Space company Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion, is running dangerously low on money

Space company Momentus warned shareholders in a securities filing on Friday that the company is running out of money and does not have a financial lifeline.

Momentus, once valued at more than $1 billion before going public via a special purpose acquisition company in 2021, abandoned plans for its next mission, which was to fly satellite customers in March. The company cited its “inability to support continuing operations for the expected launch date as a result of the Company’s limited liquidity and cash balance.”

Momentus already laid off about 20% of its workforce at the end of December to reduce costs.

Despite the cuts, Momentus said its “ability to continue to fund operations for the next few weeks and months will be dependent on its ability to raise equity capital or engage in a strategic transaction.”

It noted it “does not have definitive commitments at this time.”

Shares of Momentus fell more than 30% during trading on Friday, with its market value sliding to nearly $5 million. The company received another delisting warning from the Nasdaq earlier this month, having avoided a delisting last year by performing a reverse stock split.

Momentus was among a dozen or so space companies that debuted during the SPAC frenzy. The company was already on rocky footing before it went public, with delayed missions after the departure of its founder and former CEO, its valuation cut in half to less than $600 million and an SEC settlement due to allegations of falsifying results from a prototype spacecraft test.

The company has flown four missions to date, deploying 17 satellites for customers. It pitched itself as a “last mile delivery” service for spacecraft, targeting the market for small satellites, with its central product the Vigoride orbital transfer vehicle, or “space tug,” designed to deliver satellites from a rocket to a specific orbit.

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