tons slosh dynamics and such seem likely problematic.
I think you'd need more than several tons for it to be really problematic. Also, that just complicates tank design slightly.
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Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #34 on: 07/06/2019 07:28 pm »
Don't need depot attached to ISS just nearby. Orbit Fab (wantabe fuel depot company) idea was to use surplus payload capacity on Cygnus for early tanker.

Orbit Fab did FISO podcast Feb2019 if you want find out more.
http://fiso.spiritastro.net/archivelist.htm

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #35 on: 07/17/2019 05:20 pm »
https://twitter.com/pbdes/status/1151523001755734016
Quote
.@momentusspace raises $25.5M from @DakinSloss #primemoverslab, @ycombinator @QuietCapital @mountainnazca, for water-vapor powered vehicles taking satellites from LEO drop-off to desired orbits. Demo launched July 5, passenger-carrying missions in 2020.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #36 on: 07/17/2019 07:32 pm »
Not sure of this passenger carry capability. Their Fervoride OTV is good for 6-8t to Lunar gateway, but that will be trip of few weeks or months, not really suitable for passengers.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #37 on: 07/17/2019 07:33 pm »
Not sure of this passenger carry capability. Their Fervoride OTV is good for 6-8t to Lunar gateway, but that will be trip of few weeks or months, not really suitable for passengers.

When Peter said "passengers" I'm pretty sure he meant satellites, not humans.

Offline brickmack

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #38 on: 07/17/2019 10:27 pm »
It would be an interesting cislunar cargo vehicle though. Similar niche to that SNC/Boeing/NG/LM are expected to try to fill with their PPE-derived cargo vehicles, but could come out ahead with (likely) shorter travel time and much cheaper propellant.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #39 on: 07/17/2019 11:12 pm »
They would be designing tug using traditional solar arrays, with NG Ultraflex one best at 150w/kg. Made In Space will be flying demo in 2022 that prints boom in space for array, with 500w/kg performance. Probably lot cheaper than Ultraflex given simpler and more compact design.

With solar arrays of this performance the tug should be even more capable given lower dry mass.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #40 on: 07/30/2019 01:21 am »
From my rough calculations and assumptions on dry weight for Exoride I think Momentus can deliver water to LEO from lunar surface for similar performance as LH LOX tug. The studies I've seen result in 1t to LEO for 5t mined, 4t is burnt delivering 1t and returning empty tankers. Where Exoride shines is that it uses water not LH LOX which takes lot power and equipment to produce. Approx 2t of water for Exoride tanker and 2t for lander to deliver 1t to LEO.

The 2t of LH LOX requires more than 2t water mined and purified as engines burner higher H to O ratio than is in water. This process results in surplus O which can be good or bad thing depending if there is market for it.

Exoride tanker will takes months to do round trip compared to LH LOX tanker's week or two.



Offline brickmack

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #41 on: 07/30/2019 02:56 am »
Problem with using this for the moon is, the propulsion requirements for the LEO-surface-LEO circuit are dominated by lunar descent and ascent (where a high-thrust engine is mandatory) and LEO insertion (which both tug options could make use of aerocapture to virtually eliminate this impact). The only part where this could make a meaningful difference is TLI, LOI, and TEI. 5 km/s out of 12.7 km/s. ~Doubling engine ISP is a big gain, but I'm not sure its *big enough* to justify months vs days of travel time with that small-ish portion of the mission being applicable. And hydrolox engines burning closer to stoichiometric (which has had a bit of research done and seems to be feasible) can reduce the propellant cost gap

I'm more interested in this tech for:

1. Interplanetary or especially asteroid missions, where travel time is always going to be long, low-thrust propulsion is acceptable for most or all of the flight, and ISRU infrastructure will take longer to develop because the prototype testing cycles are much longer

2. Stationkeeping thrusters for spacecraft already in their operating orbits, especially very large constellations (where cost of traditional electric or hypergolic options would be outrageously large, or totally impossible) and/or servicable spacecraft (where the inertness of water makes it safer to handle, including to the point of a pressurized shirt-sleeve environment)

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #42 on: 07/30/2019 03:30 am »



2. Stationkeeping thrusters for spacecraft already in their operating orbits, especially very large constellations (where cost of traditional electric or hypergolic options would be outrageously large, or totally impossible) and/or servicable spacecraft (where the inertness of water makes it safer to handle, including to the point of a pressurized shirt-sleeve environment)

They would make ideal GEO tug, that moves satellites around GEO and to grave yard orbit. No need to return to earth as it could be refuelled from lunar fuel.

For interplanetary mission go from LEO to EML1, refuel then depart to destination.



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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #43 on: 08/22/2019 07:57 pm »
[Space News] Momentus to rely on NanoRacks airlock for Vigoride shuttle
Quote
August 5, 2019
Momentus plans to conduct a test launch in 2020 of Vigoride, a shuttle to ferry payloads from one location in low Earth orbit to another, by sending a satellite into orbit through NanoRacks’ Kaber Microsat Deployer on the space station.
...
Once the Bishop Airlock is in place, Momentus will send its Vigoride customers into orbit through the commercial airlock, Momentus and NanoRacks announced Aug. 5 at the Small Satellite Conference here.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #44 on: 08/22/2019 07:58 pm »
Momentus To Provide In-Space Transportation Service to its Customers On SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Launch
   
Service to deliver customer satellites to multiple custom orbits from a single Falcon 9 launch

We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission --Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX.


SANTA CLARA, CALIF. (PRWEB) AUGUST 22, 2019

Momentus (http://www.momentus.space), provider of in-space shuttle services that move satellites between orbits, today announced plans to provide orbital shuttle service to its customers on SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle will carry multiple customer satellites, with a total mass up to 250 kg, each to its own custom orbit on a mission scheduled to launch no earlier than late 2020. As part of this launch, Momentus will offer its customers the ability to access multiple destination orbits through its in-space last-mile transportation services.

A graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator program and based in Santa Clara, California, Momentus recently announced a $25.5MM Series A, bringing total funding to $34M. Momentus employs new and proprietary technology including water plasma propulsion for the mission of low-cost sustainable transportation through space. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle, which is designed and built in-house, is powered by proprietary water plasma propulsion to ferry satellites from one orbit to another.

“We are showing that ridesharing from the Falcon 9 will be a game-changer. By ferrying payloads to multiple orbits from a single launch, we multiply the capability of an already very impressive system,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “I’m personally thrilled to have the opportunity to work with SpaceX.”

“We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX. “Their innovative technology will offer a strong complement to Falcon 9’s capability to reliably and affordably launch payloads for small satellite operators.”

About Momentus

Momentus provides in-space shuttle services for satellites. The company was founded in 2017 in Santa Clara, CA with the idea to revolutionize space transportation. Momentus designs and builds orbital shuttles propelled by proprietary water plasma thrusters. The service ferries satellites to final orbits after they are delivered by conventional rockets to their initial orbit. Momentus is a 30 person team growing rapidly. The company has raised $34MM to date.

For more information and a list of job openings, please visit us at http://www.momentus.space/careers

Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #45 on: 08/28/2019 04:43 am »
Very interesting report about all the initiatives in the world with the water propulsion technologies...

https://spacenews.com/water-propulsion-technologies-picking-up-steam/
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Offline Blackjax

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #46 on: 08/30/2019 03:36 pm »
Momentus To Provide In-Space Transportation Service to its Customers On SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Launch
   
Service to deliver customer satellites to multiple custom orbits from a single Falcon 9 launch

We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission --Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX.


SANTA CLARA, CALIF. (PRWEB) AUGUST 22, 2019

Momentus (http://www.momentus.space), provider of in-space shuttle services that move satellites between orbits, today announced plans to provide orbital shuttle service to its customers on SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle will carry multiple customer satellites, with a total mass up to 250 kg, each to its own custom orbit on a mission scheduled to launch no earlier than late 2020. As part of this launch, Momentus will offer its customers the ability to access multiple destination orbits through its in-space last-mile transportation services.

A graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator program and based in Santa Clara, California, Momentus recently announced a $25.5MM Series A, bringing total funding to $34M. Momentus employs new and proprietary technology including water plasma propulsion for the mission of low-cost sustainable transportation through space. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle, which is designed and built in-house, is powered by proprietary water plasma propulsion to ferry satellites from one orbit to another.

“We are showing that ridesharing from the Falcon 9 will be a game-changer. By ferrying payloads to multiple orbits from a single launch, we multiply the capability of an already very impressive system,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “I’m personally thrilled to have the opportunity to work with SpaceX.”

“We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX. “Their innovative technology will offer a strong complement to Falcon 9’s capability to reliably and affordably launch payloads for small satellite operators.”

About Momentus

Momentus provides in-space shuttle services for satellites. The company was founded in 2017 in Santa Clara, CA with the idea to revolutionize space transportation. Momentus designs and builds orbital shuttles propelled by proprietary water plasma thrusters. The service ferries satellites to final orbits after they are delivered by conventional rockets to their initial orbit. Momentus is a 30 person team growing rapidly. The company has raised $34MM to date.

For more information and a list of job openings, please visit us at http://www.momentus.space/careers

The rideshare program seemed like a decent opportunity for Momentous when it was first announced.  With this deveopment however, I wonder if it is now gamechanging.

https://spacenews.com/spacex-revamps-smallsat-rideshare-program/

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this drop the cost of the launch plus the service from Momentous below the current prices from an outfit like Rocket Lab and still give you a lot of the custom orbit capability that seems to be one of the major selling points they advertise? I wonder if this might route more of the business that would have gone to small launch operators without necessarily requiring Momentous through a Spacex/Momentous combo.  It also might make it harder for small launch companies to gain further funding and perhaps easier for Momentous.

I wonder what changes this will cause in Momentous' strategy or execution. 

Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #47 on: 08/30/2019 05:11 pm »
Momentus To Provide In-Space Transportation Service to its Customers On SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Launch
   
Service to deliver customer satellites to multiple custom orbits from a single Falcon 9 launch

We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission --Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX.


SANTA CLARA, CALIF. (PRWEB) AUGUST 22, 2019

Momentus (http://www.momentus.space), provider of in-space shuttle services that move satellites between orbits, today announced plans to provide orbital shuttle service to its customers on SpaceX’s first dedicated SmallSat Rideshare mission. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle will carry multiple customer satellites, with a total mass up to 250 kg, each to its own custom orbit on a mission scheduled to launch no earlier than late 2020. As part of this launch, Momentus will offer its customers the ability to access multiple destination orbits through its in-space last-mile transportation services.

A graduate of the prestigious Y Combinator program and based in Santa Clara, California, Momentus recently announced a $25.5MM Series A, bringing total funding to $34M. Momentus employs new and proprietary technology including water plasma propulsion for the mission of low-cost sustainable transportation through space. Momentus’ Vigoride orbital shuttle, which is designed and built in-house, is powered by proprietary water plasma propulsion to ferry satellites from one orbit to another.

“We are showing that ridesharing from the Falcon 9 will be a game-changer. By ferrying payloads to multiple orbits from a single launch, we multiply the capability of an already very impressive system,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “I’m personally thrilled to have the opportunity to work with SpaceX.”

“We are excited to have Momentus as SpaceX’s first customer on a dedicated small satellite rideshare mission,” said Gwynne Shotwell, President and Chief Operating Officer at SpaceX. “Their innovative technology will offer a strong complement to Falcon 9’s capability to reliably and affordably launch payloads for small satellite operators.”

About Momentus

Momentus provides in-space shuttle services for satellites. The company was founded in 2017 in Santa Clara, CA with the idea to revolutionize space transportation. Momentus designs and builds orbital shuttles propelled by proprietary water plasma thrusters. The service ferries satellites to final orbits after they are delivered by conventional rockets to their initial orbit. Momentus is a 30 person team growing rapidly. The company has raised $34MM to date.

For more information and a list of job openings, please visit us at http://www.momentus.space/careers

The rideshare program seemed like a decent opportunity for Momentous when it was first announced.  With this deveopment however, I wonder if it is now gamechanging.

https://spacenews.com/spacex-revamps-smallsat-rideshare-program/

Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this drop the cost of the launch plus the service from Momentous below the current prices from an outfit like Rocket Lab and still give you a lot of the custom orbit capability that seems to be one of the major selling points they advertise? I wonder if this might route more of the business that would have gone to small launch operators without necessarily requiring Momentous through a Spacex/Momentous combo.  It also might make it harder for small launch companies to gain further funding and perhaps easier for Momentous.

I wonder what changes this will cause in Momentous' strategy or execution.

I wonder if Momentus can have similar agreement with Blue and her enormous fairing of the NG, for the bigger space tug of Momentus...
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Offline GreenShrike

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #48 on: 08/30/2019 06:15 pm »
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this drop the cost of the launch plus the service from Momentous below the current prices from an outfit like Rocket Lab and still give you a lot of the custom orbit capability that seems to be one of the major selling points they advertise?

Quite possibly, though you'd need to price out a F9 rideshare and a Vigoride or Vigoride Extended to be sure. If SpaceX charges a couple million for an ESPA port and a Vigoride is a couple million, then it should be less than a $6M Electron -- assuming your payload can fit within the mass/volume limitations.

Might be interesting if the payload doesn't have to be deployed and can just continue to use the Vigoride's power and RCS systems -- basically a Momentus version of Rocketlab's Curie-based Photon bus.


I wonder what changes this will cause in Momentous' strategy or execution.

I suspect that this is pretty much exactly what they were anticipating, and that Momentus has a much larger potential customer base in rideshares than in dedicated smallsat launches. As such, I'd guess that smallsat launchers will be their competition rather more often than their partners.

I'm especially looking forward to their Fervoride vehicles, which could provide regular on-orbit shuttle services. Maybe stick a water tank and docking ring on the top of the Falcon 9 (or Soyuz or New Glenn, etc.) ESPA ring stack, and a Fervoride shuttle can snag the stack from the upper stage, refill its internal tank and then start hitting the specific orbits the payloads want, before getting back to LEO, ditching the stack, and waiting for the next rideshare flight. (And maybe grab and deorbit the odd dead LEO satellite when its got nothing better to do.)

I mean, they're probably looking at Starship and thinking that it may be able to drop off 100+ tonnes in LEO, but it'll be a cheaper and more efficient to refill a 5-10t Fervoride for last mile delivery than an 80t Starship, and how many monolithic 100t+ payloads wanting to go to a single orbit will there be, anyway?

