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In-space transportation company Momentus announced that it has successfully started tests of the propulsion system on its Vigoride tug launched earlier this year.<\/p>\n
The company said it completed an initial test sequence of the Microwave Electrothermal Thruster (MET) on its Vigoride-5 vehicle launched in January on SpaceX\u2019s Transporter-6 rideshare mission. The MET uses microwaves to turn water into a plasma to generate thrust.<\/p>\n
Momentus provided few technical details about the performance of the thrusters in those tests, but company executives said in an interview that the thrusters performed as expected. \u201cAll the telemetry looks just like it did on the ground for all the ground tests, so everything looks good,\u201d said Rob Schwarz, chief technology officer.<\/p>\n
He described the tests as running the thruster at full power in short bursts. The company will ramp up the length of the tests ahead of Vigoride-5\u2019s first major maneuver, to circularize its orbit for the deployment of a CubeSat by Singapore-based Qosmosys. That maneuver will take place over the next couple of weeks, said John Rood, chief executive of Momentus, although he cautioned that the schedule is subject to change.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe whole Vigoride-5 mission is a demonstration mission. The primary objective is to demonstrate the performance and learn from how it\u2019s performing,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re not going to rush things.\u201d<\/p>\n
Vigoride-5 will then remain in that orbit for at least six months for tests of a hosted payload from Caltech to demonstrate space-based solar power technologies. Rood said those in-orbit demonstrations could be extended for up to two years, after which Vigoride-5 will use its thruster to lower its orbit.<\/p>\n
Those tests come as Momentus prepares to launch its next vehicle, Vigoride-6, on SpaceX\u2019s Transporter-7 rideshare mission in April. Vigoride-6 has the same MET thruster design, which is also being incorporated onto Vigoride-7 launching in the fall.<\/p>\n
Vigoride-6 will deploy two CubeSats for NASA\u2019s Low-Latitude Ionosphere\/Thermosphere Enhancements in Density (LLITED) mission to study conditions in the upper atmosphere, which Schwarz said will require the vehicle to perform a \u201cpretty big\u201d inclination change using its thrusters. \u201cIt\u2019s going to be a pretty substantial fraction of the full capability of the Vigoride bus to take them to where they need to go.\u201d<\/p>\n
Momentus is working on a new generation of the MET system that will increase the efficiency of the engine and potentially extend its lifetime as the company develops versions of Vigoride that can be refueled and reused in orbit. \u201cBut this engine is pretty well suited for our uses now,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n
The MET test was the culmination of the overall testing and commissioning of Vigoride-5. \u201cThe MET is the last thing in the commissioning chain because it relies on everything upstream of it,\u201d Schwarz said. \u201cWhen it finally happened, it was a huge moment, even bigger than the launch day.\u201d<\/p>\n
Rood recalled cheers in the control room as telemetry from the thruster test arrived. \u201cI was happier for the team than I was for the overall event,\u201d he said. \u201cSome of them are young people and they\u2019re just thrilled by the experience. Some of the old guys like me are pretty thrilled, too.\u201d<\/p>\n