North America

NASA has selected seven companies to provide commercial data in support of the agency’s Earth science research. The Commercial Smallsat Data Acquisition Program will acquire Earth observation data and related services from commercial sources for NASA. This fixed-price, indefinite-delivery/indefinite-quantity, multiple-award contract will be effective for a period of five years with an option to extend services for an additional six months. The maximum potential value is a cumulative $476 million among all contractors NASA selected.

Axiom Space has announced a collaboration with Prada on NASA's lunar spacesuits for the Artemis III mission. As a result, Prada’s engineers will work alongside the Axiom Space systems team throughout the design process, developing solutions for materials and design features to protect against the unique challenge of space and the lunar environment.

Blue Origin and Sierra Space may soon end a corporate partnership they formed years ago to build Orbital Reef, a commercial space station. n 2021, Blue Origin announced its partnership to build what it envisioned as a "business park in space" with Sierra Space, a spinoff from defense contractor Sierra Nevada Corp.

Capella Space Corp, an American space technology company, announced the moving into a new facility. The new 32,000 square foot facility is in Louisville and will be able to accommodate more than 150 employees.

The Federal Communication Commission (FCC)’s Enforcement Bureau has announced a settlement of its investigation into DISH for failure to properly deorbit its EchoStar-7 satellite. This marks a first in space debris enforcement by the Commission. The settlement includes an admission of liability from the company and an agreement to adhere to a compliance plan and pay a penalty of $150,000.

NASA has selected SpaceX and its Falcon 9 rocket to provide the launch service for the agency’s TRACERS (Tandem Reconnection and Cusp Electrodynamics Reconnaissance Satellites) mission. The mission comprises a pair of small satellites that will study space weather and how the Sun’s energy affects Earth’s magnetic environment or magnetosphere.

ispace Technologies U.S. (ispace - U.S.) has announced its new U.S. headquarters in Denver, Colorado, where it is currently designing and has plans to manufacture its new APEX 1.0 lunar lander for future missions. The new headquarters will establish a central base of operations for the company to serve its American customers.

Maritime Launch Services announced its suborbital launch program at Spaceport Nova Scotia on the 28th of September. It is currently scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2024.

Artel LLC, provider of secure network communication services, has been awarded a Commercial Satellite Communications Proliferate Low-Earth orbit (p-LEO) contract from the US Space Force. Artel will partner with Rivada Space Networks to provide the next generation network critical to support US Government communications. 

SpaceWatch.Global is pleased to present: The Space Café Podcast #90: Space Archaeology and an attempt to rethink humanity with multi award winning author and researcher Dr Alice Gorman. In this enlightening episode, host Markus engages in a comprehensive discussion about space archaeology and space debris with Dr. Alice Gorman, an internationally recognized leader in the field of space archaeology. Dr. Gorman's innovative research on space exploration has been featured in National Geographic, New Scientist, and Archaeology magazine.