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Sierra Space has announced winning a significant contract by the Space Development Agency (SDA) for 18 missile warning and tracking satellites. The prime contract, valued at $740 million, through an Other Transaction Authority (OTA), is for the design, production, delivery, operations and sustainment of 16 missile warning and tracking satellites and two satellites for missile defense and fire control. The contract also includes two operational ground segments as well.

Space Machines Company and Spaceium have announced a partnership to embark on the first-ever cryogenic refuelling mission in space in 2025. Under this agreement, Spaceium will showcase its cryogenic storage capabilities on the Space Machines Company’s platform. Following this demonstration, Spaceium will refuel Space Machines Company spacecraft’s tank with cryogenic fuel using the stored reserves to highlight Spaceium’s refueling capability.

The UK Space Agency (UKSA), in collaboration with the Canadian Space Agency (CSA) and Nesta’s Challenge Works, has launched the Aqualunar Challenge - a £1.2m challenge prize to reward the development of new technologies that can purify water ice found in the Moon’s soil. As part of their contribution to the Artemis Missions, the UKSA and CSA hope these technologies will go on to support a permanent crewed lunar base, providing a source of water for drinking and growing food, as well as a source of oxygen for air and hydrogen for fuel.

ESA held its Annual Directors General Press Conference at its PARIS HQ on 11 January 2024. A recording is available here  and a slide deck here. Among the many topics covered, one generated several burning questions: NASA having just a few days earlier announced Artemis II and III delays, would that impact ESA, and if yes, how? 

In light of the Peregrine spacecraft's propellant leak and subsequent 32 hours of life before running out of propellant, Astrobotic has decided that the safest and most responsible course of action is to end the Peregrine mission. Noting that the final decision of Peregrine’s final flight path is in the Company's hands as it is a commercial mission, Astrobotic will act upon the recommendation to let the spacecraft burn up during re-entry into Earth’s atmosphere. As a result, the Company will maintain the current spacecraft’s trajectory to re-enter the Earth’s atmosphere to preserve the future of cislunar space. 

BlackSky Technology Inc. has won a multi-year contract from PT Len, supporting the Ministry of Defense of the Republic of Indonesia to provide immediate access to subscription-based real-time, high-frequency imagery and analytics services. The Contract is an initial task order exceeding $1 million against a new multi-year contract to deliver space-based intelligence capabilities to the Indonesian Ministry of defense.

SPACEBEL has announced a contract with OHB Italia S.p.A. (Milano), the prime contractor of the Comet Interceptor mission, a European Space Agency (ESA) and Japanese Space Agency (JAXA) program.  As a result of the contract, SPACEBEL will provide the Central Software that manages the whole spacecraft, its platform equipment and its payload instruments. This new project will involve a team of up to ten SPACEBEL engineers over the next two years.

NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory is scaling back its activities around the Mars Return Sample mission in anticipation of potential budgetary cuts to the program in light of the fiscal year 2024 appropriations bill. According to JPL director Laurie Leshin, NASA is anticipating a federal budget that could limit spending on the Mars Sample Return mission at $300 million for the 2024 fiscal year, 36% of the previous year’s $ 822 million budget.

In response to escalating natural disasters impacting remote communities across the Asia-Pacific region, Kacific has introduced the new and enhanced CommsBox – CommsBox Ultra to redefine emergency preparedness and response capabilities in high-risk areas. This introduction expands Kacific's range of disaster communication products, offering an enhanced version alongside the existing and trusted CommsBox.

Space Product and Innovation S.r.l (SPiN), a provider of modular space manufacturing solutions, has announced the successful closure of a €1.63 million seed funding round. Galaxia, the Italian Technology Transfer Hub on Aerospace, led the round, with participation from Obloo Ventures, Scientifica Venture Capital and Innova Venture. This significant investment will propel SPiN's mission to revolutionize space manufacturing and democratize access to space.