PRESS RELEASE: Portal Space Systems Expands Manufacturing Footprint with New 50,000 Sq. Ft. Facility in Bothell, WA
Aug 13, 2024
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Aug 13, 2024
By leveraging Momentus’ hosted payload services, Portal is accelerating its hardware readiness timeline and de-risking critical components ahead of the company’s target launch later in 2026. This test will validate the resilience and performance of Portal’s advanced spaceflight computer, avionics, and software suite which have been engineered to support autonomous sustained maneuvering and resilient operations in the challenging conditions of space.
“In-space validation is the cornerstone of de-risking space systems, especially when you’re building a spacecraft like Supernova that has to think, act and react across transorbital domains,” said Jeff Thornburg, CEO and Co-Founder of Portal Space Systems. “This mission lets us iterate and advance faster, and we’re thrilled to be flying alongside some of the most ambitious payloads in space.”
Portal’s payload will fly as one of several innovative payloads hosted on Momentus’ Vigoride 7, joining demonstrations from DARPA’s NOM4D program, AFWERX’s rendezvous sensing technologies, and Solstar Space’s Wi-Fi-enabled space communicator. This convergence of government and commercial tech development makes Vigoride 7 an important testbed for the next generation of orbital infrastructure.
“The breadth of this mission’s stakeholders speaks volumes,” added Thornburg. “Momentus is enabling a hub of orbital innovation, and it’s exciting to be part of a cohort that includes the Department of Defense, Solstar, and others working at the frontier.”
“We’re thrilled to support Portal as they push the boundaries of innovation, advancing their technology in the extreme environment of space to enable groundbreaking capabilities,” said Momentus CEO John Rood. “This payload from Portal joins several other innovative payloads from the U.S. Defense Department and commercial customers that are manifested to be carried in orbit on the Momentus Vigoride 7. We are looking forward to conducting this exciting mission that will demonstrate new capabilities for in-orbit assembly, rendezvous and close proximity sensing, and new computing and power generation capabilities.”
This milestone builds on Portal’s momentum since its public debut in 2024 and continues the company’s strategic push toward launch-readiness. Supernova is Portal’s flagship spacecraft, an agile, reusable platform designed for transorbital operations and sustained maneuvering across mission domains. Powered by solar thermal propulsion and equipped with software-enabled payload flexibility, Supernova is engineered to meet every mission need in today’s contested and congested orbital environment.