SpaceX apparently doesn't want to do orbital tugs, so Momentus wants to step in as an on-orbit SpaceX. Vigoride is their version of the Falcon 1 -- cheap enough to be expendable, but with an eye towards the recovery, refueling and reuse of future vehicles. As SpaceX has shown, though, reuse is great but "cheap enough to be expended" is the important bit -- and I hope Momentus keeps that in mind for Vigoride on up.

Fortunately for them, however, recovery and reuse of Fervoride and subsequent shuttles won't involve figuring out how to survive fiery plunges into Earth's atmosphere, just how to refill tankage with an inert, non-cryogenic monoprop that's even cheaper than dirt. ;-)
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Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #49 on: 08/31/2019 12:15 am »
Correct me if I am wrong, but doesn't this drop the cost of the launch plus the service from Momentous below the current prices from an outfit like Rocket Lab and still give you a lot of the custom orbit capability that seems to be one of the major selling points they advertise?

Quite possibly, though you'd need to price out a F9 rideshare and a Vigoride or Vigoride Extended to be sure. If SpaceX charges a couple million for an ESPA port and a Vigoride is a couple million, then it should be less than a $6M Electron -- assuming your payload can fit within the mass/volume limitations.

Might be interesting if the payload doesn't have to be deployed and can just continue to use the Vigoride's power and RCS systems -- basically a Momentus version of Rocketlab's Curie-based Photon bus.


I wonder what changes this will cause in Momentous' strategy or execution.

I suspect that this is pretty much exactly what they were anticipating, and that Momentus has a much larger potential customer base in rideshares than in dedicated smallsat launches. As such, I'd guess that smallsat launchers will be their competition rather more often than their partners.

I'm especially looking forward to their Fervoride vehicles, which could provide regular on-orbit shuttle services. Maybe stick a water tank and docking ring on the top of the Falcon 9 (or Soyuz or New Glenn, etc.) ESPA ring stack, and a Fervoride shuttle can snag the stack from the upper stage, refill its internal tank and then start hitting the specific orbits the payloads want, before getting back to LEO, ditching the stack, and waiting for the next rideshare flight. (And maybe grab and deorbit the odd dead LEO satellite when its got nothing better to do.)

I mean, they're probably looking at Starship and thinking that it may be able to drop off 100+ tonnes in LEO, but it'll be a cheaper and more efficient to refill a 5-10t Fervoride for last mile delivery than an 80t Starship, and how many monolithic 100t+ payloads wanting to go to a single orbit will there be, anyway?

SpaceX apparently doesn't want to do orbital tugs, so Momentus wants to step in as an on-orbit SpaceX. Vigoride is their version of the Falcon 1 -- cheap enough to be expendable, but with an eye towards the recovery, refueling and reuse of future vehicles. As SpaceX has shown, though, reuse is great but "cheap enough to be expended" is the important bit -- and I hope Momentus keeps that in mind for Vigoride on up.

Fortunately for them, however, recovery and reuse of Fervoride and subsequent shuttles won't involve figuring out how to survive fiery plunges into Earth's atmosphere, just how to refill tankage with an inert, non-cryogenic monoprop that's even cheaper than dirt. ;-)
Momentus could use Vigoride bus for tanker, only needs to provide station keeping in LEO. Reuseable Fervoride would return to tanker for refuelling. Payloads for Fervoride could be launched with Vigoride, which would rendezvous with Feroride then transfer payload.

NB they also have 100t 100kw 1100ISP Valoride space tug on they todo list.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #50 on: 08/31/2019 10:49 pm »
With most NEA being within 1km/s DV of EML1 or EML2, Valoride could return 1000t small asteriod. Ideally for testing mining operations on. NASA may even pay for mission.

Offline Bob Shaw

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #51 on: 08/31/2019 11:16 pm »
Using water as reaction mass is a sort of no-brainer, so long as you have a source of energy to heat it into steam (or to encourage sublimation). It is a step beyond simply using compressed gas, and is an obvious choice for cubesats and larger. It is also very safe - get it on your spacesuit and you're hardly bothered, unlike ammonia. Clearly, there are ways to use water as a resource in other ways, not least because of it not requiring cryogenic storage temperatures.

The problem is that it is always going to be a niche solution...
« Last Edit: 08/31/2019 11:17 pm by Bob Shaw »

Offline john smith 19

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #52 on: 09/01/2019 08:25 am »
With Fervoride OTV the F9R could deliver 6-8t to lunar gateway.

No way around chemical engines for landers and HSF but for cargo and fuel between LEO -LLO -LEO Fervoride OTV would ideal, especially if lunar water is avaliable in LLO.
There is issue of solar panel degradation every time OTV passes through Van Allen belt, but this should be lot less compared to normal SEP, due to faster trip time.
The challenge is does it's thrust level trade off well with ion thrusters running Xenon?

Against hypergolics it obviously looks very good indeed.
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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #53 on: 09/11/2019 03:03 pm »
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20190911005177/en/Relativity-Space-Signs-Launch-Services-Agreement-Multiple
Quote
LOS ANGELES--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Relativity Space, the world’s first autonomous rocket factory and launch services leader for satellites, today announced that it has signed a Launch Services Agreement (LSA) with Momentus, the provider of in-space shuttle services that move satellites between orbits, to launch Momentus’ small and medium satellite customers on Relativity’s Terran 1 rocket, the world’s first and only entirely 3D printed rocket. Momentus will then deliver their customers’ small and medium sized satellites to geosynchronous orbit (GEO) using the Momentus Vigoride Extended in-space shuttle service.
The agreement includes Momentus’ purchase of a first launch, scheduled for 2021, with options for five additional launches with Relativity. The agreement opens access to a more diverse range of orbits for Terran 1 including geostationary transfer orbit (GTO), Lunar and deep space orbits, lower inclinations, and phasing of multiple spacecraft in low Earth orbit (LEO) and medium Earth orbit (MEO). Small satellites will have access to even more flexible launch capabilities with Momentus-enabled missions combined with Terran 1’s class-leading features.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #54 on: 10/19/2019 01:34 am »

https://spacenews.com/momentus-el-camino-real-results/

SAN FRANCISCO – Silicon Valley startup Momentus’ is reporting success in on-orbit testing of water plasma propulsion and other key elements of its Vigoride in-space transportation vehicle.

Offline Blackjax

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #55 on: 10/29/2019 05:40 pm »
I kept needing prices for their services and not really finding them in this thread, so just for ease of reference in the future:

Quote
Vigoride, with a preliminary pricetag of $1.2 million, is designed to move satellites with a mass of 250 kilograms or less to new destinations in low Earth orbit.
...(snip)...
Vigoride Extended, with a preliminary price of $4.8 million, will move satellites with a mass of 300 kilograms from low Earth orbit to geostationary transfer orbit, geostationary orbit or the moon
sourced from this article https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

So to launch a 225kg Rocket Labs Electron size payload on a SpaceX Rideshare using Vigoride would cost:

Base SpaceX Rideshare price for 200kg: $1,000,000
Additional Rideshare Mass (25kg payload + Vigoride mass 80kg = 105kg @ $5000/kg): $525,000
Vigoride price: $1,200,000

SpaceX/Vigoride Total Cost: $2,725,000  ($12,111 per kg of payload)
Rocket Labs Total Cost: $5,000,000 ($22,222 per kg of payload)

For giggles I also priced out a scenario where you would aggregate many small payloads, distribute them across multiple vigorides and stack them into a single Relativity Terran 1 launch.  I used Relatvity because it is the cheapest per kg of the plausible small launchers coming up.

Relativity/3x Vigoride Total Cost: $13,600,000 ($13,737 per kg of payload)
Relativity/4x Vigoride Total Cost: $14,800,000 ($13,831 per kg of payload)

Would you actually really want to stick all those payloads on Vigorides on a Terran 1 rather than just launching on the Terran 1 directly?  I dunno, I just ran the numbers for the hell of it.
« Last Edit: 10/29/2019 10:05 pm by Blackjax »

Offline theinternetftw

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #56 on: 10/29/2019 08:53 pm »
In keeping with that "everything in one place" idea, I'll put the data sheets for both vehicles right next to those prices above.

Offline Blackjax

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #57 on: 10/29/2019 10:50 pm »

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #58 on: 10/30/2019 07:58 am »
I kept needing prices for their services and not really finding them in this thread, so just for ease of reference in the future:

Quote
Vigoride, with a preliminary pricetag of $1.2 million, is designed to move satellites with a mass of 250 kilograms or less to new destinations in low Earth orbit.
...(snip)...
Vigoride Extended, with a preliminary price of $4.8 million, will move satellites with a mass of 300 kilograms from low Earth orbit to geostationary transfer orbit, geostationary orbit or the moon
sourced from this article https://spacenews.com/momentus-first-vigoride-customer/

So to launch a 225kg Rocket Labs Electron size payload on a SpaceX Rideshare using Vigoride would cost:

Base SpaceX Rideshare price for 200kg: $1,000,000
Additional Rideshare Mass (25kg payload + Vigoride mass 80kg = 105kg @ $5000/kg): $525,000
Vigoride price: $1,200,000

SpaceX/Vigoride Total Cost: $2,725,000  ($12,111 per kg of payload)
Rocket Labs Total Cost: $5,000,000 ($22,222 per kg of payload)

For giggles I also priced out a scenario where you would aggregate many small payloads, distribute them across multiple vigorides and stack them into a single Relativity Terran 1 launch.  I used Relatvity because it is the cheapest per kg of the plausible small launchers coming up.

Relativity/3x Vigoride Total Cost: $13,600,000 ($13,737 per kg of payload)
Relativity/4x Vigoride Total Cost: $14,800,000 ($13,831 per kg of payload)

Would you actually really want to stick all those payloads on Vigorides on a Terran 1 rather than just launching on the Terran 1 directly?  I dunno, I just ran the numbers for the hell of it.
I can see SpaceXs rideshare missions being a bonanza for Momentus.

Small LVs will still have a market, some customers need or prefer a dedicated launch that they control.

The taxi vs scheduled bus service comparsion still exists.  Momentus OTV means bus will take you to your door for extra fee.




Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #59 on: 11/07/2019 08:24 am »
Vigoride-1 mission FCC STA request, found by user softwaresaur on reddit

Quote
VR-1 is expected to be deployed from a Falcon 9 launch in May 2020, and the mission is expected to have a duration of 180 days, i.e., from May 2020 to November 2020.

...

For the initial mission, VR-1 will have the capacity to transport and deploy multiple payloads (individually, “Payload 1,” “Payload 2,” and “Payload 3,” and together, the “Payloads”). Payload 1 is expected to be a standard 6U cubesat and Payloads 2 and 3 are expected to be standard 3U cubesats.

...

VR-1 has a planned launch on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in May 2020. VR-1 will be affixed directly to the payload of the Falcon 9 and deployed into a 220 by 380 km elliptical orbit with a 53 degree inclination (Footnote 3 The launch vehicle operator has indicated it may select an alternative insertion orbit of 289 km circular.). After separation from the launch vehicle, VR-1 will undergo commissioning and, upon completion, will conduct orbit-raising maneuvers to a targeted 380 km circular orbit with a 53 degree inclination. At this orbital destination, VR-1 will deploy Payloads 1 and 2.

After deployment of Payloads 1 and 2, VR-1 will conduct orbit-raising maneuvers to a targeted 500 km circular orbit with a 53 degree inclination. At this orbital destination, VR-1 will deploy Payload 3.

...

As part of the orbit raising, Momentus will calculate and monitor propellant consumption and reserve a sufficient amount of propellant to ensure that VR-1 will be capable of conducting a final de-orbit maneuver, as discussed below. While Momentus believes that theoretically VR-1 will be able to attain a circular orbit of 500 km, as an operational matter, it is possible that VR-1 will not reach that orbital altitude. Regardless, as demonstrated in the attached Orbital Debris Assessment Report, a 500 km circular orbit would be the worst-case scenario for orbital debris purposes, and Payload 3 and VR-1 would each re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere in less than 4 years at that altitude.

Following deployment of Payload 3, VR-1 will engage in de-orbit maneuvers to lower the perigee of the spacecraft to 300 km altitude. At a (maximum) 500 x 300 km orbit, Momentus calculates that VR-1 will de-orbit within one year. Naturally, if VR-1 does not reach a 500 km circular orbit, the VR-1 de-orbit period will be even shorter after completion of the de-orbit maneuver.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #60 on: 11/07/2019 07:10 pm »
Link to the rest of the filing: SAT-STA-20191105-00126

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #61 on: 12/10/2019 04:50 pm »
Momentus withdrew their FCC filing.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #62 on: 12/11/2019 03:08 am »
Momentus withdrew their FCC filing.
Developing slipping to right?. If so nothing to worry about its industry norm.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #63 on: 02/08/2020 04:36 am »
[Press Release: Feb. 5, 2020] Service Roadmap for Vigoride
Quote
2020 is a big year for Momentus, as our Vigoride shuttle will fly two demo missions, paving the way for commercial missions from 2021 onward.

Through joint efforts in flexible ridesharing this will open a new paradigm in flexibility for custom drop-off altitudes and orbits in space. You can read about some of our first customers on Space News here and here.

The first ever water-powered microwave electro-thermal (MET) thruster was launched and tested in space on our El Camino Real mission in 2019. The first full-scale Vigoride test mission “Strait of Magellan” is planned for Q3 2020 on the Soyuz rocket. Another planned ride is titled “Amber Road” in December 2020 on the SpaceX dedicated rideshare mission.

What all of this means is a very exciting future for satellite owners and operators with regards to price and efficiency. Whereas our Charter Service includes only an orbital transfer and requires the customer to procure a launch, our Shuttle Service includes launch provisions and the orbital transfer. More options…flexibility, and savings ultimately!

After demos are completed in Q3/Q4, quarterly launches will be available in 2021 and beyond.


[Space News: Feb. 4, 2020] Momentus announces customers for in-space shuttle service
Quote
Momentus announced plans at the SmallSat Symposium here to deploy a SteamJet cubesat on its Vigoride demonstration mission scheduled to launch later this year on a Russian Soyuz rocket...

SteamJet’s 1.5-unit cubesat will be integrated into a deployer designed to fit multiple cubesats built by Innovative Solutions in Space of the Netherlands. The deployer will then be mounted on Momentus’ Vigoride transfer vehicle, Dawn Harms, Momentus chief revenue officer, said by email.
...
In total, Momentus has five customers lined up for shuttle flights in 2020 and 2021...

