In-space transportation company Momentus has launched its third Vigoride orbital service vehicle since May 2022, and this month inked a deal with Italian telecommunications company Apogeo Space to transport nine miniature satellites on Vigoride.
“One of the things that it’s been remarkable to watch is this mega-trend shaping the industry, which is smaller and smaller satellites with greater capability and the ability to operate not as single entities but to operate as a unit, as a constellation more effectively than [ever] before,” John Rood, chief executive at San Jose, Calif.-based Momentus tells Connectivity Business News in the latest episode of “The Dish” podcast.
Momentus (NASDAQ: MNTS), which in January signed a deal with IoT provider Fossa Systems, sees the use of miniaturized satellites for Internet-of-Things applications becoming more prevalent, according to Rood.
“I think you’re going to see more and more of these applications with ever smaller satellites because of the capability for smaller microelectronics, and the reduced cost to put things in space with smaller units using industrial grade applications,” Rood tells CBN.
According to management consulting company McKinsey & Co., the cost per kilogram to launch something into space has declined by 95% over the last 20 years, enabling companies to send payloads into space in much smaller packages, Rood says.
“That’s what’s facilitating this growth and creating a need for a company like ours to distribute nine satellites for Apogeo to precise custom locations, which wouldn’t be cost effective for them if they were to buy their own rocket,” Rood says. “Having basically a UPS truck in space like ours that can deliver parcels to many locations is desirable.”
Listen as Rood discusses how Momentus is capitalizing on the satellite launch market and developing new ways to transport satellites in space.