The Pentagon’s Space Development Agency is planning a new procurement of satellites that will be part of a global constellation of missile-tracking space sensors. 

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A consortium of more than 20 European space companies said Dec. 8 it won a six-month contract to study disruptive ideas for Europe’s planned satellite broadband constellation.

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Israeli startup hiSky said Dec. 8 it raised $30 million to mass-produce compact terminals designed to connect internet of things (IoT) devices to satellites in multiple orbits.

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If Russia, China or any other country targeted a U.S. satellite with missiles or other weapons, the United States would respond in a “proportional manner,” said Brig. Gen. John Olson, the senior reserve officer of the U.S.

For SPAC investors, the heavy focus on a quick ROI – and overall risk aversion – may ultimately make SPACs and the space sector an imperfect fit.

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Image: Blood disc for astronaut diagnosis

European food has always been out of this world, but this week ESA astronaut Matthias Maurer shared a taste of his home region, Saarland – with a serving of science – during a space-based Saint Nicholas feast.

NASA’s Imaging X-ray Polarimetry Explorer (IXPE) mission launched at 1 a.m. EST Thursday on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.

A SpaceX Falcon 9 launched a small NASA X-ray astronomy satellite Dec. 9 to study black holes and neutron stars, an “appetizer” for the launch later this month of the much larger James Webb Space Telescope.

ESA is calling on industry to come forward with ideas for crew and cargo transportation, operations, payloads, research, living quarters and even astronaut training. All of this could develop into new services in an effort to enlarge the space ecosystem to the commercial sphere.