Singapore startups NuSpace and Aliena plan to send their joint NuX-1 demonstration satellite on Momentus’ Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle after it launches in early 2021 on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California.



[Space News: Feb. 5, 2020] Aurora to test deorbit tether on Momentus mission
Quote
Aurora plans to send a 1.5-unit cubesat into orbit on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket in December 2020 before riding with Momentus’ Vigoride service to sun-synchronous orbit.

The Aurora cubesat will demonstrate water-fueled resistojet thrusters to provide attitude and altitude control as well as the Plasma Brake Module for deorbiting, Aurora CEO Roope Takala told SpaceNews.




I'm trying to figure out if these announcements mean Momentus will be riding on SpaceX rideshares in both December 2020 and Q1 2021?  Seems like an awfully fast ramp in cadence for Momentus if those are different missions.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #64 on: 02/23/2020 02:07 am »
SAT-STA-20200221-00016
Quote
This ODAR evaluates the Momentus initial demonstration mission, Vigoride-1 (“VR-1”), which
has a planned launch on a Soyuz-2 rocket in August 2020. For the initial mission, VR-1 will
have the capacity to transport and deploy multiple payloads (individually, “Payload 1” and
“Payload 2,” and together, the “Payloads”). Payload 1 is a 1.5U cubesat launched on behalf of
Steamjet Space Systems. Payload 2 is a Spire Inc. 3U Lemur-class cubesat.
The de-orbit
analysis for customer satellite payloads will be addressed through the licensing process for
the relevant payload.

Launch Vehicle:
• Soyuz-2

Expected Launch Site:
• Baikonur Cosmodrome, Kazakhstan

Operational Mission Duration:
• Planned for 180 days.

The VR-1 general concept of operations is as follows:
1. Launch vehicle arrives at initial orbit (500-565 km altitude circular)
2. VR-1 separates from launch vehicle
3. VR-1 undergoes commissioning and preliminary testing
4. VR-1 deploys Payloads 1 and 2
5. VR-1 conducts orbit raising maneuvers to second orbit (max. 585 km circular)
6. VR-1 performs detailed system functional testing
7. VR-1 conducts de-orbit maneuvers (targeting 450 km perigee or less)

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #65 on: 03/09/2020 01:09 pm »
Momentus to offer last-miles service from SpaceX rideshare flights: https://spacenews.com/momentus-spacex-rideshare/
Quote
Momentus purchased rides on five SpaceX Falcon 9 smallSat rideshare missions in 2020 and 2021 to showcase the ability of its Vigoride in-space transportation vehicle to move customer satellites 300 to 1,200 kilometers beyond the drop-off point, the Santa Clara, California, company announced March 9.

More at the link.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #66 on: 03/09/2020 01:13 pm »
Momentus to Provide Unmatched Flexibility for SpaceX Rideshare Missions
3.9.2020

As we have written in the past, SpaceX has proven a new paradigm for the satellite launch industry. From record-breaking launches for payloads (number of satellites on one rocket) to one of the most innovative and flexible ridesharing programs, the team there has proven that the world’s first orbital-class reusable rocket can bring down costs for smallsat operators through regularly scheduled, dedicated Falcon 9 rideshare missions.

Still, many CubeSat and smallsat operators would prefer to be in custom orbits at different inclinations, in different orbit planes, or at different altitudes.

Today, we are announcing Momentus has purchased rides on six SpaceX SmallSat Rideshare Program missions, including five launches to Sun-Synchronous orbit (SSO) and one to mid-inclined low Earth orbit, which Momentus will use to allow its customers access to custom drop-off altitudes and orbits in space.

Customers already signed up for the 2020 and 2021 Vigoride flights include U.K. startup Steamjet Space Systems, NuSpace of Singapore and Aurora Propulsion Technologies of Finland. Additional customers have signed up for Momentus rides from the Falcon 9 drop-off to other destinations.

In the past, smallsat operators had to squeeze in alongside larger, more expensive equipment that would dictate the launch schedule. By augmenting SpaceX’s innovative ridesharing program, Momentus is saving time and money for smallsat operators to reach a given destination orbit…opening up space for a new era.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #67 on: 04/15/2020 10:50 pm »
SAT-STA-20200221-00016
Quote
This ODAR evaluates the Momentus initial demonstration mission, Vigoride-1 (“VR-1”), which
has a planned launch on a Soyuz-2 rocket in August 2020. For the initial mission, VR-1 will
have the capacity to transport and deploy multiple payloads (individually, “Payload 1” and
“Payload 2,” and together, the “Payloads”). Payload 1 is a 1.5U cubesat launched on behalf of
Steamjet Space Systems. Payload 2 is a Spire Inc. 3U Lemur-class cubesat.
The de-orbit
analysis for customer satellite payloads will be addressed through the licensing process for
the relevant payload.

Launch Vehicle:
• Soyuz-2
...

This STA request has been withdrawn.
« Last Edit: 04/15/2020 10:51 pm by gongora »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #68 on: 05/04/2020 01:55 pm »
ISISpace and Momentus Sign Framework Agreement for Launch Hardware and Supporting Services

April 03, 2020 – Santa Clara, CA / Delft, NL — Momentus (www.momentus.space), provider of in-space transportation services for satellites, and ISIS – Innovative Solutions In Space (ISISpace), today announced a framework agreement for launch hardware and supporting services that will aid the Momentus Vigoride Orbit Transfer Vehicle.

As part of the framework agreement, Momentus has ordered 30 QuadPack CubeSat Deployers to allow the accommodation of CubeSats on these missions.
...

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #69 on: 05/15/2020 04:35 am »
[Press Release] Space video streaming company Sen awards Momentus orbital deployment contract
Quote
13.05.20

Under the agreement, Momentus’ Vigoride orbital transfer vehicles will carry Sen’s satellites to sun-synchronous orbit riding on SpaceX Falcon 9 rockets, with the first launch booked for summer 2021 and a further four satellites scheduled for late 2022. From their drop-off orbits, the Vigorides will deploy the EarthTV satellites to their final desired altitudes. In the case of the cluster of four, Vigoride will also equally distribute the satellites in their orbital plane.

Built by NanoAvionics under a separate contract that was announced in March, the EarthTV satellites are cubesats with a 16U form factor, which makes them the largest payloads contracted to Momentus so far. This is also the first agreement specifically leveraging the orbital maneuvering capabilities of the Vigoride shuttle.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #70 on: 06/16/2020 10:31 pm »
Another mission for Momentus on SpaceX rideshare. The partnership between these two companies is marriage made in space. SpaceX is providing cheap ride Momentus needs, with Momentus providing spacetug that SpaceX rideshare needs. The other plus for SpaceX is not having deal with owners of all small payloads on Momentus ride. Future fervoride tugs would allow F9 to deliver many tonnes direct to GEO or lunar orbit.


http://www.spaceref.com/news/viewpr.html?pid=55840

Momentus and EnduroSat Announce Two Service Agreements

Press Release From: Momentus
Posted: Tuesday, June 16, 2020

Momentus (www.momentus.space), provider of in-space transportation services for satellites, and EnduroSat (www.endurosat.com), the European designer of spacecraft for business applications and space exploration missions, today announced two separate service agreements. The 6U and 1U CubeSats will launch February 2021 on the second Vigoride demo mission onboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.


Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #71 on: 06/17/2020 10:40 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCztg6mWuGX-Bk5k12uT_3Aw

See this youtube channel for few interviews with Momentus.
On one video they compared mission pricing between Electron and Vigroride+SpaceX rideshare, worked out half price to deploy 6 satellites to SSO. The example was probably picked to give best results for Momentus, still on average should be lot cheaper than RL. 

They were also testing COTS components to use in their spacecraft, with one example being microwave oven magnetron for plasma drive. Cheap and reliable,  why reinvent wheel.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #72 on: 08/04/2020 08:35 pm »
Some notes from their virtual tour at the Smallsat conference:

They have five missions manifested.  The first four are in December 2020, February 2021, June 2021, December 2021, all on Falcon 9 rideshares.

The first demo mission with Vigoride 1, flying in December, is a smaller vehicle.  The smaller size allows them to have the "plaza deck" with additional deployers that stay mounted to the second stage, but future Vigoride vehicles will take up all of their allotted volume on the ESPA port.  It is using X-band thrusters and has a smaller payload capacity.  Vigoride 1 has gone through environmental testing.  I think they said payload integration would start in October, and ship to the launch site in November.  Most of the payloads will separate from Vigoride before it changes orbit and does its propulsion testing.

The second demo mission in February is a larger vehicle with C-band thrusters.  It could carry 200-300kg of payloads and still has some space available.

The first full operational mission is in June.

They have the ability to host payloads that stay attached to Vigoride.  The Vigoride vehicles will initially do orbit lowering burns to hasten their demise at end of mission.  They hope to begin reusing their vehicles after 2021.  They plan to add docking capabilities in the future, both to allow refueling and missions such as moving a dead satellite to graveyard orbit or deorbit.  Looking forward to a future where they can use ISRU sourced water for refueling their tugs.
« Last Edit: 08/04/2020 08:37 pm by gongora »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #73 on: 08/05/2020 05:55 am »
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCztg6mWuGX-Bk5k12uT_3Aw

See this youtube channel for few interviews with Momentus.
On one video they compared mission pricing between Electron and Vigroride+SpaceX rideshare, worked out half price to deploy 6 satellites to SSO. The example was probably picked to give best results for Momentus, still on average should be lot cheaper than RL. 

They were also testing COTS components to use in their spacecraft, with one example being microwave oven magnetron for plasma drive. Cheap and reliable,  why reinvent wheel.
Fair point. People have been talking about using them for SPS since JPL did work in the 70's. It'd be nice for someone to actually do it.

That said that's roughly a Kw of energy (including losses) so that's going to need some say 3 m^2 (at 40+% efficiency) PV array or a least double that for lower efficiency cells.
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Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #74 on: 08/05/2020 05:12 pm »
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCztg6mWuGX-Bk5k12uT_3Aw

See this youtube channel for few interviews with Momentus.
On one video they compared mission pricing between Electron and Vigroride+SpaceX rideshare, worked out half price to deploy 6 satellites to SSO. The example was probably picked to give best results for Momentus, still on average should be lot cheaper than RL. 

They were also testing COTS components to use in their spacecraft, with one example being microwave oven magnetron for plasma drive. Cheap and reliable,  why reinvent wheel.
Fair point. People have been talking about using them for SPS since JPL did work in the 70's. It'd be nice for someone to actually do it.

That said that's roughly a Kw of energy (including losses) so that's going to need some say 3 m^2 (at 40+% efficiency) PV array or a least double that for lower efficiency cells.
Power is always issue, especially for smallsats, but there maybe low cost and mass solution in pipeline. Google Made In Space Archinaut program.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #75 on: 09/04/2020 01:51 am »
Momentus working on using a robot arm with Vigoride

https://spacenews.com/made-in-space-europe-and-momentus-plan-robotic-spacecraft/

Is this going to use something like Jon Goff's DogTags to simplify capture?


The premise of using a robot arm for towing a sat (including a rideshare sat on a different rideshare mount from the Vigoride bus) is sorta interesting. Does that imply back and forth ops from a corncob rideshare adapter to different orbits, or "oversubscribing" a Vigoride such that it can collect other passengers from other rideshare mounts after launch but before tug finally leaves (either by reaching around with the arm while still attached to the dispenser, or detaching and flying over to a mount)? If "oversubscribing", that has interesting implications for SpaceX rideshares, or any other rideshare heavy flights, since that means you could max out propellant load on a Vigoride up to the rideshare mount limit AND the customer can max out their sat to the rideshare mount limit. Vigoride may even be able to pick up drop tanks from a neighboring rideshare mount as well.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #76 on: 09/04/2020 03:24 am »
How much does Momentus' service cost? If I want to put a 100kg spacecraft on a trans-Mars-injection flight starting in LEO (with a SpaceX launch), how much is that going to cost from Momentus' side? (SpaceX already will give you a quote for rideshare, but they only do various LEO orbits)
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Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #77 on: 09/05/2020 12:06 am »
Momentus working on using a robot arm with Vigoride

https://spacenews.com/made-in-space-europe-and-momentus-plan-robotic-spacecraft/

Is this going to use something like Jon Goff's DogTags to simplify capture?


The premise of using a robot arm for towing a sat (including a rideshare sat on a different rideshare mount from the Vigoride bus) is sorta interesting. Does that imply back and forth ops from a corncob rideshare adapter to different orbits, or "oversubscribing" a Vigoride such that it can collect other passengers from other rideshare mounts after launch but before tug finally leaves (either by reaching around with the arm while still attached to the dispenser, or detaching and flying over to a mount)? If "oversubscribing", that has interesting implications for SpaceX rideshares, or any other rideshare heavy flights, since that means you could max out propellant load on a Vigoride up to the rideshare mount limit AND the customer can max out their sat to the rideshare mount limit. Vigoride may even be able to pick up drop tanks from a neighboring rideshare mount as well.
Add tankers to mix and they can offer deorbit services. Place tanker in orbit of satellites then use small lightly fuelled Vigoride to deorbit satellite and return for topup before moving onto next deorbit mission.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #78 on: 09/05/2020 12:24 am »
Momentus Awarded NASA TROPICS Pathfinder Mission

Looks like this contract has a value of $112k to launch a 3U cubesat.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #79 on: 09/05/2020 03:38 am »
Momentus Awarded NASA TROPICS Pathfinder Mission

Looks like this contract has a value of $112k to launch a 3U cubesat.
That's insanely cheap. Paper study money.
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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #80 on: 09/05/2020 07:49 am »
It's not a contract to launch anything.  The press release is about using their in-orbit service to move a launched cubesat to its operational orbit (reading between the lines a bit in a rather vague description of what they are doing).  SpaceX launches a satellite and deploys it somewhere, and Momentus uses their system to get it where it needs to be.  112K is basically for a thruster.  Or did I get that wrong?  (it has been known)

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #81 on: 09/05/2020 09:10 am »
[...]
using their in-orbit service to move a launched cubesat
[...]
112K is basically for a thruster.  Or did I get that wrong?

I very much like your characterization in the first snippet above: Vigoride provides an orbital maneuver service.

