Add Momentus to the list of companies scavenging for cash

Momentus, a “last mile” in-space delivery service, is looking for a savior to give it enough cash to continue operating. The company has already laid off a large portion of its workforce and has stated it doesn’t yet have a way forward.

Momentus lays off staff and delays next mission

At the end of last year Momentus laid off 20% of its work force in order to save on cost as the company was running dangerously low on cash. This is usually the first sign that a company is in a pretty rough shape.

The situation grew worse for Momentus as it canceled an upcoming flight on SpaceX‘s Transporter-10 mission in March. This showed that the company was not able to find interim funding and was so low on cash it couldn’t afford to spend money to even operate it’s business.

However, there has been some good news since then. Momentus was awarded a modification to its contract with the Space Development Agency worth $1.2 million this week. That would be great news if not for, according to Payload, the company ending last September with $9 million and an estimated $5.7 million slated to be owed to lenders this year.

Momentus’ problems don’t just stop at the budget projections. The company has been less than successful. Even before Virgin Orbit filed for bankruptcy last year, the fledgling launch provider showed signs of promise with a good list of successes.

Momentus’ has yet to prove its in-space propulsion system works and can even do the job. Some of the company’s early investors have sold their stakes and the once $1 billion company is now worth only $10 million.

The company’s fate is now solely up to its CFO and other executives to find outside investors to hopefully give it enough runway to prove its worth.

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Still no word from Astra on funding solution

At the end of last year a big story line in November was Astra Space‘s fight for survival. It, much like Momentus, ran out of cash after failing to develop a reliable and commercially successful product.

The company has practically gone quiet since it released its Q3 financials in November and a deal from the company’s two founders to take it private was presented to the board. While the company found short term financing, its future is also reliant on finding outside funding to continue.

Astra’s launch services division has practically been offline as the company tried to put everything it can into its spacecraft propulsion division, the only part of Astra making any money. However, it has yet to been seen as enough to keep the company operating nor was it ever the goal of Astra to be a electric propulsion company.

In these stages of company struggles anything can happen from acquisitions, bankruptcy, or last minute funding deals. SpaceX acquired one of its parachute providers after it filed for bankruptcy last year. So the chances of something like that happening here wouldn’t be unprecedented.