There are two space agencies that want to team up. They want to complete a mission in 2022 that could help in opening up the economy outside of Earth.
Momentus and Made In Space Europe have finally written a memo with regards to developing flights to the orbit. Should all go according to the plan, the Vigoride space tug will be given one of the most advanced robotic arms. According to some sources, the robotic arm “will perform cooperative capture and manipulation of microsatellites.”
Jaroslaw Jaworski, the general manager of Luxembourg-based MIS EU (Made In Space Europe), said: “This demonstration mission will provide us with an understanding of how robotic arms can improve in-space transportation. We are looking to critically evaluate the viability of these two highly advanced, commercial technologies working within a fully integrated system.”
Momentus is currently developing space tugs that are powered by water plasma thrusters. The spacecraft are made to get satellites to different orbits and to carry them from the initial orbits that their rockets provide. Vigoride is set to fly for the very first time at the end of 2020, and it’s just one of the members of the Momentus line. The company is manufacturing other tugs as well – one of them is Ardoride, which will be able to haul satellites from the low orbit of the Earth to the moon.
According to Aaron Mitchell, company’s vice president of product, the Momentus Space will provide excellent orbital transportation. He also stated: “This mission will enable us to enhance our innovative vehicles with cutting-edge space robotics to offer even greater capability and value to our growing customer base.”
We are waiting to hear more about it, and we are excited.