The second characterization is ... less helpful. If I buy a thruster and slap it onto my cubesat, I have to learn how to use the thrust. But probably I want to focus my effort on what my smallsat will do at its destination, not on getting my smallsat to its destination. A Vigoride service contract assures me I can do that, while still allowing me to assure other stakeholders that the required orbital maneuver will happen correctly.
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Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #82 on: 09/05/2020 02:09 pm »
Besides delivering satellite to orbit, Momentus could also deorbit it at end of life. The satellite then only needs enough DV for station keeping, assuming it has any propulsion.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #83 on: 09/05/2020 02:12 pm »
It's not a contract to launch anything.  The press release is about using their in-orbit service to move a launched cubesat to its operational orbit (reading between the lines a bit in a rather vague description of what they are doing).  SpaceX launches a satellite and deploys it somewhere, and Momentus uses their system to get it where it needs to be.  112K is basically for a thruster.  Or did I get that wrong?  (it has been known)

The NASA launch contract would be with Momentus, not SpaceX.  Momentus has a launch contract with SpaceX.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #84 on: 09/15/2020 04:42 pm »
[Space News] Former Pentagon official Fred Kennedy is the new president of Momentus
Quote
Fred Kennedy, former Space Development Agency director, is the new president of Momentus, a Silicon Valley company preparing to transport satellites in orbit.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #85 on: 09/15/2020 05:26 pm »
[Space News] Former Pentagon official Fred Kennedy is the new president of Momentus
Quote
Fred Kennedy, former Space Development Agency director, is the new president of Momentus, a Silicon Valley company preparing to transport satellites in orbit.

"Before joining Momentus, Kennedy was the vice president for future missions at small launch vehicle developer Astra.

Kennedy resigned from Astra on Sept. 11. Coincidentally, it was the same day the startup launched its Rocket 3.1 vehicle from Pacific Spaceport Complex Alaska on Kodiak Island. The flight ended during the first-stage burn."

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #86 on: 09/15/2020 05:37 pm »
Kinda funny that Momentus's release said "Dr. Kennedy most recently served as the inaugural Director of the Space Development Agency (SDA)"

https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20200915006037/en/Momentus-Announces-Appointment-of-Dr.-Fred-Kennedy-as-President

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #87 on: 10/04/2020 03:49 am »
While going through this thread looking for some figures, found this interesting fact. Received power beamed microwaves can be used directly for thrust. Bypasses extra mass and complexity of converting to electricity then back to microwaves for thrust chamber. Not a near term solution but has  potential for these thrusters especially for tugs working within cislunar space. Due to receiving antenna size real only practical for larger tugs in 100s to 1000s mt range which is size payloads that would be needed to justify large power beaming stations.
A recent-ish journal article on a very similar looking propulsion technology: The microwave electro-thermal (MET) thruster using water vapor propellant

Differences are that the linked article describes a magnetron rather than a helicon antenna as a microwave source, but the Isp and power levels line up - even down to the description of using a vortex for plasma containment.

SUMMARY AND DISCUSSION
The MET thruster has now been run in a compact 100 W form at 7.5 GHz , 1 kW at 2.45
GHz, and at 50 kW using 915 MHz microwaves. Microwaves can be generated
efficiently (> 90% at 915 MHz) and beamed for long distances coherently. On a
spacecraft, the microwaves can be received on an antenna and fed directly into the thrust
chamber without any intermediate conditioning. This suggests the MET thruster is highly

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #88 on: 10/06/2020 08:31 pm »
[CNBC] Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC with near $1 billion valuation
Quote
KEY POINTS

Space transportation company Momentus is in final talks to go public through an acquisition by Stable Road Capital, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC, which would value the company at near $1 billion.

The company would go public through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised for $172.5 million for in November 2019.

Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #89 on: 10/06/2020 10:30 pm »
[CNBC] Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC with near $1 billion valuation
Quote
KEY POINTS

Space transportation company Momentus is in final talks to go public through an acquisition by Stable Road Capital, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC, which would value the company at near $1 billion.

The company would go public through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised for $172.5 million for in November 2019.

Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

Well, such a moment(o)us occasion...

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #90 on: 10/07/2020 12:54 am »
[CNBC] Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC with near $1 billion valuation
Quote
KEY POINTS

Space transportation company Momentus is in final talks to go public through an acquisition by Stable Road Capital, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC, which would value the company at near $1 billion.

The company would go public through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised for $172.5 million for in November 2019.

Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

That's an incredible valuation.

~Jon
« Last Edit: 10/07/2020 01:15 am by jongoff »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #91 on: 10/07/2020 01:09 am »
[CNBC] Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC with near $1 billion valuation
Quote
KEY POINTS

Space transportation company Momentus is in final talks to go public through an acquisition by Stable Road Capital, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC, which would value the company at near $1 billion.

The company would go public through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised for $172.5 million for in November 2019.

Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

That's an impressive valuation.

~Jon

Seems high to me, but most valuations seem high to me.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #92 on: 10/07/2020 01:17 am »
[CNBC] Space company Momentus looks to go public through a SPAC with near $1 billion valuation
Quote
KEY POINTS

Space transportation company Momentus is in final talks to go public through an acquisition by Stable Road Capital, a person familiar with the discussions told CNBC, which would value the company at near $1 billion.

The company would go public through Stable Road’s special purpose acquisition vehicle that it raised for $172.5 million for in November 2019.

Momentus offers a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, with a transfer vehicle that helps deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

That's an impressive valuation.

~Jon

Seems high to me, but most valuations seem high to me.

Yeah. I know what you mean. Even rock solid firms like SpaceX seem way overvalued these days. No knock to Momentus if they're able to honestly convince people they're worth that much.

~Jon

Online gongora

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #93 on: 10/07/2020 01:24 am »
Momentus seems like a cool company, I hope they do well.

Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #94 on: 10/07/2020 01:54 am »
If you think about it, Momentus is basically the equivalent of a smallsat launcher company, except it has a lot smaller headcount. $1B is a pretty standard valuation for a smallsat launcher company, for example RocketLab also has a $1B valuation back in 2018.

Offline starbase

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« Last Edit: 10/20/2020 09:31 am by starbase »
bit.ly/SpaceLaunchCalendar ☆ bit.ly/SpaceEventCalendar

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #96 on: 10/20/2020 09:53 am »
I think Momentus are onto good thing with there water powered OTVs and will profitable. But have big doubts about $1B value of company.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #97 on: 10/20/2020 02:49 pm »
Momentus is part of Lockheed's demo flight for the NASA Tipping Point contrac.  The demonstration payload will be mounted on a Vigoride:
https://www.lockheedmartin.com/content/lockheed-martin/en-us/news/features/2020/cryogenic-nasa-moon.html

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #98 on: 01/05/2021 02:12 am »
Momentus Announces Move of Vigoride from January 2021 Mission; Will be Remanifesting to a Subsequent Launch

January 04, 2021 – Santa Clara, CA - Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a commercial space company providing in-space infrastructure services announced today that it will be remanifesting its January 2021 mission to a subsequent launch opportunity in 2021. This move will allow for the additional time necessary to secure FAA approval of Momentus’ payloads, including completion of a standard interagency review. Momentus currently holds all other necessary licenses for its Vigoride vehicle.

The Company has booked several additional launches with SpaceX between June and December of 2021.

The Company reaffirms its expectation of 2021 revenue as detailed in its December 2020 investor presentation in conjunction with a previously announced merger agreement with Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SRAC), a special purpose acquisition company, that would result in Momentus becoming a publicly listed company.

Dr. Fred Kennedy, President of Momentus, stated, “We will continue to work with the FAA, as we have done successfully with other regulatory agencies, to obtain approval in a timely manner. We anticipate that by launching our first Vigoride vehicle on a subsequent mission, we will still achieve our revenue expectations for 2021 while delivering our customers’ payloads to orbit. Our ongoing rideshare agreement with SpaceX enhances our ability to offer our customers significantly more affordable access to space.”

“Momentus is a valued resource in our efforts to capitalize on the commercialization of space and participate in the new space economy. We remain committed to Momentus’ value-add transport and service platform,” said Grzegorz Zwolinski, CEO and co-founder of SatRevolution, a customer of Momentus previously scheduled on the January 2021 mission.

The business combination between Momentus and Stable Road Acquisition Corp. remains on target to close in the first quarter of 2021, subject to approval of Stable Road’s and Momentus’ stockholders and other closing conditions, including a registration statement being declared effective by the Securities and Exchange Commission.
« Last Edit: 01/05/2021 02:01 pm by gongora »

Offline Ragmar

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #99 on: 01/05/2021 11:41 pm »
Why does Momentus need an FAA license?  Aren't they treated as a satellite?

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #100 on: 01/05/2021 11:51 pm »
Why does Momentus need an FAA license?  Aren't they treated as a satellite?

My first guess is that it should have said FCC instead of FAA.  They need an FCC license and didn't get it in a timely manner.  FAA also has involvement but I don't think they license the payloads directly, just review whether or not the launch provider is allowed to carry them.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #101 on: 01/14/2021 06:15 pm »
Good partnership. Momentus needs this robotics capability to create versatile spacetug. I can see them using MIS Archinaut technology to give these spacetugs large solar arrays. May also be case of satellites having their solar arrays fitted in space by Momentus spacetug.
Have satellite mounted on Vigoride along with rolled up arrays and other construction materials, once in orbit Vigoride delivers it Archinaut type construction spacetug. Once solar arrays are fitted along with anything else eg large RF dish, Vigoride delivers it to destination orbit.

https://redwirespace.com/2021/01/14/momentus-selects-redwire-to-develop-robotics-systems-for-reusable-in-space-transportation-vehicle/


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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #102 on: 01/25/2021 04:10 pm »
https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1353741141531893760
Quote
Mikhail Kokorich is resigning as CEO of Momentus “in an effort to expedite the resolution of U.S. government national security and foreign ownership concerns.” Dawn Harms takes over as CEO. [No word on Kokorich’s ownership stake.] https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1781162/000121390021003873/ea133842ex99-1_stableroad.htm

Quote
Momentus Names Dawn Harms Interim CEO

Board Accepts Resignation of Mikhail Kokorich as CEO and Director

January 25, 2021 –Santa Clara, CA – Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a commercial space company offering in-space infrastructure services, today announced its Board of Directors has appointed Dawn Harms, the Company’s Chief Revenue Officer, as a director and interim CEO effective immediately, following the resignation of director and founding CEO Mikhail Kokorich.

Momentus, in consultation with the Company’s announced SPAC partner, Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (“Stable Road”), has determined that accepting Mr. Kokorich’s resignation is in the best interest of the Company, in an effort to expedite the resolution of U.S. government national security and foreign ownership concerns surrounding the Company, the existence of which the Company recently has confirmed.

“We believe that this leadership transition will position the company for success and help accelerate regulatory reviews by the U.S. government,” said Brian Kabot, Chairman and CEO of Stable Road. “Momentus has a deep and experienced executive team, as well as innovative technology. We have full confidence in Dawn and the team to lead the Company to reach both near-term targets and achieve even greater success over the longer-term.”

Momentus and Stable Road are fully committed to cooperating with the U.S. government in connection with any regulatory reviews.

Harms is a proven leader in the global space industry who has steered operations at all levels of Momentus since 2019. Previously, she held executive positions at Boeing Satellite Systems International, Space Systems Loral (now MAXAR), International Launch Services (ILS), and others.

“I am thrilled and privileged to lead Momentus, and I am confident that together we will continue to reach great heights as a company,” Harms said. “We have an extremely talented team, groundbreaking water plasma propulsion technology, and a unique value proposition, all of which we believe have established Momentus as a leader in the in-space infrastructure industry.”

Dr. Fred Kennedy, former director of the U.S. Department of Defense Space Development Agency who joined Momentus in September 2020, will continue in his role as Company President.

“Dawn is highly respected in the space community, and her relationships and expertise have already contributed a critical part to Momentus’ success,” said Dakin Sloss, Momentus board Chairman and General Partner of Prime Movers Lab, the Company’s largest investor. “We have complete confidence that Dawn, Fred and the team will continue to thrive in creating a future for the space industry.”

The Company is grateful to Mr. Kokorich for his entrepreneurial vision and service and thrilled for Dawn’s leadership in the next steps of realizing that vision.

Offline Davidthefat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #103 on: 01/25/2021 05:35 pm »
Wonder what about Momentus' status is different from Rocket Lab that Rocket Lab didn't have to do such drastic changes in management to do business as an American company.

Offline WmThomas

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #104 on: 01/25/2021 06:26 pm »
New Zealand is a close ally of the United States.

Russia is far from being an ally of the US.

That's the difference.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #105 on: 05/06/2021 01:25 am »
https://twitter.com/SRACorp/status/1389620575933386753
Quote
$SRAC Get out and vote FOR extension of the deadline to complete our merger with @momentusspace. Your vote is important no matter how many or how few shares you own! Voting instructions and proxy filing with details on this can be found at:
VOTE | Stable Road Capital  stableroadcapital.com

The proposal to extend the deadline by which SRAC has to consummate the proposed transaction with @momentusspace requires approval by holders of at least 65% of the outstanding shares of Class A common stock and Class B common stock, voting as a single class.

That threshold had not been achieved as of yesterday evening, which is why all stockholders as of March 22, 2021 (the record date) are strongly encouraged to vote as soon as possible.  Those stockholders who have already voted have overwhelmingly supported the extension.

Quote
SPECIAL MEETING INFORMATION

Stable Road will hold a Special Meeting of Stockholders on May 6, 2021 to approve the extension amendment proposal to allow more time to complete its proposed business combination with Momentus Inc. Stockholders of record as of the close of business on March 22, 2021 will be entitled to vote.

The board of directors of Stable Road have unanimously approved the proposed extension. Details on the extension amendment are included in the proxy materials found at https://www.cstproxy.com/stableroadacquisitioncorp/sm2021.

Stable Road recently mailed to stockholders its proxy statement and voting instruction form, which include instructions on how to vote “FOR” all proposals on the agenda, including the extension amendment.

Your vote is important no matter how many or how few shares you own – and please note that not voting is the same as voting against the business combination.
« Last Edit: 05/06/2021 01:27 am by gongora »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #106 on: 05/06/2021 06:29 pm »

Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #107 on: 05/12/2021 03:58 am »
FAA rejects payload review for Momentus

Quote
The Federal Aviation Administration has denied a payload review for in-space transportation company Momentus, meaning the company will miss its second opportunity to launch its first tugs.

In a May 11 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Momentus said the FAA’s Office of Commercial Space Transportation notified the company May 10 that it had denied the company’s application for a payload review, part of the FAA’s launch licensing process. Momentus sought the review in order to be part of a SpaceX dedicated rideshare launch scheduled for June. Denials of payload reviews by the FAA are rare.

The FAA rejected the application “based on the FAA’s finding that its launch would jeopardize U.S. national security,” the company said in the filing. “According to the letter, during an interagency consultation, the FAA was informed that the launch of Momentus’ payload poses national security concerns associated with Momentus’ current corporate structure.”

Offline Ragmar

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #108 on: 05/12/2021 03:16 pm »
Did SRAC end up getting the 65%?  I believe the due date was last night?

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #109 on: 05/12/2021 07:00 pm »
With recent FCC ruling SRAC shareholders might be better cashing up and not merging.

I do like Momentus spacetug and propulsion systems, would be pity if they don't succeed.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk


Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #110 on: 05/13/2021 12:27 am »
With recent FCC ruling SRAC shareholders might be better cashing up and not merging.

I do like Momentus spacetug and propulsion systems, would be pity if they don't succeed.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

I mean, what else can they do unless SRAC buys out the founders earlier? They're already being forced to sell most of their stakes in three years, right? If that won't satisfy DoD, then Momentus is spinning wheels for three years at least, assuming they have enough runway to survive in zombie mode until then...

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #111 on: 05/13/2021 01:24 am »
With recent FCC ruling SRAC shareholders might be better cashing up and not merging.

I do like Momentus spacetug and propulsion systems, would be pity if they don't succeed.

Sent from my SM-T810 using Tapatalk

I mean, what else can they do unless SRAC buys out the founders earlier? They're already being forced to sell most of their stakes in three years, right? If that won't satisfy DoD, then Momentus is spinning wheels for three years at least, assuming they have enough runway to survive in zombie mode until then...
They could sell their propulsion systems, not the original plan but it would give them revenue stream.

Sent from my SM-G570Y using Tapatalk


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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #112 on: 05/13/2021 04:59 pm »
Stable Road Stockholders Approve Extension of the Date to Consummate Proposed Business Combination with Momentus
May 13, 2021 12:37 PM Eastern Daylight Time
VENICE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SRAC, SRACU, and SRACW) (“Stable Road” or the “Company”) announced today that at the special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) held on May 13, 2021, the Company’s stockholders approved a proposal to extend the deadline by which the Company has to consummate the proposed business combination with Momentus Inc. (“Momentus”) from May 13, 2021 to August 13, 2021 (the “Extension Amendment Proposal”).

Brian Kabot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Stable Road, commented on the results of the meeting, “We are very pleased by the overwhelming support for the Extension Amendment Proposal exhibited by our stockholders, with approximately 66.2% of all outstanding shares, and approximately 98.6% of shares that voted on the proposal, being cast in favor of the proposal. We appreciate our stockholders’ strong engagement and look forward to advancing the proposed business combination with Momentus.”
...

Offline octavo

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #113 on: 05/17/2021 08:28 am »
Stable Road Stockholders Approve Extension of the Date to Consummate Proposed Business Combination with Momentus
...
“We are very pleased by the overwhelming support for the Extension Amendment Proposal exhibited by our stockholders, with approximately 66.2% of all outstanding shares, and approximately 98.6% of shares that voted on the proposal, being cast in favor of the proposal.”
...

Assuming I can math right (never a safe assumption), the extension squeaked through with a total of 65.27% of all stockholders voting yes.

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #114 on: 05/24/2021 08:02 pm »
https://www.cnbc.com/2021/05/24/spac-stable-road-shares-drop-after-momentus-says-it-wont-fly-in-2021.html

Quote
Space SPAC shares drop as struggling merger target Momentus does not expect to fly this year
PUBLISHED MON, MAY 24 20213:58 PM EDT
Michael Sheetz
@THESHEETZTWEETZ

KEY POINTS

Stable Road Acquisition Corp. disclosed in a securities filing that its merger target, in-space transportation company Momentus, no longer plans to conduct any missions for customers this year.

“This determination was based on information from SpaceX that it was suspending its Momentus-related efforts while Momentus works to secure approvals from the U.S. government,” Stable Road wrote.

Stable Road’s merger with Momentus has been bogged down this year, largely due to national security concerns raised by multiple U.S. government agencies.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #115 on: 05/24/2021 08:19 pm »
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001781162/000121390021028621/ea141563-8k_stableroad.htm
Quote
On October 7, 2020, Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (“Stable Road” or “Parent”) announced a proposed business combination (the “Business Combination”) with Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”). On May 23, 2021, Momentus informed Stable Road that it does not expect to fly any missions in 2021 and that this determination was based on information from SpaceX that it was suspending its Momentus-related efforts while Momentus works to secure approvals from the U.S. government As previously disclosed, Momentus is seeking these approvals from the U.S. government that are required for its missions. Momentus is in the process of updating its financial projections and backlog.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #116 on: 06/09/2021 04:35 pm »
Momentus Finalizes and Signs National Security Agreement

Milestone marks key step in government review process

June 09, 2021 06:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company offering transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it has finalized and signed a National Security Agreement (“NSA”) with the Department of Defense and Department of the Treasury as lead agencies on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). The NSA is the culmination of four months of intensive work with the U.S. government and marks a crucial step in the Company’s path toward delivering its services.

Since February of this year, Momentus has collaborated with CFIUS and its member agencies, working to demonstrate the Company’s commitment to serving as a trusted partner to the U.S. government. With the NSA now final, Momentus will implement the NSA-required actions that will enable effective alignment with U.S. government stakeholders.

“Our co-founders are completely divested from the company as of today, helping to resolve a primary point of the government’s concern,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer Dawn Harms. “The focus now shifts to efficiently implementing the NSA requirements and reinforcing our operational security.”

As part of the NSA, Momentus will be required to implement increased security measures, hire key positions to provide additional oversight and appoint a CFIUS-approved director to its board of directors to oversee compliance with the NSA’s stipulations.

“Once the NSA’s measures are implemented, we will renew our efforts to expeditiously obtain governmental approvals to clear our path to flight,” said Harms. “The entire Momentus team is eager to move forward, and we are happy to report progress on that journey with this NSA milestone.”

Offline uyducu

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #117 on: 06/09/2021 06:28 pm »
 Any chance of retaking the Spacex transporter 2 mission?


 
Momentus Finalizes and Signs National Security Agreement

Milestone marks key step in government review process

June 09, 2021 06:30 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company offering transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it has finalized and signed a National Security Agreement (“NSA”) with the Department of Defense and Department of the Treasury as lead agencies on behalf of the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (“CFIUS”). The NSA is the culmination of four months of intensive work with the U.S. government and marks a crucial step in the Company’s path toward delivering its services.

Since February of this year, Momentus has collaborated with CFIUS and its member agencies, working to demonstrate the Company’s commitment to serving as a trusted partner to the U.S. government. With the NSA now final, Momentus will implement the NSA-required actions that will enable effective alignment with U.S. government stakeholders.

“Our co-founders are completely divested from the company as of today, helping to resolve a primary point of the government’s concern,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer Dawn Harms. “The focus now shifts to efficiently implementing the NSA requirements and reinforcing our operational security.”

As part of the NSA, Momentus will be required to implement increased security measures, hire key positions to provide additional oversight and appoint a CFIUS-approved director to its board of directors to oversee compliance with the NSA’s stipulations.

“Once the NSA’s measures are implemented, we will renew our efforts to expeditiously obtain governmental approvals to clear our path to flight,” said Harms. “The entire Momentus team is eager to move forward, and we are happy to report progress on that journey with this NSA milestone.”

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #118 on: 06/10/2021 01:02 am »
On June 8 Momentus withdrew their pending FCC applications for the Vigoride launches.  They should be refiled before the next flight opportunity.
« Last Edit: 06/10/2021 01:02 am by gongora »

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #119 on: 06/10/2021 01:10 am »
Any chance of retaking the Spacex transporter 2 mission?
No as payloads were returned to their operators upon Momentus being pulled from the flight.
« Last Edit: 06/10/2021 01:12 am by gongora »

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #120 on: 06/10/2021 02:45 am »
Finally Momentus can move forward, though you gotta feel bad for the founders getting functionally pushed out. The smallsat industry desperately needs a functional OTV service. Hopefully that expands to hosting SpiderFab/Archinaut systems too.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #121 on: 06/29/2021 09:17 pm »
https://twitter.com/thesheetztweetz/status/1409973485707857926
Quote
SPAC Stable Road amends its merger agreement with Momentus to cut the space company's enterprise valuation in half, from $1.1 billion down to $567 million. https://sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1781162/000121390021034706/ea143483-8k_stableroad.htm $SRAC

Quote
On June 29, 2021, Stable Road Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“Parent”), entered into Amendment No. 3 (the “Amendment”) to that certain Agreement and Plan of Merger (the “Merger Agreement”), dated as of October 7, 2020, by and among Parent, Project Marvel First Merger Sub, Inc., a Delaware corporation (“First Merger Sub”), Project Marvel Second Merger Sub, LLC, a Delaware limited liability company (“Second Merger Sub”), and Momentus Inc., a Delaware corporation (“Momentus”). The Amendment, among other things, (i) reduced the enterprise valuation of Momentus from $1.131 billion to $566.6 million, (ii) extended the outside date under the Merger Agreement from June 7, 2021 to August 13, 2021, (iii) amended the list of individuals who will serve on the combined company’s board of directors as of Closing (as defined in the Merger Agreement) or the manner in which they will be selected, (iv) terminated the previously contemplated repurchase agreement pursuant to which Parent had agreed to repurchase shares from Prime Movers Lab Fund I, L.P. immediately following the Closing, (v) provides that Momentus will reimburse certain third party expenses of Parent and (vi) provides that, in the event the Closing does not occur for any reason, Momentus will indemnify Parent, Sponsor (as defined in the Merger Agreement) and their respective directors and officers with respect to any untrue statement of a material fact contained in (or material omission from) the registration statement or other Securities and Exchange Commission filings, which statement was provided by or based upon information provided by Momentus or its representatives, subject to certain exceptions.

The Amendment was unanimously approved by Parent’s board of directors.

The Amendment is attached as Exhibit 2.1 to this Current Report on Form 8-K and is incorporated herein by reference. The foregoing description of the Amendment is qualified in its entirety by reference thereto.

Offline Mandella

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #122 on: 07/13/2021 11:48 pm »
Well this can't be good. Momentus is being accused of misrepresenting their space test results, along with other things.

https://www.marketwatch.com/story/space-exploration-spac-targeted-by-sec-in-crackdown-11626213857
« Last Edit: 07/13/2021 11:48 pm by Mandella »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #123 on: 07/13/2021 11:57 pm »
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-124

SEC Charges SPAC, Sponsor, Merger Target, and CEOs for Misleading Disclosures Ahead of Proposed Business Combination
Charges Relate to Planned Merger of Stable Road Acquisition Company and Space Transportation Company Momentus Inc.


Washington D.C., July 13, 2021 —
The Securities and Exchange Commission today announced charges against special purpose acquisition corporation Stable Road Acquisition Company, its sponsor SRC-NI, its CEO Brian Kabot, the SPAC’s proposed merger target Momentus Inc., and Momentus’s founder and former CEO Mikhail Kokorich for misleading claims about Momentus’s technology and about national security risks associated with Kokorich. The SEC’s litigation is proceeding against Kokorich, against whom the SEC filed a complaint in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia. All other parties are settling with the SEC, with terms including total penalties of more than $8 million, tailored investor protection undertakings, and the SPAC sponsor’s forfeiture of founder’s shares it stands to receive if the merger, currently scheduled for August 2021, is approved.

According to the SEC’s settled order, Kokorich and Momentus, an early-stage space transportation company, repeatedly told investors that it had “successfully tested” its propulsion technology in space when, in fact, the company’s only in-space test had failed to achieve its primary mission objectives or demonstrate the technology’s commercial viability. The order finds that Momentus and Kokorich also misrepresented the extent to which national security concerns involving Kokorich undermined Momentus’s ability to secure required governmental licenses essential to its operations. In addition, the order finds that Stable Road repeated Momentus’s misleading statements in public filings associated with the proposed merger and failed its due diligence obligations to investors. According to the order, while Stable Road claimed to have conducted extensive due diligence of Momentus, it never reviewed the results of Momentus’s in-space test or received sufficient documents relevant to assessing the national security risks posed by Kokorich. The order finds that Kabot participated in Stable Road’s inadequate due diligence and in filing its inaccurate registration statements and proxy solicitations. The SEC’s complaint against Kokorich includes factual allegations that are consistent with the findings in the order.

“This case illustrates risks inherent to SPAC transactions, as those who stand to earn significant profits from a SPAC merger may conduct inadequate due diligence and mislead investors,” said SEC Chair Gary Gensler. “Stable Road, a SPAC, and its merger target, Momentus, both misled the investing public. The fact that Momentus lied to Stable Road does not absolve Stable Road of its failure to undertake adequate due diligence to protect shareholders. Today’s actions will prevent the wrongdoers from benefitting at the expense of investors and help to better align the incentives of parties to a SPAC transaction with those of investors relying on truthful information to make investment decisions.”

“Our enforcement team worked with incredible speed, efficiency, and creativity to file today’s actions so that investors will have the benefit of complete and accurate information when voting on the proposed merger,” said Melissa R. Hodgman, Acting Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Today’s settlement will deter future misconduct in the SPAC market without inhibiting capital formation, while also allowing for the distribution of monetary relief to harmed investors.”

“Momentus’s former CEO is alleged to have engaged in fraud by misrepresenting the viability of the company’s technology and his status as a national security threat, inducing shareholders to approve a merger in which he stood to obtain shares worth upwards of $200 million,” said Anita B. Bandy, Associate Director of the SEC’s Division of Enforcement. “Our litigation against Kokorich demonstrates our commitment to holding individuals accountable for their statements to investors, which are of particular concern when they are aimed at improperly capitalizing on public interest in popular investment vehicles such as SPACs.”

