🛰️ MANUFACTURING AND OPERATIONS

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Etlaq Spaceport signs MoU with ABL Space Systems
Under the MOU, ABL and Etlaq will explore launching ABL’s RS1 launch vehicle from the Etlaq Spaceport, bringing orbital satellite launch capability to the Gulf region. The initial project focus is on evaluating local logistics and site construction, as well as developing regulatory and export control frameworks with both the US and Oman governments.
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Hyperspectral Earth observation company Wyvern will use data from sensors on Loft Orbital satellites to expand its constellation, the companies announced June 26.
Wyvern said it will have access to data from hyperspectral imagers on Loft satellites, allowing it to virtually expand its satellite constellation without having to build, launch or operate its own satellites.
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💰️ FINANCE, FUNDING AND M&A

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🛰️ CORE SERVICES

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Urban Sky, a startup developing stratospheric balloons to take high-resolution imagery, has won a multimillion-dollar NASA grant to develop a wildfire monitoring system.
The Denver-based company announced June 26 it received a contract from NASA’s Earth Science Technology Office for a system that will use stratospheric balloons to detect and monitor wildfires and relay that information to firefighters on the ground. The three-year award is worth about $2.6 million.
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Starfish Space aims to extend the operational life of a geostationary Intelsat satellite in 2026 after reaching a deal for its first commercial servicing mission.
Starfish would first try to attach Otter to a retired Intelsat satellite parked in graveyard orbit, some 360 kilometers above the geostationary arc, to validate its approach and docking capabilities.
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🛰️ PRODUCT, PARTNERSHIPS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

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🚀 LAUNCH CONTRACTS AND MISSIONS

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NewSpace India Limited (NSIL) and Space Machines Company have signed a Dedicated Launch Service Agreement, marking a significant milestone in space collaboration between India and Australia.
The agreement, announced at the India Space Congress 2024 in Delhi, paves the way for the launch of Space Machines Company's second Optimus spacecraft in 2026.
The 450kg Optimus spacecraft, the largest Australian-designed and built spacecraft to date, will be launched on ISRO's Small Satellite Launch Vehicle (SSLV).
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#Innospace, a South Korean private spaceflight startup specializing in small satellite launch vehicles, announced that it has signed multi-launch service contracts for the ‘HANBIT’ small satellite launcher with two private satellite companies: CShark S.r.l. in Italy and EOS ORBIT in Thailand.
Under the launch service contracts, INNOSPACE’s HANBIT launch vehicle will conduct commercial missions to deploy thirty-five satellites for CShark to their target orbits from 2025 to 2027, and one satellite for EOS ORBIT in 2025.
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A SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket lifted off June 25 carrying the final spacecraft in a series of geostationary weather satellites that also features several firsts.
The Falcon Heavy lifted off from Kennedy Space Center’s Launch Complex 39A at 5:26 p.m. Eastern, 10 minutes into a two-hour window as launch directors found favorable weather despite forecasts the day before that predicted only a 30% chance of acceptable weather.
The rocket’s payload, the GOES-U weather satellite for the NOAA, successfully deployed from the Falcon Heavy’s second stage four and a half hours after liftoff, after the stage completed a sequence of three burns to place the satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit.
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🌎️ SPACE INDUSTRY ←→ DOWNSTREAM

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Maritime connectivity provider KVH Industries signed a bulk data distribution deal with SpaceX’s Starlink constellation, prepaying for a block of Starlink data. KVH previously had an agreement with Starlink but said this deal is a “greatly expanded relationship.” 
KVH announced Tuesday that it prepaid for access to a large block of Starlink data “at favorable rates” over a period of more than a year. The company now has greater flexibility to develop and sell custom airtime plans with Starlink’s mobile priority service. KVH is also adding the Starlink standard flat-panel terminals to its product offering. 
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📜 REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT

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Two years ago, NASA chose two private companies to design and develop next generation spacesuits, that would be used to perform spacewalks outside the International Space Station (ISS) and walking on the Moon as part of the Artemis program.
However, this ambitious plan has encountered a significant hurdle, as one of the selected spacesuit providers, Collins Aerospace, is expected to withdraw from the project. This development is a setback for NASA, which urgently needs modern spacesuits to replace its aging fleet.
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