Momentus Inc. today announced that it has finalized and signed a National Security Agreement (“NSA”) with the Department of Defence and Department of the Treasury. The NSA is the culmination of four months of intensive work with the U.S. government and marked a crucial step in the Company’s path toward delivering its services.
Under the terms of the agreement, Momentus is to strengthen security measures, hire a few key staff for additional oversight, and include a committee-nominated member on the board of directors.
The agreement became possible because the Russian founders of the company, Mikhail Kokorich, and Lev Khasis completely withdrew from the company board, said in a press release.
It was the presence of the owners from Russia that caused the claims of the US Department of Defence since the Momentus developments are considered dual-use technologies, they can be used for both civil and military purposes.
Momentus is developing space tugs that deliver satellites sent into space to final specified orbits. The withdrawal of satellites with the participation of a tug is much cheaper than without it.
On June 24, SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket supposed to be launched with the Momentus tug, but Momentus did not receive permission due to “potential threats to US national security.” SpaceX is a key partner of Momentus, however, due to government intervention, the company wasn’t able to provide its technology to Elon Musk space exploration company.
Prior to the conflict with the US government, Momentus also announced partnerships with Lockheed Martin, NASA, and other players in the space industry. Now that the agreement has been signed, Momentus management is committed to doing everything it can for the long-awaited launch.
Also, the agreement should speed up Momentus public listing. In October 2020, Momentus announced that it would go public through the SPAC takeover of the Stable Road Acquisition Corporation. Due to the claims of the US government, the deal is still not closed.
Global Technologies Private Portfolio acquired Momentus shares after the SPAC news at a price of $10 p/share. We see the potential for profitability in the growth of the company’s shares after the completion of the merger with SRAC. Despite the difficulties that Momentus is currently experiencing, its potential remains.