The SEC’s order finds that Momentus violated scienter-based antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws and caused certain of Stable Road’s violations. It also finds that Stable Road violated negligence-based antifraud provisions of the federal securities laws as well as certain reporting and proxy solicitation provisions. The order finds that Kabot violated provisions of the federal securities laws related to proxy solicitations and that Kabot and SRC-NI caused Stable Road’s violation of Section 17(a)(3) of the Securities Act of 1933. Without admitting or denying the SEC’s findings, Momentus, Stable Road, Kabot, and SRC-NI consented to an order requiring them to cease and desist from future violations. Momentus, Stable Road, and Kabot will pay civil penalties of $7 million, $1 million, and $40,000, respectively. Momentus and Stable Road have also agreed to provide PIPE (private investment in public equity) investors with the right to terminate their subscription agreements prior to the shareholder vote to approve the merger; SRC-NI has agreed to forfeit 250,000 founders’ shares it would otherwise have received upon consummation of the business combination; and Momentus has agreed to undertakings requiring enhancements to its disclosure controls, including the creation of an independent board committee and retention of an internal compliance consultant for a period of two years.

The SEC’s complaint against Kokorich alleges that Kokorich violated antifraud provisions of the securities laws and aided and abetted Momentus’s violations of the same provisions. The complaint seeks permanent injunctions, penalties, disgorgement plus prejudgment interest, and an officer-and-director bar against Kokorich.

The SEC’s investigation was conducted by Matthew Spitzer, Sharan Custer, Ernesto Amparo, and Robert Nesbitt, and was supervised by D. Mark Cave and Ms. Bandy. The litigation against Kokorich will be handled by Melissa Armstrong and Fernando Campoamor and will be supervised by Thomas Bednar.

Online gongora

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #124 on: 07/13/2021 11:59 pm »
Hard to say what effect the SEC settlement will have.  If the PIPE investors stay in and the merger still happens then it might not matter much at this point.

Offline Skyrocket

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #125 on: 07/14/2021 07:20 am »
https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2021-124

According to the SEC’s settled order, Kokorich and Momentus, an early-stage space transportation company, repeatedly told investors that it had “successfully tested” its propulsion technology in space when, in fact, the company’s only in-space test had failed to achieve its primary mission objectives or demonstrate the technology’s commercial viability.

This failed in-space test was Momentus-X1 or El Camino Real.

https://space.skyrocket.de/doc_sdat/momentus-x1.htm

Offline Davidthefat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #126 on: 07/15/2021 04:33 pm »
https://spacenews.com/stable-road-and-momentus-reach-sec-settlement-over-false-claims/

"Internal company documents defined success as 100 thruster firings, each lasting at least one minute, but the thruster failed to perform even one firing of that duration, and only three of 23 produced any plasma. Momentus lost contact with the satellite three months into a six-month mission."

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #127 on: 07/15/2021 04:36 pm »
Legal filing: https://www.sec.gov/litigation/admin/2021/33-10955.pdf

Also new CEO:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1781162/000121390021036821/ea144196ex99-1_stableroad.htm
Quote
JOHN C. ROOD TO JOIN MOMENTUS AS CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

Former Under Secretary of Defense for Policy and aerospace executive brings national security expertise and organizational best practices as company aims to go public

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — July 14, 2021— Momentus Inc. ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company offering in-space infrastructure services, today announced that John C. Rood, former U.S. Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, will join the Company as Chief Executive Officer effective August 1.

Rood brings more than three decades of public and private sector experience to Momentus, including over 20 years of service to the U.S. Government at the Department of Defense, Department of State, White House National Security Council, Central Intelligence Agency, and as a U.S. Senate staff member.

Under Rood’s guidance, Momentus will aim to complete a successful merger with Stable Road Acquisition Corp. in August. The Company’s recent settlement with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) clears the path for the deal and a Stable Road Acquisition Corp. stockholder meeting date is set for August 11 with a record date of July 7, subject to the SEC declaring the registration statement on Form S-4 effective.

"John's leadership signals a new chapter for Momentus as we focus on the future," said Momentus interim Chief Executive Officer Dawn Harms. "His deep national security experience, proven expertise in business growth, and steadfastness in government service are invaluable assets. We’re looking forward to welcoming John and seeking to transition to becoming a publicly traded company with him at the helm."

Prior to his public service, Rood was Senior Vice President of Lockheed Martin International where he led international business growth. He also served as Vice President for Corporate Domestic Business Development at Lockheed Martin. Before joining Lockheed Martin, he was a Vice President at the Raytheon Company.

“I’m excited and honored to be joining Momentus at this critical time,” said Rood. “This team is building a unique value proposition, services and solutions that will help customers to use space in new ways. I look forward to working with the team at Momentus to mature the technology to make this vision a reality.” Rood added, “I also look forward to leading the company in a new chapter in which we take the actions necessary to address the concerns previously expressed by the Defense Department through robust implementation of the recent National Security Agreement with the U.S. Government.”

Dawn Harms, who has served as Momentus' interim CEO since January of this year, will step down from the board and return to her prior role as Chief Revenue Officer (CRO).

"Dawn's leadership as the interim CEO has been an unwavering source of confidence for the entire team," said Stable Road Acquisition Corp. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Brian Kabot. "Her continued guidance as CRO will be invaluable as Momentus strategizes its offerings in support of the rapidly growing space economy."
 

Offline Mandella

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #128 on: 07/15/2021 05:04 pm »
So legal issues aside, do they or do they not have a working engine right now?

It's great they settled and "are looking toward the future" but I'm not sure how bright that future is going to be if their core technology doesn't work...

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #129 on: 07/15/2021 05:14 pm »
So legal issues aside, do they or do they not have a working engine right now?

It's great they settled and "are looking toward the future" but I'm not sure how bright that future is going to be if their core technology doesn't work...

They've done at least a couple generations of development since the thruster (and associated systems) that didn't work.  Even the first and second Vigoride vehicles have different generations of thruster.  If the merger still happens they should have enough money to run another test.  I don't see how the first Vigoride vehicle would still be relevant from a customer service standpoint unless they're really pinching pennies, would make a good test platform.

Offline Davidthefat

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #130 on: 07/15/2021 05:14 pm »
A question I have is if Momentus can pivot to more traditional, proven, propulsion technology to provide the same kinds of tug/last mile services that they were planning. Fundamentally, it should work if they had the rest of the system like avionics down, but was the water thruster technology going to be better performing than existing ion thrusters? Or was cost of the propulsion system the biggest selling factor?

Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #131 on: 07/16/2021 04:31 am »
A space company CEO accused of fraud is fighting to clear his name

Quote
Momentus’ Russian founder and former CEO, Mikhail Kokorich, whose actions are at the heart of the government’s allegations, didn’t join in the settlement, and is instead fighting the SEC’s charges.

Quartz reached out to Kokorich to get his side of the story. In the first interview granted since the charges were announced, he says he did not hide key facts about his work at Momentus from investors. He also says he’s owed a payout from Momentus, which purchased his share of the company, and that he has started a new space vehicle start-up in Switzerland.

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #132 on: 07/17/2021 05:27 am »
Apparently, the thruster failures were caused by the on-board computer, which had been purchased externally.

Quote
Kokorich says what failed were onboard computers built by another company. “Momentus created a failure review board to investigate a failure of the avionics (including an onboard computer) on the satellite bus,” he continued. “As a result of the review board, the technical team decided to build robust and fault-tolerant avionics in-house. So by the time we filed S4, we didn’t have in our technology roadmap the avionics that failed during the first test mission.”

Its good to know this now, but why didn't Momentus publicly mention this after their flight? It could have saved them a lot of trouble. In other words, be honest about your problems and not try to sweep them under the rug.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline brickmack

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #133 on: 07/19/2021 03:20 am »
I'm curious how the SEC determined this omission to begin with. Do they rely on whistleblowers for this and otherwise assume companies aren't outright lying, or is there actually a verification process with relevant experts? And how's that work with something like Momentus, where the core issues are with technology that is both proprietary and ITAR sensitive?

Offline Scintillant

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #134 on: 07/19/2021 06:56 am »
I'm curious how the SEC determined this omission to begin with. Do they rely on whistleblowers for this and otherwise assume companies aren't outright lying, or is there actually a verification process with relevant experts? And how's that work with something like Momentus, where the core issues are with technology that is both proprietary and ITAR sensitive?

In this case, it looks like Momentus admitted it. From the SEC legal filing posted upthread by gongora:
Quote from: SEC
42. In its third amendment to the registration statement on Form S-4 filed on June 29, 2021, Momentus and SRAC disclosed that the El Camino Real mission “did not demonstrate the MET’s ability to generate thrust in space, which is crucial to our ability to maneuver objects in space.” The June 2021 registration statement on Form S-4 also states, “Moreover, even if the unit generates thrust, there can be no assurance that it can be operated in a manner that is sufficiently reliable and efficient to permit commercialization of the technology.”

Now, I'm not sure if they filed the amendment to the S-4 because SEC was poking around and asking questions or what - it might be that they just judged that fessing up would lead to a lighter penalty than getting caught later. Either way, the fact that Momentus operates in an technically complex and ITAR-controlled industry isn't a barrier to securities law enforcement. Momentus knew that a material disclosure in their filings and presentations to investors was false (ie saying the thruster worked when in reality it didn't, plus the national security things with CFIUS). Once the SEC caught wind of it, either through a whistleblower or through its own digging, Momentus had to come clean - lying to investors is one thing, but lying to federal law enforcement is much worse.

As for the verification process, the SEC doesn't actually need to get into the technical performance of the thruster or proprietary blueprints or anything. SEC is concerned with whether or not Momentus accurately disclosed all relevant information to investors. All it needs to do is compare the company's public statements with its private documents (which can be obtained via whistleblower, subpoenas, interviews, etc) and see if the two match up - no rocket science needed.

Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #135 on: 07/20/2021 03:20 am »
https://spacenews.com/investors-drop-out-of-momentus-spac-deal/

Quote
In a July 16 filing with the SEC, Stable Road Acquisition Corporation, the SPAC that is merging with Momentus, said that it complied with the terms of a settlement with the SEC announced July 13, offering investors who participated in a private investment in public equity (PIPE) funding round the ability to drop out without penalty.

When Stable Road announced the merger with Momentus in October 2020, the deal included a concurrent PIPE round, which is common in SPAC mergers to increase the amount of capital raised beyond the proceeds of the SPAC itself. In the case of the Momentus deal, $172.5 million was coming from the proceeds of Stable Road, while $175 million would come from the PIPE round.

In its July 16 SEC filing, Stable Road said investors who accounted for $118 million of the $175 million raised in the PIPE round terminated their agreements. The filing did not state which investors decided to drop out of the deal.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #136 on: 07/20/2021 03:23 am »
Well, that makes things interesting.
« Last Edit: 07/20/2021 03:24 am by gongora »

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #137 on: 07/20/2021 03:30 am »
So the PIPE financing dropped from $175M to $110M:
https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001781162/000121390021037296/ea144329-8k_stableroad.htm
Quote
Item 1.01 Entry into a Material Definitive Agreement.

On July 16, 2021, Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (“Stable Road” or “Parent”) announced that it has entered into amended or new subscription agreements (the “Subscription Agreements”) with certain investors (the “PIPE Investors”), pursuant to which the PIPE Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 shares (the “PIPE Investment”) of Stable Road Class A common stock, par value $0.0001 per share (the “Combined Company’s Class A common stock”), following the consummation of the proposed business combination with Momentus Inc. (“Momentus” or the “Company”, and such business combination, the “Proposed Business Combination”) at a price of $10.00 per share, representing aggregate gross proceeds of $110.0 million.

In addition, Stable Road agreed to issue to each PIPE Investor, at the closing of the PIPE Investment, warrants to purchase one share of Combined Company Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share (subject to adjustment as described in the warrant agreement, dated as of November 7, 2019, between Continental Stock Transfer & Trust Company, as warrant agent, and Stable Road (the “Warrant Agreement”)) for each share of Combined Company Class A common stock purchased pursuant to such PIPE Investor’s Subscription Agreement. The PIPE Warrants will be issued pursuant to the Warrant Agreement and will have substantially the same provisions as the public warrants issued in connection with Stable Road’s initial public offering.

Prior to July 15, 2021, Stable Road had entered into Subscription Agreements with PIPE Investors pursuant to which such PIPE Investors agreed to purchase an aggregate of 17,500,000 shares of Combined Company’s Class A common stock following the consummation of the Proposed Business Combination, representing aggregate gross proceeds of $175.0 million.

On July 13, 2021, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) announced charges against Stable Road, Brian Kabot, Momentus, and Momentus’ founder and former CEO, Mikhail Kokorich, for misleading claims about Momentus’ technology and about national security risks associated with Mr. Kokorich (the “SEC’s settled order”). Pursuant to the SEC’s settled order, Momentus and Stable Road agreed to provide the original PIPE Investors with the right to terminate their Subscription Agreements prior to the stockholder vote to approve the Proposed Business Combination. Accordingly, Momentus and Stable Road provided all PIPE Investors with the option to terminate their Subscription Agreements without any liability or obligation. In total, PIPE Investors representing $118.0 million of the original PIPE Investment terminated their Subscription Agreements. The remaining PIPE Investors elected to continue with their Subscription Agreements, with certain PIPE Investors increasing or decreasing their commitment amounts pursuant to amendments to the Subscription Agreements, with such changes representing a net $5.3 million increase in commitments by such remaining PIPE Investors. In addition, 6 new PIPE Investors entered into Subscription Agreements, representing approximately $47.75 million of new commitments. Affiliates of SRC-NI Holdings, LLC, the sponsor of Stable Road, which had committed $15.0 million in the aggregate to the PIPE Investment, reaffirmed their commitment.

After giving effect to the foregoing, the PIPE Investors have agreed to purchase an aggregate of 11,000,000 shares of Combined Company Class A common stock in the PIPE Investment for $10.00 per share, for aggregate gross proceeds of $110.0 million. In addition, Stable Road has agreed to issue to PIPE Investors warrants to purchase 11,000,000 shares of Combined Company Class A common stock at a price of $11.50 per share.

The PIPE Investment is contingent upon, among other things, the substantially concurrent closing of the Proposed Business Combination.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #138 on: 07/20/2021 03:33 am »
The meeting to vote on the merger is August 11

https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/0001781162/000121390021037338/fs42021a5_stableroadacq.htm
Quote
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN that a Special Meeting of Stable Road Acquisition Corp., a Delaware corporation (“SRAC,” the “Company,” “we,” “us” or “our”), will be held on August 11, 2021 at 10:00 a.m., Eastern Time (the “Special Meeting”).

