🛰️ MANUFACTURING AND OPERATIONS

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German launch company HyImpulse has signed an agreement with Australia’s Southern Launch to explore the possibility of launching its SL1 rocket from Whalers Way Orbital Launch Complex in Australia.
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Weeks after cutting 13% of its workforce, imaging company Satellogic announced it is laying off an additional 70 employees and slowing deployment of new satellites.
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Ovzon’s first fully owned satellite has reached its geostationary position after a five-month journey in space and passed initial health checks, the Swedish broadband operator announced June 14.
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💰️ FINANCE, FUNDING AND M&A

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IENAI Space has raised €3.9 million during its latest funding round. Together with previous investments, this latest round brings the total funding of IENAI to €7 million.
The company has secured a number of Spanish investors, which include Inveready, WA4STEAM, DPM, GED Conexo Ventures, and CDTI, a government backed investor that matches private investment. GED Conexo led the round.
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Gilat Satellite Networks announced plans June 17 to buy Stellar Blu Solutions, a Texas-based aircraft equipment integration specialist, in a deal worth up to $245 million to chase the emerging market for multi-orbit Wi-Fi on planes.
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🛰️ CORE SERVICES

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The Space Systems Command (SSC) announced it has awarded contracts to four companies to develop prototypes for laser communication terminals, kicking off the first phase of a $100 million program dubbed Enterprise Space Terminal.
Blue Origin, CACI International, General Atomics, and Viasat will compete to design and prototype optical communications terminals for use in space. These terminals essentially function like high-powered modems, using lasers to transmit and receive data over vast distances at the speed of light.
The four companies were competitively selected by the Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC)
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Space Systems Command has discontinued their Other Transaction Agreement (OTA) with Raytheon (RTX) to build three missile warning/missile tracking space vehicles for the Resilient MW/MT Medium Earth Orbit (MEO) Epoch 1 program.
At the end of May, the MEO Missile Warning, Tracking, and Defense Delta notified RTX that it would be discontinuing its contractual agreement to produce missile warning/missile tracking satellites after a successful design closure event in June 2024
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Blue Canyon Technologies, was selected to build two 12U CubeSat buses for NASA's PolSIR mission, which will study ice clouds that form at high altitudes throughout tropical and sub-tropical regions. In addition to designing and manufacturing the bus platforms, Blue Canyon will also provide mission operations services.
The PolSIR instrument –Polarized Submillimeter Ice-cloud Radiometer– will observe the full diurnal cycle of high-altitude ice clouds to improve climate forecasts and provide climate models with important insights on how Earth's atmosphere will change in the future.
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Redwire announced a contract June 17 to serve as prime mission integrator for a DARPA satellite with a novel propulsion system for very low Earth orbit (VLEO).
SabreSat, Redwire’s VLEO satellite for government intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance missions, will house “air-breathing” electric propulsion systems being developed through DARPA’s Otter program.
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🇮🇱 

SatixFy Communications has secured a $20 million order for its Prime2 space-grade chips and software from an undisclosed customer. 
The Prime2 space-grade chip is a digital beam-former application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) which SatixFy says serves as a cornerstone for complex satellite communication systems. The chip is used in multi-beam Low-Earth Orbit (LEO) or Geostationary Orbit (GEO) antennas onboard satellites. 
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🛰️ PRODUCT, PARTNERSHIPS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

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Orbcomm is targeting a new phase of IoT growth, announcing its next-generation IoT service, OGx. It is designed to reduce IoT power consumption so customers can operate with lower costs and higher capabilities.
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Satellite communications operator Hispasat has rolled out its comprehensive fire management solution in a forest reforested by Green Engine, an initiative promoted by Repsol Foundation and Sylvestris
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🚀 LAUNCH CONTRACTS AND MISSIONS

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Japanese radar imaging company Synspective has signed a contract for 10 Electron launches from Rocket Lab, the largest contract in the history of the launch provider.
The companies announced late June 17 the contract, which covers launches of individual StriX synthetic aperture radar (SAR) spacecraft on Electron rockets from 2025 through 2027
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🌎️ SPACE INDUSTRY ←→ DOWNSTREAM

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mu Space and Interlink Telecom Public Company Limited have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to explore new opportunities in satellite and telecommunications networks and services.
Effective from March 1st, 2024, this MOU sets the stage for combining the expertise and resources of both industry leaders to drive innovation and expand service offerings in Thailand and beyond
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📜 REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT

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The Pentagon remains sluggish in fielding innovative weapon systems even as security risks intensify, the Government Accountability Office said in its annual assessment of major arms programs released June 17. 
The congressional watchdog’s report examined 70 major weapon systems across the military services. GAO flags several hiccups in Space Force programs, including long-standing issues with the Global Positioning System’s ground control system and user equipment. It also cites supply chain challenges and technical risks for the Space Development Agency’s planned constellation of satellites in low-Earth orbit. 
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Benchmark Space Systems Awarded NASA SBIR To Fund Small Spacecraft Transfer Stage Development
Benchmark was selected to develop a preliminary design of a hybrid propulsion system inclusive of flight-proven high-test peroxide (HTP) bipropellant subsystem (Halcyon Avant), advanced control electronics and SmartAIM™ GNC software layer, a partner-supplied electric propulsion system, and other commercial off-the-shelf subsystems
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