Momentus Inc., a US commercial space company that offers transportation and other in-space infrastructure services, has signed a contract modification with NASA's Kennedy Space Center to provide orbital delivery services to transport two satellites to orbit for NASA's LLITED mission targeted to launch in 2023.
This mission highlights the unique value proposition of Momentus' Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV) that can transport a customer from the launch vehicle's standard drop-off orbit to a specific orbital destination using its high delta-v capability that aims to provide significant changes in velocity to propel the payload to its desired custom orbit.
"Being a trusted provider to NASA and other government agencies is an area we plan to make part of our core business and future growth," said Momentus Chief Executive Officer John Rood. "The capabilities and flexibility of our OSV are well suited to support a range of complex missions for government and commercial customers. We look forward to supporting this important scientific mission for NASA and others in the future."
Selected in 2018 as a part of NASA's CubeSat Launch Initiative, the Low-Latitude Ionosphere/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) mission features two 1.5U spacecraft designed, built, and operated by The Aerospace Corporation. These CubeSats will measure and study two features of the nighttime upper atmosphere: the equatorial temperature and wind anomaly that occurs in the neutral atmosphere, and the equatorial ionization anomaly that occurs in the region containing charged particles. The LLITED mission will make an important contribution toward understanding weather in space that impacts our lives on Earth.