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #139 on: 07/29/2021 03:39 pm »
Momentus’ Latest-Generation Thruster Achieves 350 Test Cycles in Ground Testing

July 29, 2021 07:35 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SANTA CLARA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer in-space infrastructure services, today announced that its latest-generation Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) has completed 350 test cycles during the initial stages of “life testing” - the final stage of the thruster’s ground test campaign. The testing to date has produced results that are consistent with the Company’s expectations for engine performance and the resilience of the engine design for the time tested.

This latest-generation thruster improves on earlier thruster designs by incorporating several design innovations to the nozzle to extend the thruster’s total lifetime. The thruster is expected to extend Vigoride's range and pave the way for ultra-long-life thrusters needed for future reusable vehicles. Momentus is developing Vigoride to support services in Low-Earth Orbit. The Company has completed the manufacturing of two Vigoride vehicles, one with a 30W thruster and a second with a 550W thruster. A third Vigoride vehicle is currently in build and incorporates a 750W thruster.

“The latest-generation thruster has reached 350 cycles with no detectable performance degradation,” said Momentus Chief Technology Officer Rob Schwarz. “We have been undertaking a comprehensive ground test campaign that we anticipate completing in November of this year. Our objective is to validate the thruster’s performance which includes thrust, specific impulse, and achievable lifetime.”

The ground test campaign is expected to serve as a stepping stone to future in-space demonstrations, which the Company is targeting to begin with its inaugural flight of Vigoride slated for no earlier than June 2022. Vigoride’s first flight is expected to provide essential on-orbit functional proof of principle and performance verification data for its MET technology. This data will be used to assess the efficacy of the MET, and identify potential refinements or upgrades for future versions of the MET.

Momentus believes that its MET technology can provide a unique competitive advantage for its vehicles and services. The MET water plasma-based thruster was launched in July 2019 in a mission known as El Camino Real. The mission did not meet its pre-launch success criteria. At the same time, Momentus believes there were aspects of the mission that were clearly significant. El Camino Real was the first time an MET thruster was fired in space, and also the first time a water plasma-based propulsion system was used for the firing of a thruster in space. Since then, the Company has continued to evolve its design. The latest 750W thruster now in ground-testing is approximately 25 times more powerful than the original thruster design.
...

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #140 on: 08/11/2021 07:43 pm »
Stable Road Acquisition Corp. Stockholders Approve Proposed Business Combination with Momentus

August 11, 2021 11:56 AM Eastern Daylight Time
VENICE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Stable Road Acquisition Corp. (NASDAQ: SRAC, SRACU, and SRACW) (“Stable Road”) announced today that stockholders of Stable Road approved the proposed business combination with Momentus Inc. (“Momentus”), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer in-space infrastructure services, at the special meeting of stockholders (the “Special Meeting”) held on August 11, 2021.

“The overwhelming support that our stockholders showed us by approving the business combination with a relatively small amount of redemptions speaks to the value proposition that we saw in Momentus. We appreciate our stockholders’ strong engagement and look forward to concluding the business combination with Momentus tomorrow.”

The combined company will retain the Momentus name and its securities are expected to begin trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the new symbol “MNTS” for Momentus stock and "MNTSW" for Momentus warrants on August 13, 2021, following the close of the business combination, which is expected to take place on August 12, 2021.

Over 97% of the votes cast at the meeting voted to approve the business combination. Holders of approximately 55% percent of Stable Road’s issued and outstanding shares cast votes at the Special Meeting.

Stable Road also announced that an aggregate of approximately 3.5 million shares of Stable Road’s Class A common stock were submitted for redemption by public stockholders in connection with the vote, representing approximately 20% of all issued and outstanding shares of Class A common stock. After giving effect to the redemptions, approximately $137 million will be disbursed from Stable Road’s trust account to Momentus upon the closing of the business combination which, when combined with the $110 million equity PIPE expected to be consummated concurrently with the closing, will provide Momentus with approximately $247 million in total available cash, before transaction fees, expenses and payments related to the previously announced repurchase of its co-founders’ shares.

Brian Kabot, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Stable Road, commented on the results of the meeting: “The overwhelming support that our stockholders showed us by approving the business combination with a relatively small amount of redemptions speaks to the value proposition that we saw in Momentus. We appreciate our stockholders’ strong engagement and look forward to concluding the business combination with Momentus tomorrow.”

Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #141 on: 08/16/2021 12:56 pm »
Lost one launch customer due to a slip:

https://twitter.com/jeff_foust/status/1427247637451919363

Quote
Rocket Lab notes that the customer was to launch “on a different rocket and orbital transfer vehicle.” AuroraSat-1 was originally manifested on a Momentus Vigoride tug whose launch slipped to mid-2022. It’ll launch in Q4 2021 with Rocket Lab instead.

Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #142 on: 01/12/2022 02:49 am »
Momentus Announces Changes to Leadership Team

Quote from: businesswire.com
Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that President Fred Kennedy has resigned from the Company effective January 21.

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #143 on: 04/08/2022 12:09 am »
Momentus is back baby. Vigoride first ride on SpaceX Tranporter 5, and they will also launch on Transporter 6-9

https://investors.momentus.space/news-releases/news-release-details/momentus-signs-launch-services-agreements-spacex


For reference, is Momentus directly handling rideshares on Vigoride right now, or is it being done through an aggregator like SpaceFlight?

Offline russianhalo117

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #144 on: 04/08/2022 12:19 am »
Momentus is back baby. Vigoride first ride on SpaceX Tranporter 5, and they will also launch on Transporter 6-9

https://investors.momentus.space/news-releases/news-release-details/momentus-signs-launch-services-agreements-spacex


For reference, is Momentus directly handling rideshares on Vigoride right now, or is it being done through an aggregator like SpaceFlight?
Now that the company has been cleared by western governments of unauthorised executives, staff and partnerships the company was unfrozen and allowed to resume operations flights can begin.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #145 on: 04/08/2022 12:39 am »
Thats good news, would've been pity to see their technology never fly.

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Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #146 on: 05/26/2022 12:38 am »
Any news about the Vigoride?
The knowledge is power...Everything is connected...
The Turtle continues at a steady pace ...

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #147 on: 05/28/2022 10:09 am »
Didn't realized they had launched first Vigoride.
Any news about the Vigoride?
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 27, 2022-- Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced a status update on its first demonstration mission.
We have established two-way contact with the Vigoride Orbital Transfer Vehicle, and as is often the case with a new spacecraft, have had some initial anomalies. We are using an unplanned frequency as we work through this and are applying for a Special Temporary Authority (STA) with the FCC to address that in order to help command the vehicle back to nominal configuration. Our engineering and operations team is working to address the anomalies.


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Online gongora

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #148 on: 05/29/2022 06:50 pm »
SAT-STA-20220527-00056
Quote
Momentus has determined that the communications equipment on VR-3 is erroneously operating on different center frequencies (i.e., 8250 MHz (downlink) and 2067.5 MHz (uplink))(the “New Frequencies”). To avoid the potential loss of the VR-3 spacecraft and its payloads during this critical period after deployment, Momentus has commenced operations on the New Frequencies to communicate with VR-3 and address the anomalies expeditiously. Also, Momentus will attempt to set the operating frequencies to the originally authorized center frequencies.

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #149 on: 05/29/2022 10:38 pm »
SAT-STA-20220527-00056
Quote
Momentus has determined that the communications equipment on VR-3 is erroneously operating on different center frequencies (i.e., 8250 MHz (downlink) and 2067.5 MHz (uplink))(the “New Frequencies”). To avoid the potential loss of the VR-3 spacecraft and its payloads during this critical period after deployment, Momentus has commenced operations on the New Frequencies to communicate with VR-3 and address the anomalies expeditiously. Also, Momentus will attempt to set the operating frequencies to the originally authorized center frequencies.

So, what's a typical cause for a center frequency shift after launch, for those of us who are not familiar with the nitty gritty analog end of RF? Vibration damage to the transceiver? Since it's probably a SDR, what's a typical timing source?

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #150 on: 05/29/2022 11:13 pm »
So, what's a typical cause for a center frequency shift after launch, for those of us who are not familiar with the nitty gritty analog end of RF? Vibration damage to the transceiver? Since it's probably a SDR, what's a typical timing source?

Did they actually say it happened after launch?

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #151 on: 05/30/2022 05:08 am »
So, what's a typical cause for a center frequency shift after launch, for those of us who are not familiar with the nitty gritty analog end of RF? Vibration damage to the transceiver? Since it's probably a SDR, what's a typical timing source?

Did they actually say it happened after launch?

If the frequencies were off-center before launch, that's a bad look....

Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #152 on: 05/31/2022 07:02 am »
The centre frequencies could be selected by the computer. It could be that the default frequencies were selected or that the incorrect frequency selection was programmed. There could also be a problem in the data path from the computer to the register that is used to select the centre frequency.
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline soltasto

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #153 on: 05/31/2022 09:11 am »
IMO the most likely cause is that they used a "cheap" oscillator (cheap in space terms) that has drifted from its nominal frequency due to the harsher conditions of space. Wouldn't be the first time something like this has happened.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #154 on: 05/31/2022 10:06 am »
The important thing is propulsion test hopefully that happens.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #155 on: 05/31/2022 02:10 pm »
Momentus First Demonstration Mission Update #2

May 31, 2022 06:03 AM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced a status update on its first demonstration mission.

Over the weekend, we successfully deployed two customer satellites. We plan to continue work to address the anomalies on the Vigoride spacecraft announced on May 27 and deploy additional customer satellites.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #156 on: 06/13/2022 09:11 pm »
Momentus First Demonstration Mission Update #3

June 13, 2022 04:33 PM Eastern Daylight Time
SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a U.S. commercial space company that plans to offer transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, today provided its third Mission Update since the launch of its Vigoride-3 spacecraft on May 25.

“During this first launch of the Vigoride vehicle to space, we have learned a great deal and plan to incorporate improvements in other Vigoride vehicles currently being assembled and ground-tested. This was the primary purpose of this initial Vigoride mission”

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As we previously stated in earlier updates on the inaugural flight of the Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle, the spacecraft experienced anomalies after its launch on May 25. Since that time, we have continued work to address the anomalies and identify root causes. Of note, the deployable solar arrays that are produced by a third party and are folded and stowed during launch did not operate as intended once in orbit. This resulted in power and communications issues with the vehicle, even though the body mounted solar panels did operate as intended. We have been working closely with the third-party producer of the solar arrays, and in collaboration with that company have identified what we believe is the root cause of the arrays not operating as intended. We also believe we have identified the likely root cause of the other anomalies, although further analysis continues.

After initially experiencing these anomalies, we were able to deploy two customer satellites from Vigoride on May 28. Since that time, we have continued efforts to deploy other customer satellites, but have not confirmed any subsequent deployments. While we previously established two-way communications with the Vigoride vehicle, we have not been able to continue such two-way communication, which we believe is due to the low power situation on the vehicle due to the deployable solar arrays not operating as intended.

In an earlier update on May 27, we indicated that we were using an unplanned frequency as we worked through the anomalies and were applying for a Special Temporary Authority (STA) from the FCC to address that situation. On June 9, we received approval of a 30-day STA from the FCC as requested.

We are continuing efforts to address the anomalies, but our level of confidence that we will be able to deploy additional customer satellites from Vigoride and perform some planned operations of the vehicle on this test and demonstration mission has substantially declined.

On a second port on the launch vehicle on May 25, we also used third party hardware from a partner company to deploy another customer satellite in orbit. Using this hardware, our partner deployed four other satellites for their customers during this launch.

“During this first launch of the Vigoride vehicle to space, we have learned a great deal and plan to incorporate improvements in other Vigoride vehicles currently being assembled and ground-tested. This was the primary purpose of this initial Vigoride mission,” said John Rood, CEO of Momentus. “As we stated prior to the launch, we fully expected to experience challenges during this test and demonstration mission and to learn from them, which is what we are doing.”

Momentus’ plans for additional launches of the Vigoride vehicle later this year and in 2023 remain as stated in the Q1 earnings call on May 10, 2022, with agreements signed with SpaceX for launches on upcoming Transporter missions in 2022 and 2023, including Transporter 6 currently targeted for November 2022. We are working to incorporate improvements identified during the current mission on the other Vigoride vehicles that we plan to fly in space during these missions.

“I appreciate the dedication of the team at Momentus that has enabled us to conduct our first launch of customer satellites and the Vigoride vehicle,” said Rood. “This included months of detailed work to implement our National Security Agreement overseen by the Department of Defense and Department of the Treasury, and working with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) to obtain the necessary government licenses, determinations, and approvals to conduct this flight.”

Rood went on to say, “Space is a notoriously unforgiving environment. Like other companies that have worked through initial challenges to create successful capabilities, our engineering team at Momentus is focused on learning as much as possible from the remainder of the current Vigoride mission, and utilizing industry best practices to implement corrective actions and lessons-learned for our upcoming missions.”

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #157 on: 06/13/2022 11:26 pm »
Ouch!

So flaky radio, bad solar array deployment, and no MET thruster test.

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #158 on: 06/14/2022 12:37 am »
Ouch!

So flaky radio, bad solar array deployment, and no MET thruster test.
They think comms issues are due to low power  ie solar arrays.

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Offline Steven Pietrobon

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #159 on: 06/14/2022 06:45 am »
Do we know the names of the two satellites that were deployed?
Akin's Laws of Spacecraft Design #1:  Engineering is done with numbers.  Analysis without numbers is only an opinion.

Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #160 on: 06/14/2022 01:11 pm »
Do we know the names of the two satellites that were deployed?

Fossa satellites...
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Offline su27k

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #161 on: 11/11/2022 12:58 pm »
Momentus upbeat about second Vigoride mission

Quote from: SpaceNews
Momentus says it has “higher confidence” in its second space tug set to launch in December after fixing problems encountered with its first vehicle launched earlier this year.

In an earnings call after the release of its third quarter financial results Nov. 8, John Rood, chief executive of Momentus, said the company’s Vigoride 5 tug is on track to launch on SpaceX’s Transporter-6 rideshare mission, scheduled to launch in December on a Falcon 9 from Florida. The company completed a flight readiness review for the spacecraft about a week earlier and will ship it to Cape Canaveral “in the coming days.”

