Masten filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the District of Delaware. The company, based in Mojave, California, reported having estimated assets of between $10 million and $50 million, and estimated liabilities in the same range.The company is one of five that had won Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) awards from NASA to deliver payloads to the lunar surface. NASA issued an award originally valued at $75.9 million Masten in April 2020 to deliver a suite of experiments to the lunar surface using its XL-1 lander. The mission, originally scheduled for 2022, was pushed back to November 2023 because what the company said in June 2021 were pandemic-related supply chain issues.
"NASA received notification its payloads slated for delivery aboard Masten Mission One may be impacted by Masten business operations. The agency is working closely with the company to ensure that any potential changes comply with Federal Acquisition Regulations," NASA said in a July 29 statement. "In the event Masten Space Systems is unable to complete its task order, NASA will manifest its payloads on other CLPS flights."
NASA added that of the revised value of the award of $81.3 million, the agency paid Masten $66.1 million to date.
Industry sources reported Masten Space Systems encountered financial problems recently, forcing it to furlough its staff for the month of July and lay off many of the people working on the XL-1 project.
"Masten intends to use the Chapter 11 process to streamline Masten's expenses, optimize its operations and conduct sale processes that maximize value for its unsecured creditors," Sean Bedford, general counsel of Masten Space Systems, said in a statement to SpaceNews. "We are hopeful that this process will enable Masten to continue operations and deliver value for its customers and the space industry."