The New Space economy is poised for a big growth year — and a lot of competition — with SPAC deals, IPOs, and advancements in technology defining 2022 for space startups.
John Rood, chairman and CEO of Momentus, said: “I can’t imagine a more exciting time in the space industry. The space economy is rapidly growing and more players with unique perspectives and interesting ideas are rallying to shape the space economy.” Momentus’s priority milestone is the inaugural launch of its Vigoride in-space transportation vehicle as early as June 2022, which will also test its Microwave Electrothermal (MET) propulsion technology using water as propellant. “The MET technology has been the subject of many studies in university labs since the 1980s, but we are pioneers in commercializing it.”
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Jason Mello of Firefly STS highlighted the rapidly growing space ecosystem: “We are not the space bus of the future, we are space Uber to take you where you want to go.” Firefly successfully completed its first orbital test in September 2021.
On SPACs, Rood reported low redemptions on Momentus’s merger: “This transaction provided us with significant capital to evolve our business.” Firefly’s Mello cautioned that a company should show repeatable reliability before going public.
Terran Orbital CEO Marc Bell is building what he called the world’s largest satellite manufacturing facility in Cape Canaveral — 660,000 square feet capable of producing 1,000 complete satellites and more than 1 million satellite components per year, alongside its existing 128,000-square-foot Irvine, California facility. “No matter who you are, we can build it. We have a one-stop solution.” Bell is also building a constellation of smallsat SAR satellites for persistent, real-time Earth imagery. VS