Vigoride 5 follows the company’s first tug, Vigoride 3, launched on the Transporter-5 mission in May. That vehicle suffered several problems, including communications issues and a solar array that failed to properly deploy, although the company was eventually able to deploy seven of the nine satellites on board.

Offline Tywin

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #162 on: 02/01/2023 06:11 pm »
Any news on the second Vigoride deployment?
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Offline Sam Ho

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #163 on: 10/06/2023 02:27 pm »
Any news on the second Vigoride deployment?
Bit late here, but Momentus issued a press release a couple months ago with status on the first three Vigorides.  The good news is the second one seems to be working well.

On the other hand, the stock has lost 90% of its value in that time, and is now trading close to $1 after a 1-for-50 reverse stock split.

https://investors.momentus.space/news-releases/news-release-details/momentus-deploys-all-payloads-vigoride-6-mission

Quote
Momentus Deploys All Payloads from Vigoride-6 Mission

Hosted Payload Services for Caltech Continues on Vigoride-5

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jul. 28, 2023-- 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:

1. 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.
2. 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.
3. 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.



View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230727650272/en/

Investors:
[email protected]

Media:
[email protected]

Source: Momentus Inc.

Online gongora

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #164 on: 10/06/2023 02:50 pm »
Momentus raised $5M in September and $4M in October, which really isn't enough at the rate they're burning cash.  At least it gives them a couple more months of runway.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #165 on: 01/12/2024 05:50 pm »
Cross-post:
https://twitter.com/SpaceEquities/status/1745790835776434639
Quote
Momentus $MNTS  is cancelling plans to launch the Vigoride-7 and customers on SpaceX's transporter 10 due to lack of liquidity to support operations. The company reduced headcount and contractors by aproximately 20% at the end of Q4 and is managing cash while it continues exploring new business opportunities and working to raise additional capital.
https://investors.momentus.space/node/9891/html

Excerpts of SEC Form 8-K from:
https://investors.momentus.space/node/9891/html
Quote
January 10, 2024
Date of Report (date of earliest event reported)
<snip>
Business Update
 
Starting on January 10, 2024, Momentus Inc. (the “Company” or “Momentus”) notified customers and certain regulatory agencies that the Company had changed its plans and did not plan to support the launch of their payloads aboard the Vigoride 7 Orbital Service Vehicle planned for launch on the SpaceX Transporter 10 mission currently targeted for March 1, 2024. The notice was provided due to the Company’s inability to support continuing operations for the expected launch date as a result of the Company’s limited liquidity and cash balance as of the time of the notice to customers.  The Company continues to pursue opportunities to raise additional capital to allow for its continuing operations and the execution of its business plan but does not have definitive commitments at this time.
 
 
SDA
 
On January 5, 2024, the Company was notified by the Space Development Agency (SDA) that the Company was not selected for funding for the Tranche 2 Tracking Layer.  As noted during the Company’s  third quarter 2023 earnings call and the accompanying press release filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission  on a Current Report on Form 8-K on November 14, 2023, Momentus had submitted a bid to the SDA to produce 18 satellites for missile tracking and fire control as part of this proposal.
 
 
Liquidity
 
The Company has not generated sufficient revenues to provide cash flows that enable the Company to finance its operations internally and the Company’s financial position and operating results raise substantial doubt about the Company’s ability to continue as a going concern. The Company has taken and continues to take proactive steps with respect to managing its cash burn rate and extending its cash runway while the Company continues exploring new business opportunities and working to raise additional capital. At the end of the fourth quarter of 2023, the Company reduced its headcount of full-time employees and contractors by approximately 20% to reduce its cash burn rate while retaining the talent it needs to execute on its key near-term initiatives. Nevertheless, the Company’s ability to continue to fund operations for the next few weeks and months will be dependent on its ability to raise equity capital or engage in a strategic transaction.
 
 
Strategic Process
 
As part of the evaluation of strategic alternatives, Momentus has conducted discussions with multiple potential strategic partners over the past few months. Those discussions have not resulted in any definitive agreements. The Company continues to engage in discussions and attempts to position itself to be able to quickly capitalize on any potential opportunities with interested parties should they arise and to evaluate all viable strategic options. However, if the Company is unable to raise sufficient capital to provide a bridge to full commercial production at a profit, the Company’s operations could be further curtailed or ceased.
<snip>
« Last Edit: 01/12/2024 06:03 pm by zubenelgenubi »
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Offline FutureSpaceTourist

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #166 on: 01/13/2024 08:06 am »
https://www.cnbc.com/2024/01/12/space-company-momentus-mnts-running-out-of-money.html

Quote
Space company Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion, is running dangerously low on money
PUBLISHED FRI, JAN 12 202410:40 AM EST
UPDATED FRI, JAN 12 2024AT 10:50 EST
Michael Sheetz
@IN/MICHAELJSHEETZ
@THESHEETZTWEETZ

KEY POINTS
Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion before going public via a SPAC in 2021, abandoned plans for its next mission, which was to fly satellite customers in March.

The company cited its “inability to support continuing operations for the expected launch date as a result of the Company’s limited liquidity and cash balance.”

Momentus pitched itself as a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, targeting the market for small satellites with its orbital transfer vehicle.

Stock market value is now about $5 million

Offline TrevorMonty

Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #167 on: 01/13/2024 09:02 am »
If they go under I hope some company picks up their water SEP technology it deserves to live on.

Offline Sam Ho

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #168 on: 01/17/2024 10:13 pm »
They bought a little more time with $4.0M in financing:

Quote
Momentus Announces Closing of $4.0 Million Registered Direct Offering Priced At-the-Market Under Nasdaq Rules

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2024-- Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it has closed its previously announced registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules with a single institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 3,687,000 shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents in lieu thereof) at a purchase price of $1.085 per share, resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $4.0 million before deducting placement agent commissions and other estimated offering expenses. The Company further agreed to issue to the investor warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,687,000 shares of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.96 per share, are exercisable immediately and expire after five years.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners acted as the sole placement agent for the offering.

This offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No 333-267230) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). A final prospectus supplement describing the terms of the proposed offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the prospectus supplement may be obtained, when available, from A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, 590 Madison Avenue, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (212) 624-2060, or by email at [email protected].

The Company also has agreed that certain existing warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,808,538 shares at an exercise price of $3.862 per share have been amended so that the amended warrants will have a reduced exercise price of $0.96 per share. The warrant amendment is subject to stockholder approval, and the warrants shall expire five years from the date stockholder approval is obtained. If stockholder approval is not obtained by the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of these warrants, then the exercise price of the warrants will automatically be reduced to the Minimum Price (as defined in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(d)) of the common stock on the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of the warrants and the warrants will expire five years following the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of the warrants.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
https://investors.momentus.space/news-releases/news-release-details/momentus-announces-closing-40-million-registered-direct-0

Offline Asteroza

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #169 on: 01/18/2024 10:54 pm »
They bought a little more time with $4.0M in financing:

Quote
Momentus Announces Closing of $4.0 Million Registered Direct Offering Priced At-the-Market Under Nasdaq Rules

SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 17, 2024-- Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it has closed its previously announced registered direct offering priced at-the-market under Nasdaq rules with a single institutional investor for the purchase and sale of 3,687,000 shares of common stock (or common stock equivalents in lieu thereof) at a purchase price of $1.085 per share, resulting in total gross proceeds of approximately $4.0 million before deducting placement agent commissions and other estimated offering expenses. The Company further agreed to issue to the investor warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 3,687,000 shares of common stock. The warrants have an exercise price of $0.96 per share, are exercisable immediately and expire after five years.

A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners acted as the sole placement agent for the offering.

This offering is being made pursuant to an effective shelf registration statement on Form S-3 (File No 333-267230) previously filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). A final prospectus supplement describing the terms of the proposed offering has been filed with the SEC and is available on the SEC's website located at http://www.sec.gov. Electronic copies of the prospectus supplement may be obtained, when available, from A.G.P./Alliance Global Partners, 590 Madison Avenue, 28th Floor, New York, NY 10022, or by telephone at (212) 624-2060, or by email at [email protected].

The Company also has agreed that certain existing warrants to purchase up to an aggregate of 5,808,538 shares at an exercise price of $3.862 per share have been amended so that the amended warrants will have a reduced exercise price of $0.96 per share. The warrant amendment is subject to stockholder approval, and the warrants shall expire five years from the date stockholder approval is obtained. If stockholder approval is not obtained by the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of these warrants, then the exercise price of the warrants will automatically be reduced to the Minimum Price (as defined in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(d)) of the common stock on the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of the warrants and the warrants will expire five years following the date that is six months following the initial date of issuance of the warrants.

This press release shall not constitute an offer to sell or a solicitation of an offer to buy these securities, nor shall there be any sale of these securities in any state or other jurisdiction in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to the registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such state or other jurisdiction.
https://investors.momentus.space/news-releases/news-release-details/momentus-announces-closing-40-million-registered-direct-0

Will this be enough for the Vigoride that just got pulled to ride after all?

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #170 on: 04/23/2024 08:22 pm »
Momentus Receives Nasdaq Deficiency Notification Regarding Delayed Form 10-K

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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) (“Momentus” or the “Company”), a U.S. commercial space company that offers satellite buses, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, today announced that it received formal notice (the “Notice”) from the Nasdaq Capital Market LLC (“Nasdaq”) notifying the Company that it is not in compliance with the requirements of Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1) as a result of not having timely filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the “Commission”) its Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2023 (the “Form 10-K”). The Notice has no immediate impact on the listing of the Company’s common stock on Nasdaq, and the Company’s listing remains fully effective.

The Company has 60 calendar days from the date of the Notice, or until June 17, 2024, to file the Form 10-K or to submit to Nasdaq a plan to regain compliance with the Nasdaq Listing Rule 5250(c)(1). If the Company submits a plan to Nasdaq and Nasdaq accepts the plan, Nasdaq can grant an exception of up to 180 calendar days from the due date of the filing of the Form 10-K, or until October 14, 2024, to regain compliance. If the Company does not regain compliance within the allotted compliance periods, including any extensions that may be granted by Nasdaq, Nasdaq will provide notice that the Company’s common stock will be subject to delisting. The Company would then be entitled to appeal that determination to a Nasdaq hearings panel.

The Company’s objective is to regain compliance with the listing requirement, and the Company currently intends to file the Form 10-K with the Commission as soon as it completes the preparation and review of its financial statements for the year ended December 31, 2023.

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #171 on: 06/03/2024 02:59 am »
Momentus Receives Contract from DARPA to Pave the Way for Large-Scale Space Structures

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SAN JOSE, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--May 30, 2024-- Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) ("Momentus" or the "Company"), a provider of in-space transportation services, has secured a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) aimed to support the design and in-space demonstration of technologies that will enable the construction of large-scale structures in space.

The program, known as DARPA Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D), focuses on developing the foundations for building robust and precise structures in space. The vision is to transport raw materials from Earth for in-orbit manufacturing. Unlike deployable structures optimized for ground tests and launch survival, these structures—such as solar arrays, antennas, and optics—will be specifically designed for the space environment. This exciting endeavor represents a significant step toward advancing Momentus’ capabilities in space construction and utilization.

Under the recently awarded “NOM4D On-Orbit Demo” program, Momentus will collaborate with other NOM4D performers to design and refine experiments that can be integrated onto the Momentus Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle. These experiments must meet the stringent requirements for both launch and in-space operation.

The program will capitalize on Vigoride’s flexibility, payload capacity, and ease of integration. Momentus’ proprietary water-based propulsion system provides the ability to maneuver and modify orbit to meet a wide range of requirements for NOM4D. By conducting on-orbit demonstrations of the NOM4D assembly and manufacturing technologies, Momentus aims to elevate the Technology Readiness Level (TRL), thereby maturing the technology performance.

“We’re delighted by the opportunity to partner with DARPA to work at the forefront of the future in-space infrastructure economy,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer John Rood. “Vigoride’s flexibility, payload capacity, and power make it well-suited to support the demonstration of NOM4D technologies that overcome current volume, load, and vibration constraints currently limiting the type and scale of in- space structures.”

Momentus will pioneer novel system-level application concepts to showcase the full integrated spacecraft benefits of NOM4D technologies. This exciting collaboration with DARPA positions Momentus at the forefront of the future in-space infrastructure economy.

NOM4D overview

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Re: Momentus Space
« Reply #172 on: 11/12/2024 05:48 pm »
Momentus Receives HALO Prototype Order Contract from SDA [Nov 12]

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Momentus Inc. announced that it has been awarded a contract from the U.S. Defense Department’s Space Development Agency (SDA) for the Hybrid Acquisition for Proliferated LEO (HALO) program.

SDA has been tasked with deploying a constellation of several hundred satellites in low-Earth orbit (LEO). The SDA HALO program is designed to solicit and award rapid, cost-effective prototyping and spaceflight demonstrations to demonstrate new technology to be added to the constellation in future tranches. “SDA is proud to welcome 19 vendors into the first-ever HALO pool,” said SDA Director Derek Tournear. “This creative award solution enables SDA to quickly compete, build, and fly demonstration missions to burn down risk for the future of the Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture. We also hope, through the HALO pool, to build a broader base of vendors that can compete for work on operational layers of future tranches.”

Only vendors selected for the HALO program can bid on specific demonstration prototype orders, with multiple prototype orders expected to be initiated and awarded annually. HALO offers a flexible and fast contracting mechanism to compete for and award follow-on contracts.

Momentus is honored to be selected for HALO and looks forward to collaborating with the SDA on future demonstration missions and tranches. As a prime system integrator, Momentus has extensive experience working with various payload providers. The Momentus Vigoride bus is well-suited for these missions, designed to accommodate diverse payloads and conduct complex operations from our mission control center in San Jose, CA.

Prototype orders under HALO will focus on rapid, end-to-end mission demonstrations, aiming to launch 12-18 months after the award. These demonstrations must be conducted by a Non-traditional Defense Contractor like Momentus, acting as the prime contractor. As part of the program, Momentus and key personnel will support both classified and unclassified programs.

“We’re delighted by the opportunity to work with SDA to demonstrate key technologies that will help ensure our Nation’s safety and space superiority,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer John Rood. “Vigoride’s flexibility, payload capacity, and power make it well-positioned to support a range of national security missions. With three launches in one year, Vigoride has proven it is ready to take on the most challenging missions.”

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