Momentus (NASDAQ:MNTS) shares climbed about 30% after the company announced a Space Act Agreement with NASA designed to advance in-orbit servicing and space operations capabilities through a coordinated mission.
Under the agreement, Momentus will deliver a NASA CubeSat to low Earth orbit to execute demonstrations of rendezvous and proximity operations (RPO) and formation flying. The centerpiece of the mission is NASA’s R5 Spacecraft 10 - described as a free-flying imager - which will operate alongside Momentus’ Vigoride 7 Orbital Service Vehicle. R5 Spacecraft 10 will act as an observing platform to assess spacecraft health and performance while operating in proximity to the host vehicle.
NASA’s support for the project extends to assisting Momentus in carrying out the Low-Cost Multispectral RPO Sensor suite rendezvous demonstration mission for the Air Force Research Labs SPACEWERX organization. According to the announcement, the sensor package is intended to improve spacecraft situational awareness and relative navigation capabilities during close-proximity operations.
The mission plan also includes demonstrations of inter-satellite communications using WiFi-based data transmission. In that configuration, the CubeSat will transfer large data files to the Vigoride host platform, after which those files will be downlinked to both the Momentus Operations Center and NASA Johnson. The approach highlights an operational workflow that couples in-orbit data exchanges with ground-based processing.
Launch is scheduled no earlier than March 2026 on a SpaceX Transporter mission. The R5-S10 CubeSat will ride aboard Vigoride 7, which the company reports is now fully booked for hosted payloads. Momentus emphasized the benefits of its multi-manifest hosted payload model, noting that co-located payloads in orbit can increase the data fidelity and operational value of each participating experiment.
The collaboration is framed as a step toward enabling advanced, cost-effective space servicing solutions while building experience and technologies that could support greater spacecraft autonomy in subsequent missions. The company’s stock reaction following the announcement reflects market interest in commercial in-orbit servicing and the potential of hosted payload strategies to aggregate capability on a single platform.
Key operational details:
- CubeSat to demonstrate rendezvous, proximity operations, and formation flying in low Earth orbit.
- R5 Spacecraft 10 will serve as a free-flying imager for Vigoride 7 to evaluate spacecraft health and performance.
- Mission includes WiFi-based inter-satellite links to transfer large files to Vigoride for downlink to Momentus and NASA facilities.