Northrop Grumman and end-to-end space transportation company Firefly Aerospace, are collaborating to provide an American-built first-stage upgrade for the Antares rocket as well as a new medium launch vehicle to serve commercial, civil and national security space launch markets, Northrop Grumman said. 

Space communications infrastructure company, SpaceLink, has entered into a Cooperative Research and Development Agreement (CRADA) with the U.S. Army Space and Missile Defense Command Technical Center (USASMDC-TC) in Redstone Arsenal, Alabama, SpaceLink said. The organizations will explore alternative space communications pathways together to ensure resiliency and reduce sensor-to-shooter latency.

International private equity firm, Antarctica Capital (Antarctica), acquired a controlling interest in geospatial intelligence company, Descartes Labs, providing solutions for commercial and government clients. Antarctica's portfolio comprises companies such as New Space, Data Analytics and Digital Infrastructure.

Space launch company, Astra Space, cancelled its Rocket 3 program after two successful and two failed Rocket 3 flights, to focus on the next version of its launch system, Launch System 2.0, Astra said. The firm is currently working on re-manifesting payloads onto the new system.

Space-based data, analytics, and space services provider, Spire Global, will host a second Earth-imaging payload, Hancom-2 satellite, for South Korean space services company, Hancom InSpace as part of expanding its East Asian operations. Hancom is the first South Korean private company to operate a commercial satellite mission

The Committee on Space Research (COSPAR) announced the election of Professor Pascale Ehrenfreund as its new President for the next four years. Professor Ehrenfreund has a background in astrophysics and biology and has served as Principal Investigator, Co-Investigator, Project Scientist, and Team Leader at ESA and NASA.

Space simulation and analytics solutions company, Slingshot Aerospace, has acquired space, air and missile defense firm, Numerica’s Space Division and UK-based satellite database and space market analysis company, Seradata.  Slingshot will be able to strengthen its position in driving the space economy towards sustainability with these acquisitions

ESA and the European Commission announced the end of the mission for the Copernicus Sentinel-1B satellite, which experienced an anomaly related to the instrument electronics power supply provided by the satellite platform, leaving it unable to deliver radar data since December last year.

Hyundai Motor and Kia signed joint research agreements with six Korean research institutes and formed a consultative body to develop mobility solutions to explore the surface of the Moon, the companies said. The firms are planning to expand the scope of human movement beyond Earth as part of their vision for robotics and metamobility. 

HPS (High Performance Space Structure Systems) is to start series production and distribution of its ADEO M, the new model of ADEO de-orbit sail, in Germany and Romania. ADEO M will focus on medium satellites with weights between 100-700 kg, on orbits up to 900 km.