Rocket Lab has been awarded a contract for $24 million with the U.S. Space Force’s Space Systems Command (SSC) to develop the upper stage system of the Neutron launch vehicle, Rocket Lab announced. The funding will support improvements in support of national security and defence requirements.

Space Structures (SPS) and MarketDev announced a business development partnership to extend SPS’s presence in North America and other international markets, SPS said. Berlin-based developer and manufacturer, SPS is planning to capitalize on the rapid growth of the space industry.

António Guterres, the secretary-general of the United Nations, mentioned space tourism alongside corruption and loss of freedoms as cause for the ever-increasing gap between socioeconomic groups. Addressing the General Assembly, Guterres said “billionaires joyriding to space” led to the growing mistrust towards governments and the values of the UN.

RBC Signals and Spaceflight Inc. announced having signed a ground station services agreement to test Sherpa-LTE1. There have already been successful communication tests conducted between Spaceflight’s Sherpa-LTE1 orbital transfer vehicle (OTV) and RBC’s global ground station network.  

The Turkish government announced launching its first domestically built communications satellite on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket. The launch of Turksat 6A is scheduled for Q1 of 2023. The Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure did not disclose further details of the contract. Turksat 6A is being built by the TÜBİTAK Space Technologies Research Institute.

Innova Space, the Argentinian satellite development and operations company will use Equatorial Space Systems as the launch service provider for its pico satellite constellation, Equatorial Space reported. The constellation will provide Internet of Things (IoT) services globally.

Rocket Lab has signed a dedicated launch contract with Astroscale Japan to launch the Active Debris Removal by the Astroscale-Japan (ADRAS-J) satellite. A subsidiary of Astroscale Holdings Inc., Astroscale is solely dedicated to on-orbit servicing across all orbits.

Prestwick Spaceport has secured a deal with launch partner Astraius yesterday, Prestwick Spaceport said. The Memorandum of Understanding will help boost Scotland’s space industry ambitions. The companies will work alongside Scottish and UK governments and other key partners to prepare for the launch of small satellites in 2023.

OneWeb is working with QuadSAT to verify its ground segment antennas before the global rollout of its LEO constellation, QuadSAT announced. As an initial stage, QuadSAT has implemented an antenna validation campaign at the Italian Telespazio port. The Danish company carried out in-situ measurement generating antenna radiation patterns

NASA’s Volatiles Investigating Polar Exploration Rover (VIPER) is planned to land near the western edge of the Nobile Crater at the Moon’s South Pole, NASA said. The mission, starting in 2023, will map and explore the region for water and other resources.