SatNews

Satellite Industry Intelligence Since 1983

A Transporter-7 feat: Momentus’ Vigoride-6 OSV lofted

Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS), on April 14th., launched their third, Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV) to LEO aboard the SpaceX Transporter-7 mission — the company established contact with the Vigoride vehicle and confirmed that both solar arrays are deployed and the vehicle is generating power and the batteries are charging.

Artistic rendition of Vigoride in space, image is courtesy of Momentus

The Vigoride-6 mission is delivering two satellites to a custom orbit for the NASA LLITED mission. Momentus will use their Electrothermal Thruster (MET) propulsion technology that uses water as a propellant to change the orbital inclination of the Vigoride OSV to support these deliveries.

Other payloads on the mission include 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.

Seen here with its solar arrays deployed, the Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) mission will measure and study two features of the upper atmosphere: the equatorial temperature and wind anomaly (ETWA) that occurs in the neutral atmosphere, and the equatorial ionization anomaly (EIA) that occurs in the region containing charged particles.
Photo credit: Courtesy of The Aerospace Corporation

The Tape Spring Solar Array (TASSA) technology features large sheets of flexible solar cells bonded to tape springs. To stow, they are tightly coiled around a mandrel. After launch, motors unroll the mandrel, deploying the solar array. 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.

The launch of the Vigoride-6 vehicle marks the third spacecraft on-orbit for Momentus. The Company launched its inaugural mission, Vigoride-3, in May 2022 and deployed eight satellites to orbit from Vigoride and a third-party deployer. The Vigoride-5 spacecraft, launched in January, is providing hosted payload support for Caltech’s Space-based Solar Power Project payload and deploying a satellite with the Qosmosys Zeus-1 payload. The Vigoride-5 mission also marked a significant milestone for the Company as its MET system successfully completed initial in-space testing.

With the launch of the Vigoride-6 OSV, Momentus will enter a new phase operating two spacecraft in orbit concurrently as the Company continues to grow its capabilities.

“Vigoride-6 will be the most complex mission of our Vigoride OSV to date as we must achieve significant Delta-V with our MET propulsion system in order to deliver NASA’s payloads to custom orbits. In addition to providing orbital delivery services for our customers, we’re hosting a Momentus technology demonstration of a new kind of solar array.” — Momentus Chief Executive Officer, John Rood