Momentus Selected by NASA for Fly Foundational Robots Resupply Mission Study

NASA has awarded Momentus Inc. (NASDAQ: MNTS) a task order to develop a mission concept for the agency’s Fly Foundational Robots (FFR) Resupply mission, which aims to advance technologies for in-space servicing, assembly and manufacturing (ISAM).

Momentus is one of two companies selected for the initial formulation phase, with NASA expected to choose one participant to proceed to implementation and flight.

During the formulation phase, Momentus will develop the mission’s concept of operations, technical interfaces and system design.

NASA’s FFR program is designed to accelerate space robotics through frequent, lower-cost demonstrations that incrementally improve capabilities for future commercial and government missions.

Under Momentus’ proposed mission architecture, a dedicated resupply spacecraft would carry a pallet of robotic payloads developed through NASA’s TechLeap Prize Robotically Manipulated Payload Challenge.

The spacecraft would perform orbital maneuvers and rendezvous, proximity operations and docking with the vehicle hosting the FFR robotic arm.

Once docked, the arm would transfer the payloads to the host platform for further testing and demonstrations.

The mission could also explore transferring orbital hardware between spacecraft and reusing robotic infrastructure already in orbit.

The company operates its Vigoride orbital service vehicle, which supports hosted payloads, last-mile delivery and other in-space services. Its fully booked Vigoride-8 mission is scheduled to fly in 2027 with two NASA payloads, while development work has begun on Vigoride-9, which still has payload capacity available.

Image credits: Momentus