Two defense technology companies from Norway and Germany have joined forces to bolster Europe’s sovereign intelligence and communications capabilities, with plans to start deploying small satellites in about three years.

SAN FRANCISCO – British startup Odin Space raised $3 million in a seed round to begin commercializing tiny sensors to map and analyze sub-centimeter orbital debris.

Space missions are entering a new era defined by complexity: more sensors, more software-driven behavior, more tightly coupled subsystems and more interactions between spacecraft and orbital infrastructure.

SAN FRANCISCO – Benchmark Space Systems’ ASCENT-fueled Macaw thruster performed a 10-minute continuous burn, clearing the way for an on-orbit application of the propulsion technology, the company announced Dec.