A rendering of Momentus’ Vigoride in-space shuttle. Photo: Momentus

Satellite in-space transportation provider Momentus and LunaSonde on Thursday revealed a launch service agreement to fly a demo cubesat (Gossamer) to Sun Synchronous Orbit (SSO) in Q1 2021, with further options to fly a constellation of 3U cubesats to SSO in the future.

LunaSonde is a radar satellite remote sensing startup that provides subsurface imaging from space. The company pioneered a technology that allows small satellites to “take an MRI scan of planet Earth.” This technology combined with algorithms helps enable direct imaging to identify underground resources such as water, petroleum, and mineral deposits.

Momentus is a space transportation and space logistics company, employing technology including water plasma propulsion to help enable low-cost orbital shuttle and charter services. Momentus has already demonstrated its core technology in space and is currently preparing for its next two customer test missions starting later this year.

“We are honored to have been selected as a partner for orbital placement of the Gossamer mission,” said Mikhail Kokorich, CEO of Momentus. “We share a goal with LunaSonde of providing revolutionary technology to benefit both Earth and space.”