Space SPAC Index – Momentus Plans Reverse Stock Split to Raise Shares

Welcome to S-SPACⁱ! In this week’s edition, Momentus plans a reverse stock split to raise its share price, AST SpaceMobile forms a partnership to battle SpaceX’s Starlink in Kenya, Spire Global to help enhance airline profitability, Intuitive Machines’ lunar rover passes a critical test, Virgin Galactic announces passengers for August suborbital flight, and Redwire is contributing key technology to NASA’s Dragonfly mission.

Momentus Pursues Reverse Stock Split

Momentus (Nasdaq: MNTS) has filed preliminary proxy materials for a vote by stockholders on a reverse stock split intended to raise the company’s stock price. A reverse stock split is when a company consolidates existing shares into a smaller number of higher-priced shares. The preliminary filing does not say by how much the number of shares would be reduced.

In March, Nasdaq gave Momentus until September 18 to raise its stock price to $1.00 or face being delisted. The company can appeal for an additional 180 days if it is unable to do so by that date. Momentus’ shares closed at $0.34 on Wednesday.

Spire Global (NYS: SPIR) is facing a September 22 deadline to raise its stock price to $1.00 or face delisting from the New York Stock Exchange. The company can appeal for an additional 180 days to raise its stock price. Spire’s shares closed at $0.71 on Wednesday.

Astra Space (Nasdaq: ASTR), which is facing an October 2 deadline to avoid delisting, is performing a reverse stock split and looking to raise $65 million. Astra is on its second 180-day period to avoid being delisted. Astra’s shares closed at $0.42 on Wednesday.

AST SpaceMobile Teams Up in Kenya

Kenya’s top communications company, Safaricom, announced it was teaming with Texas-based AST SpaceMobile (Nasdaq: ASTR) to provide communications services as SpaceX’s Starlink satellite broadband service began operations in the African nation. AST SpaceMobile is developing a fleet of satellites it says will be capable of communicating with unmodified cell phones through local partners.

Space SPAC Index
July 19, 2023

Spire Global to Enhance Airline Profitability

RDC Aviation has selected Spire Global (NYSE: SPIR) to supply global flight and aviation insights that will assist airlines with lowering operating costs and improving profitability. RDC will integrate Spire’s data into its Airport Charges product to analyze airport user charges and en-route navigation costs for its database of more than 3,000 airports. Spire’s data will also be used in RDC’s Apex market intelligence product to complement its published departures data with actual flown departures and to refine route profitability calculations through accurate flown data.

Intuitive Machines’ Rover Passes Test

Intuitive Machines (Nasdaq: LUNR) announced it completed a complete spacecraft test run of its Nova-C lunar lander. Engineers verified Nova-C’s flight software, flight avionics, liquid oxygen and liquid methane loading, high-pressure helium system performance, and propulsion system complete functionality. The test run culminated in a hot fire of the Nova-C main engine.

The test run moved Intuitive Machines closer to shipping Nova-C to Cape Canaveral for launch by a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket later this year. The lander will carry five NASA-funded payloads to a site close to Malapert A crater near the lunar south pole under the space agency’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program. Nova-C will also carry six payloads for private organizations.

Virgin Galactic Names Passengers for August Flight

Virgin Galactic (NYSE: SPCE) has named a mother-daughter duo from Antigua and Barbuda and 80-year-old former Olympian Jon Goodwin, who competed for Great Britain in the 1972 Olympics in Munich, Germany, as the passengers for its second commercial flight on August 10. Keisha Schahaff and her daughter, Anatatia Mayers, won their tickets in a sweepstake that raised $1.7 million for Space for Humanity, a non-profit that pays for people to fly on suborbital flights.

Space for Humanity is a nonprofit that funds trips to space on Virgin Galactic’s SpaceShipTwo and Blue Origin’s New Shepard suborbital vehicles. It was founded in 2017 by Dylan Taylor, who owns Parabolic Arc as part of Multiverse Media.

Redwire Provides Critical Tech for Dragonfly Mission

Redwire (NYSE: RDW) is providing critical navigation technology for NASA’s Dragonfly mission to Saturn’s moon Titan. Digital Sun Sensor system, consisting of two Digital Sun Sensor heads and its related electronics, will provide sun angle information to the Dragonfly spacecraft’s guidance and control computer as it traverses the 142.6 million km (886 million miles) from Earth to Titan.

Upcoming Earnings Reports

• August 1: Virgin Galactic
• August 8: Rocket Lab
• August 9: Spire Global
• August 15: Terran Orbital