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 first announced its intent to go public through the SPAC in October 2020 with a $1.2 billion. But the company has run into issues since the announcement. Its founding CEO Mikhail Kokorich, a Russian citizen, stepped down in January in order to expedite the resolution of national security and foreign ownership concerns, the company said. Momentus is also under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS). 

Earlier this week, Stable Road announced that the U.S. Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has denied Momentus’ request to approve its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle for upcoming launch due to national security concerns. According to the announcement, Momentus is working to resolve the national security concerns, and the FAA can reconsider the application at a later date. Momentus was seeking to fly its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle on the June 2021 SpaceX rideshare mission.