🛰️ MANUFACTURING AND OPERATIONS

Sierra Space demonstrates technology to extract water from regolith
Sierra Space announced that the company’s proprietary Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center, heralding the first time in history that oxygen has been extracted from simulated lunar soil, or regolith, using an automated, standalone system in a lunar environment. The technology, when scaled up, is designed to produce oxygen in bulk to support one of the primary objectives of NASA’s Artemis program: establishing the first long-term presence on the moon.
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Lodestar to integrate robotic arm on Momentus’ space tug
Momentus entered into a Collaboration Agreement with Lodestar Space to integrate a robotic arm onto a Momentus Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle (OSV).
Momentus will work with Lodestar Space to define the requirements to integrate and perform a robotic arm mission on a Vigoride Orbital Service Vehicle
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💰️ FINANCE, FUNDING AND M&A

Telesat completes $2.54 billion funding
Telesat has announced the completion of funding agreements with the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec for its highly advanced Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit (LEO) broadband satellite constellation.
With this milestone completed, Telesat now has all financing sources in place to fund the global Telesat Lightspeed network, including the satellites, launch vehicles to deploy them, an integrated terrestrial network of landing stations and points of presence throughout the world, and the business and operational support systems for the network.
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Indian software giant Infosys invests in Galaxeye’s Series A round
Indian software firm Infosys has invested $2M in EO startup GalaxEye Space, which plans to launch a satellite constellation equipped with multispectral and SAR instruments
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Sateliot raises $30 million series B round
Spanish satellite IoT startup Sateliot has raised a 30 million euro ($33 million) Series B funding round, led by Global Portfolio Investments. This deal makes Global Portfolio Investments, a Spanish investment group, one of the company’s main shareholders. 
Sateliot plans to use the capital to build-out its constellation of 100 IoT satellites that operate under 5G protocols. The company plans to offer real-time global IoT connectivity by 2028 for industries such as agriculture and logistics. 
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🛰️ CORE SERVICES

Astranis secures military contract for satellite upgrades
Astranis has won a $13.2 million contract to make its communications satellites compatible with military terminals, the U.S. Space Force announced.
Astranis received the contract through a Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) agreement.
The contract is being funded through the Small Business Innovation Research (SBIR) program, with additional support from U.S. Space Command and the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command. 
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Viasat receives contract to develope satcom antenna for military aircraft
The U.S. Air Force Research Laboratory awarded Viasat a $33.6 million contract to develop advanced satellite communications antennas for military aircraft, the company announced Sept. 24.
The contract is part of the Defense Experimentation Using Commercial Space Internet (DEUCSI) program, which seeks to integrate commercial space internet constellations, such as Starlink, OneWeb and SES’s O3b, into military communications networks.
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🛰️ PRODUCT, PARTNERSHIPS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

Bellatrix Aerospace unveils new satellite platform
Bellatrix Aerospace has unveiled Project 200, a technology demonstration mission to qualify a new unconventional satellite powered by a propulsion system at an Ultra-Low Earth Orbit (180-250 km). This orbit has the potential to transform current satellite capabilities exponentially and it reimagines how a satellite connects with the planet.
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Viasat and Reticulate partner on satellite video compression technology
Viasat have announced that Reticulate has joined Viasat’s ELEVATE growth program to bring its cutting-edge video technology to new markets.
Reticulate brings its VAST™ video encoding and compression platform as a new solution to the ELEVATE marketplace. VAST™ is an innovative video encoding and compression platform optimized for minimal bandwidth and ultra-low latency, ideal for tactical scenarios and edge networks. By utilizing dynamic resolution and AI-driven rate control, VAST™ can stream HD video at under 50 kbps, all while maintaining clarity.
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Planet launches new carbon monitoring product
Earth observation company Planet unveiled a product Sept. 24 for monitoring global forests.
Planet’s Forest Carbon Monitoring product offers quarterly estimates of the amount of carbon stored in branches, leaves and other plant tissue above ground at a resolution of three meters per pixel. In addition, it shows canopy height and canopy cover, information often needed for voluntary carbon markets, regulatory compliance and deforestation mitigation.
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🚀 LAUNCH CONTRACTS AND MISSIONS

