🛰️ MANUFACTURING AND OPERATIONS

🇬🇷 🇩🇪 EMTECH SPACE, prime contractor of the Hellenic Space Dawn (HSD) mission of the Greek Cubesat In-orbit Validation Program, has selected Telespazio Germany’s platform for constellation management, EASE-Rise, as their Ground Mission Control Solution.
As a result, using its cloud-native platform, Telespazio will deliver monitoring, control, planning, and integration services with its innovative software-as-a-service approach for the entire constellation’s lifespan. Additionally, Telespazio will offer engineering support, encompassing software and operational assistance, during the project’s operational phase.
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💰️ FINANCE, FUNDING AND M&A

🇨🇳 Chinese commercial satellite maker MinoSpace has secured more than $137 million to further its design and production aspirations.
Wuxi Economic Development Zone Shangxian Industry Investment Fund, managed by SIP Oriza PE Fund Management, led the round. Liangxi Science and Technology Innovation Industry Fund, managed by Bohua Capital and supporting technological innovation and industrial development in Wuxi City’s Liangxi district, followed, along with existing shareholder Qingdao Huizhu Anfulan.
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🛰️ CORE SERVICES

🇧🇬 🇧🇼 European microsat specialist EnduroSat announced plans July 3 to build Botswana’s first satellite, Botsat-1, based on a three-unit (3U) standard cubesat structure, in partnership with Botswana International University of Science and Technology (BIUST)
Botsat-1 would have a hyperspectral sensor to gather ground composition data to support mining and agriculture businesses in the country.
The sensor would have a spatial resolution of 32 meters at 500 kilometers altitude and a 32 kilometer swath. By collecting multiple bands of light within the visible and near-infrared (VNIR) portion of the spectrum reflected by the surface of the Earth, the data can help identify materials and provide insights on vegetation, water and air quality.
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🇩🇪🇪🇺German startup Vyoma will participate in two European Commission contracts focused on European intelligence sovereignty. Both awards, the EMISSARY and STAALION projects, are under the European Defence Fund (EDF) program. 
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🛰️ PRODUCT, PARTNERSHIPS & ANNOUNCEMENTS

🇺🇸 🇨🇭 Deep Space Biology and SpacePharma have joined forces by signing a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU).
This partnership marks a significant step towards growing and developing space microgravity research to solve complex diseases and health challenges on Earth. Together, we aim to leverage our combined expertise and resources to drive innovation and bring groundbreaking healthcare solutions from space to our planet.
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🚀 LAUNCH CONTRACTS AND MISSIONS

🇺🇸 NASA has selected SpaceX to launch a small gamma-ray astronomy mission on a Falcon 9 in 2027.
NASA announced July 2 that it awarded a contract to SpaceX to launch the Compton Spectrometer and Imager (COSI) spacecraft, a small Explorer-class, or SMEX, mission into low Earth orbit. The contract, valued at about $69 million, covers the August 2027 launch and related activities.
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🌎️ SPACE INDUSTRY ←→ DOWNSTREAM

🇵🇱 Poland’s Łukasiewicz Institute of Aviation has announced that it will launch its ILR-33 Amber 2K rocket from Norway this month on its first mission to space.
When development of the ILR-33 Amber 2K rocket began, the institute set a goal of developing a rocket that could carry a ten-kilogram payload to an altitude of 100 kilometres at a cost that would allow flight and the payload’s development to be funded through a single research grant.
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📜 REGULATORY & GOVERNMENT

🇺🇸 As NASA pushes ahead with a crewed lunar landing on the Artemis 3 mission in September 2026, the agency’s own analysis estimates a nearly one-in-three chance the lander will be at least a year and a half late.
That assessment came from a confirmation review for the Human Landing System (HLS) Initial Capability project, which is supporting the development of SpaceX’s Starship lunar lander that will be used on Artemis 3. The confirmation review, known in agency parlance as Key Decision Point (KDP) C, sets cost and schedule commitments for NASA projects.
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🇩🇪 🇪🇺 ESA has selected TESAT for a 6G satellite precursor project to deliver an in-orbit laboratory, gaining knowledge on end-to-end connectivity and the inclusion of satellites in terrestrial mobile networks. The results will potentially bring valuable information for the 6G standardization. 6G applications can boost the technological potential of the European digital and aerospace industry and broadband connectivity even further, opening up growth potential and applications.
The 6G LINO (6G laboratory in orbit) will produce a 16U CubeSat – a small satellite with specific dimensions – and bring it to a low earth orbit. In addition, TESAT will set up a full 5G-based ground segment, including a core network to allow end-to-end tests, which will include the satellite
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🇪🇺 🇩🇪 🇫🇷 The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Airbus Defence and Space, OHB and Thales Alenia Space each to develop large low Earth orbit (LEO) satellite platforms that conform to Zero Debris standards.
This aligns with the ESA’s commitment to deliver on the promise of Zero Debris by 2030. As a result, ESA is supporting the industry during the transition to ensure Europe can design and build compliant satellites in time. Consequently, the three companies will design and develop zero-debris platforms for large LEO satellites as a first step towards building zero-debris production lines.
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