A rendering of Momentus’ Vigoride in-space shuttle. Photo: Momentus
Momentus special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) merger has received an extension to its closing date. Shareholders of the SPAC,
Stable Road Acquisition Corp., voted to approve extending the business combination deadline to August 13. If the extension had not been approved, the merger would have fallen through.
Brian Kabot, chairman and CEO of Stable Road said in a Thursday announcement that approximately 66.2% of all outstanding shares voted, and approximately 98.6% of shares that voted on the proposal, voted to approve the extension.
“We are very pleased by the overwhelming support for the extension amendment proposal exhibited by our stockholders,” Kabot commented. “We appreciate our stockholders’ strong engagement and look forward to advancing the proposed business combination with Momentus.”
Momentus has pulled its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle from the upcoming
SpaceX Transporter 1 Falcon 9 launch set for Jan. 14, to allow for more time for
FAA approval of its spacecraft. The company announced Monday that the mission will be manifested to a subsequent SpaceX launch in 2021. The Vigoride is an in-orbit transport vehicle and its first launch will be a demonstration mission.
“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 said in a statement.
A rendering of Momentus’ Vigoride in-space shuttle. Photo: Momentus
Momentus has a contract for its second customer on its hosted payload service, and will host a payload from the California Institute of Technology (Caltech), called SSPD-1 at the end of next year. SSPD-1, which will demonstrate a wireless power transmission and a new deployable structure, is set to launch on Momentus’ Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle in December of 2021, and operate onboard the vehicle for about six months.
The hosted payload service is a new offering from Momentus, which is gearing up for the first flight of its orbital transfer vehicle, Vigoride, on SpaceX’s upcoming rideshare mission in 2021.