A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket lifting off on Jan. 11, 2019. Photo: SpaceX

Momentus signed two new launch service agreements with Pixxel and GP Advanced Projects. Momentus will deliver Pixxel’s second smallsat to Sun-Synchronous Orbit (SSO) orbit in December 2021 onboard a SpaceX Falcon-9 launch. Additionally, GP Advanced Projects’ FEES2 Picosatellite will fly on Vigoride’s second demo mission in April 2021.

Pixxel is building a constellation of earth imaging small satellites that can provide real-time remote sensing data globally. The Momentus Shuttle Service will provide a rideshare for multiple Pixxel spacecraft to predefined orbits.

GP Advanced Projects’ Flexible Experimental Embedded Satellite (FEES) is a picosatellite platform for autonomous in-orbit validation and testing. A first model will fly onboard G.A.U.S.S. Unisat-7 satellite launched on a Soyuz, and Momentus will fly the enhanced FEES2 variant on a Vigoride shuttle via a Falcon-9 rocket in the first half of 2021. These two FEES satellites are the first of future constellations of picosatellites devoted to the retrieval of Internet of Things (IoT) data from ground, starting with a first Cluster mission in 2022 — also partnered with Momentus.

Awais Ahmed, founder and CEO, Pixxel said, “We are excited to partner with Momentus to get our satellites up in orbit as soon as we can and get the data in the hands of our customers. Momentus’ launch and in-space transfer services provide us with the flexibility to get to the orbit we want, even on a rideshare mission. We look forward to working with them to help make space more accessible.”

“GP Advanced Projects is doing a tremendous effort to validate its core technology in space, after having successfully achieved on-ground qualification. The partnership with Momentus and the flexibility of the Vigoride shuttle allow us not only to increase the reliability of our platform by performing a second validation mission, but offer us also the possibility to test additional features ahead of schedule with respect to our development roadmap,” said Guido Parissenti, CEO of GP Advanced Projects.