It’s Only Common Sense: Be the Solution, Not the Problem
American Made Advocacy: Long-time Challenges Confront a New Administration
Marcy's Musings: It's Show Time!
Momentus Awarded Expansion of Defense Department Contract for Assembly of Large Structures in Space
February 11, 2025 | BUSINESS WIREEstimated reading time: 2 minutes
Momentus Inc., a U.S. commercial space company offering satellite buses, technologies, transportation, and other in-space infrastructure services, announced it has been awarded a contract expansion by the U.S. Department of Defense organization, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to conduct an in-orbit demonstration of the assembly of large scale structures. The mission will launch on an upcoming SpaceX Transporter rideshare as soon as early 2026.
For this upcoming mission, Momentus is under contract to provide full-service support to the DARPA Novel Orbital and Moon Manufacturing, Materials, and Mass-efficient Design (NOM4D) program, including arranging launch services, payload integration, and in-orbit hosting of the payload for a complex in-space assembly mission. The in-space assembly will be conducted on the Momentus Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle. The purpose of this effort is to validate the functionality, performance, and reliability of the in-space assembly payload in the LEO space environment.
Momentus was awarded the initial NOM4D contract in April 2024 and completed the first two phases of the contract. This latest contract award from DARPA’s Defense Sciences Office is for Phase 3 of the program valued at about $3.5M.
The DARPA NOM4D program 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 fabrication in the space environment.
“We’re thrilled to be supporting DARPA on this cutting-edge program and are looking forward to this exciting demonstration of key enabling technologies for in-space assembly,” said Momentus Chief Executive Officer John Rood. “Cost-effective assembly of structures in space has the potential to transform how we operate in space. Structures that are too large to fit within the shroud of a launch vehicle can be robotically assembled in space, leading to less complex and cost-effective structures like large communications antennas, hubs for orbital manufacturing of advanced materials and potentially products like semi-conductors, and the repair and upgrade of space systems. This latest contract from DARPA builds on work Momentus has done to secure important contracts from NASA and the U.S. Space Development Agency in late 2024 to support missions in orbit to demonstrate new technology. Together, these contracts position the company well for future growth.”
This mission marks Momentus’ fourth Vigoride mission and first mission supporting DARPA. For this mission, Momentus has additional capacity to support customers planning LEO deployment and hosted payload missions in early 2026.
Share on:
Suggested Items
Collins Aerospace Approved to Begin Full Rate Production of MAPS Gen II system
03/13/2025 | Collins AerospaceCollins Aerospace, an RTX business, has received approval for Full Rate Production of the Mounted Assured Positioning, Navigation and Timing (PNT) Generation II system (MAPS GEN II).
Applied Aerospace Acquires NeXolve
03/12/2025 | PRNewswireApplied Aerospace, a proven manufacturer of solutions for commercial and military spacecraft, aircraft, and ground-based systems, announced it has completed the acquisition of NeXolve.
RTX's Collins Aerospace Unveils New Engineering Development and Test Center in Bengaluru
03/10/2025 | RTXCollins Aerospace, an RTX business, opened its new Engineering Development and Test Center (EDTC) at the company’s North Gate campus in Bengaluru, India. The new facility streamlines product development, testing, and certification of components locally, bringing aerospace technologies to market faster.
Ariane-6 Launches CSO-3: double success for France and Europe
03/07/2025 | AirbusThe Airbus-built CSO-3 (Composante Spatiale Optique) Earth observation satellite for the French Armed Forces, has been successfully launched by Arianespace on Ariane 6’s first commercial flight from the European Spaceport in Kourou.
Jaltek Joins Midlands Aerospace Alliance
03/06/2025 | JaltekJaltek are delighted to officially announce that they have joined the Midlands Aerospace Alliance (MAA). The MAA which was formed in 2003 to support and represent the aerospace industry across the Midlands region, now represents one of the largest aerospace clusters in the world and is one of the strongest advocates for both the aerospace industry and the Midlands region.