SpaceX launches four satellites for ESA’s Galileo satellite nav system
SpaceX launched the second of two flights contracted by the European Space Agency to deliver four satellites to orbit for the European Union’s Galileo satellite navigation system.
The four Galileo satellites launched aboard SpaceX Falcon 9 missions had initially been assigned to Soyuz flights launched from Europe’s Guiana Space Centre.
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China launches final pair of Beidou navigation system satellites
China launched the last pair of backup satellites for its Beidou navigation system late Wednesday, with an eye on a future, upgraded system.
A Long March 3B rocket equipped with a Yuanzheng-1 upper stage lifted off from the Xichang Satellite Launch Center at 9:14 p.m. Eastern Sept. 18 (0114 UTC Sept. 19). Two backup Beidou positioning, navigation and timing (PNT) satellites were successfully inserted into medium Earth orbits (MEO).
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Jielong-3 satellite launches from sea platform
China launched its fourth Jielong-3 solid rocket from a sea platform late Monday, putting eight remote sensing satellites into sun-synchronous orbit.
China Rocket, a subsidiary of CASC, the country’s state-owned main space contractor, announced the mission payloads following launch success. The launch was a rideshare mission and featured a diversity of satellites and customers.
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Firefly Aerospace wins contract from NOAA 
Firefly Aerospace won a contract to launch Quicksounder, a prototype for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s next-generation of environmental satellites in low-Earth orbit. The value of the award was not disclosed.
NASA awarded the contract to Texas-based Firefly on behalf of NOAA through the Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare (VADR) launch services contract. Through VADR, NASA awards fixed-price contracts for satellite launches.
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🌎️ CUSTOMERS OF THE SPACE INDUSTRY

Softbank and Intelsat partner to launch network
SoftBank and Intelsat are teaming up to develop and launch a “Ubiquitous Network” concept that uses 5G connections between terrestrial and mobile and satellite communications networks. The companies announced Tuesday during World Space Business Week that they plan to jointly develop a hybrid communication solution based on 3GPP 5G non-terrestrial network standards. 
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Al Jazeera reaffirms committment with Eutelsat
Eutelsat Group has announced that Al Jazeera Media Network has reaffirmed its commitment to Eutelsat for broadcast services across the Middle East, North Africa and Europe.
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Celestia and Uzma Berhad partner on ground segment
Celestia has announced the signing of an Expression of Interest with Uzma, a leader in the energy and technology landscape of Malaysia, that marks the start of a mutual collaboration between the two commercial partners on the development of advanced space satellite solutions for the South East Asia region.
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📜 REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT

Indian Government approves major space missions
The Indian government has given approval to ISRO on a number of major space projects including the Chandrayaan-4 lunar sample return, Venus orbiter mission and a first space station module.
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Azercosmos to support developing island nations with space services
Azercosmos is ramping up their cooperation with Small Developing Island States (SIDS) through its recently inked Memorandum of Understanding with the Commonwealth Secretariat, all in an effort to strengthen climate-related activities.
- Drought level monitoring and drought risk assessment using satellite images;
- Agriculture and crop classification;
- Comprehensive forest monitoring;
- Space-based monitoring of methane (CH₄) concentrations.
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China signs cooperation agreement with Senegal for the International lunar research station
The China National Space Administration (CNSA) and the Senegalese Space Study Agency (ASES) have signed an agreement on International Lunar Research Station (ILRS) cooperation.
China’s Deep Space Exploration Lab (DSEL) also inked memoranda of understanding with 10 institutions from countries including Serbia, Switzerland, the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Pakistan, Panama and South Africa.
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