SayariLabs, the first Kenyan space start-up to provide satellite services and space-based solutions, and software-defined nanosatellite and space services provider, EnduroSat, signed a commercial agreement to launch TAIFA-1, the first Kenyan 3U nanosatellite.  East Africa has experienced heavy droughts and wildfires, causing water crisis, and damage to agriculture and local food supplies.

Launch service provider Isar Aerospace announced it has won the European Commission’s EIC Horizon Prize “Low-Cost Space Launch” award, receiving €10M in prize money. The prize was awarded to Isar for its launch service solution using the two-stage launch vehicle, Spectrum. The rocket offers flexible and cost-efficient access to space for small and medium-sized satellites and constellations.

Former fighter jet pilot, Eytan Stibbe, is scheduled to become the second Israeli astronaut and the first to go to the International Space Station (ISS) in March this year. The Rakia mission will bring 35 scientific and technological experiments into space, based on their potential and possible economic impact.

ESA announced a space summit to be held on 16th February in Toulouse, France, to help tackle the “unprecedented societal, economic and security challenges faced by Europe”. The summit aims to identify the necessary steps in rectifying these issues. The summit will consist of two parts chaired by the French Presidency of the EU, also chairing the ESA Council at ministerial level.

The U.S. Air Force awarded a US $102M, five-year contract to SpaceX to demonstrate technologies and capabilities to transport military cargo and humanitarian aid on a heavy rocket, the U.S. Government announced. The contract is part of the rocket cargo program led by the Air Force Research Laboratory (ARFL).

Iceye signed a contract in the U.S. with the National Reconnaissance Office (NRO) to participate in the evaluation of commercial remote sensing companies operating synthetic aperture radar (SAR) satellites, the company said. It will focus on modeling and simulation and also support NRO’s detailed assessment of imaging modes, image quality, geolocation accuracy and coverage.

Space Entertainment Enterprise (SEE), co-founded by Elena and Dmitry Lesnevsky, producers of Tom Cruise’s coming space movie, announced plans to attach an Axiom-built film studio and sports arena to the ISS, CNBC reports. SEE-1, the new module, will be attached to Axiom Station, the first commercial module of the ISS, in December 2024.

Plus Ultra Space Outposts, a European company developing a lunar satellite constellation, and ispace Europe have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for working together on joint lunar missions, ispace announced. The MoU comprises the deployment of communication and navigation satellites into lunar orbit as early as 2024.

Satellogic announced that private equity firm, Liberty Strategic Capital, led by former U.S. Secretary of the Treasury, Steven Mnuchin, is investing US $150M into Earth imaging company Satellogic. The funding will help to close a delayed merger with CF Acquisition Corp. V., a special purpose acquisition corporation for the company to go public.

Radian Aerospace (Radian), announced that the company recently closed US $27.5M in seed funding. The round was led by venture capital fund Fine Structure Ventures, with investment from EXOR, The Venture Collective, Helios Capital, SpaceFund, Gaingels, Explorer 1 Fund, Type One Ventures among others.