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Vigoride-7

2026 NASA Commercial spaceflight orbital servicing proximity operations

History

Vigoride-7 is an orbital service vehicle developed and operated by Momentus, a U.S. commercial space company. The spacecraft completed vibration testing at Experior Laboratories before being integrated on a dedicated launch plate aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. It launched to low-Earth orbit on March 30, 2026, aboard SpaceX's Transporter-16 mission.

The mission carries 10 payloads for government and commercial customers, including NASA and U.S. Department of War organizations. Contracts include approximately $4.2 million from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), approximately $1.9 million from SpaceWERX, and agreements with NASA's Johnson Space Center and Armstrong Flight Research Center. The spacecraft is operated from Momentus' Mission Control Center in San Jose, California, and the mission is scheduled to last several months.

By July 2026, Vigoride-7 had completed a series of orbit-lowering maneuvers reducing its altitude by nearly 20 km through more than 50 precisely timed thruster operations. In October 2026, Solstar Space Wi-Fi technology connected NASA's R5-S10 cubesat with Vigoride-7 during proximity operations, with data relayed to NASA's Johnson Space Center through Iridium Communications.

Specifications

Vigoride-7 has over 300 kg of payload capacity and up to 3 kW of peak onboard power. The broader Vigoride class is rated for up to 750 kg of payload to low-Earth orbit. Propulsion is provided by two Microwave Electrothermal Thrusters that use water as the propellant; the thruster system had been flown cumulatively over 400 times on Momentus missions since 2023. The spacecraft carries momentum wheels, which flew on a Vigoride vehicle for the first time on this mission, and a titanium fuel tank that was additively manufactured by Momentus.

Program status

As of late 2026, the Vigoride-7 mission is ongoing. Vigoride 8 is scheduled to launch in 2027 carrying two payloads funded through NASA's Flight Opportunities Program at Armstrong Flight Research Center. Momentus has also begun work on the Vigoride 9 spacecraft and is accepting payload customers.