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

Momentus announced Monday that the company’s president, Fred Kennedy, has resigned and will step down Jan. 21. The company’s CTO Rob Schwarz will serve as interim head of Engineering and Operations while the company hires additional executive leadership. CEO John Rood will also assume the role of company president.

Kennedy joined the company in September 2020. He was previously the inaugural director of the Space Development Agency, a U.S. Department of Defense agency responsible for developing threat-driven space architectures to sustain the U.S.’s technological advantage in space. Kennedy said that he is leaving the Bay Area, where Momentus is based. 

“I’ve been consistently impressed with the professionalism and capabilities of the Momentus team, especially its engineering and operations personnel,” Kennedy said. “I will be following the team’s progress and look forward to seeing them get to orbit and do some outstanding work.”

Momentus went public via a special purpose acquisition company (SPAC) in August of last year. The company faced national security concerns, including fines from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), related to its founder, but reached a National Security Agreement (NSA) with the U.S. government. The company is  targeting the first flight for its Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle on SpaceX’s Transporter-5 mission, targeted for June of 2022, pending regulatory approval.