$MNTS: SmallSat Europe Speaker Focus: John Rood, Chairman, President, and CEO of Momentus.
At Momentus, Rood has led the company through its SPAC-to-NASDAQ transition, the production and launch of its first Vigoride orbital service vehicles, and the placement of eight customer satellites in orbit.
In March 2026, Momentus launched Vigoride-7 aboard SpaceX’s Transporter-16, carrying 10 demonstration payloads. Among them is the Low-Cost Multispectral RPO Sensor suite, a $1.86 million SpaceWERX-funded demonstration designed to improve spacecraft situational awareness through multispectral tracking of nearby objects.
NASA is supporting the mission through a Space Act Agreement, providing a free-flying CubeSat imager that will assess Vigoride-7’s health and test WiFi-based inter-satellite data links.
Separately, NASA awarded Momentus a $5.1 million contract to demonstrate microgravity protein crystallization and $2.5 million for an on-orbit rotating detonation rocket engine test. SatNews covered the Vigoride-7 multispectral sensor mission in February 2026.
The in-space services market has expanded rapidly, with multiple companies developing orbital transfer vehicles across the United States and Europe. Momentus has focused on building a dual-use service portfolio spanning commercial hosted payloads and government technology demonstrations.
SatNews reported on the Momentus-Solstar strategic partnership for on-demand space communications in March 2025, extending the company’s offerings beyond transportation.
