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Two out of four: Blue Origin announced that New Shepard’s 18th mission, NS-18, will carry four astronauts to space, including Dr Chris Boshuizen and Glen de Vries. Dr Boshuizen is a former NASA engineer and co-founder of Planet Labs while de Vries is the co-founder of Medidata. The two other astronauts will be announced at a later date.

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.

Isotropic Systems raised $37 million in its latest series B funding round to accelerate the development of its multibeam antenna terminal and its launch next year, the company said.   The financing round was led by Seraphim Space Investment Trust – the world’s first listed space tech fund – in the first significant investment since its IPO on the London Stock Exchange in July, Isotropic said.

Small satellites at large: The nanosat provider Terran Orbital is planning to build “the world’s largest” spacecraft facility in Florida, the company´s CEO Marc Bell and Florida`s Governor Ron DeSantis announced. Terran Orbital will invest $300 million into a 660,000 square foot facility which will create 2,100 new jobs.

As part of the partnership between SpaceWatch.Global and Orbital Gateway Consulting we have been granted permission to publish selected articles and texts. We are pleased to present “Dongfang Hour China Aerospace News Roundup 20 - 26 September 2021”. A special shout-out to our friends at SpaceWatch.Global

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.

NASA has awarded a contract the development of the Orion Main Engine (OME), which will be used on the Orion spacecraft as part of the Artemis program, to Aerojet Rocketdyne, the U.S. space agency and the company said. Aerojet Rocketdyne will deliver up to 20 OME engines for use on Artemis missions beginning with Artemis VII.

The data, analytics, and space services provider Spire Global partners with Myriota to develop space-based Internet of Things (IoT) connectivity. Myriota will use Spire's existing satellite platform and continue to scale the Myriota Network as Spire deploys new satellites, Spire said.

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.

In the latest Space Café “Law Breakfast with Steven Freeland”, Steven Freeland and Torsten Kriening welcomed Setsuko Aoki and Peter Hulsrøj at a wonderful café in downtown Tokyo. Over bagels, croissants, coffee, and other treats, we discussed many legal issues arising from everyday space activities, including the following: