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ASTERRA, a US-based company that uses patented algorithms and AI to detect leaks, assess pipes and locate moisture, announced on the 19th of September that they have discovered their 100,000th leak. 

Switzerland representatives place second and third at the 9th edition of the prestigious European Rover Challenge space robotics competition. After intense competition on the world’s largest artificial Marsyard, team AGH Space Systems from Poland emerged as the best robotic team, meeting the rigorous demands of the jury. In addition, participants underwent a certification process confirming their knowledge and skills for the first time in competition history.

Space Systems Command’s (SSC) Assured Access to Space (AATS) Directorate awarded a $2.25 million contract to Astroscale US to advance Space Mobility and Logistics (SML) capabilities. Space Systems Command awarded the contract in collaboration with the Space Development Corps’ Space Enterprise Consortium (SpEC).

Rocket Lab USA, Inc. announced that the company experienced an issue during the launch of its 41st mission. Following lift-off from Launch Complex 1, the rocket successfully completed a first-stage burn and stage separation as planned before it experienced an issue at around T+ 2 minutes and 30 seconds into flight, resulting in the end of the mission. In addition, Rocket Lab's telemetry data, which the company provided during the livestream of Tuesday's launch, showed the velocity of the rocket's upper stage decreasing shortly after its single Rutherford engine was supposed to kick on. 

The imaging spectrometer, developed by NASA JPL for the Tanager program, was handed off to Planet, an American public Earth imaging company, for integration onto the Tanager 1 hyperspectral satellite on the 14th of September. The imaging spectrometer will detect, pinpoint and quantify point source emissions of methane and carbon dioxide. The mission marks a milestone for the Carbon Mapper Coalition, a public, private partnership announced in 2021. The Coalition aims to gain a deeper understanding of global methane and carbon dioxide emissions. 

Kayhan Space, a provider of high-performance software and solutions for space mission operations, have announced that it raised $7 million in an oversubscribed seed extension round to accelerate commercial delivery of the industry’s first autonomous space traffic coordination (STC) framework at the core of its all-new Pathfinder™ 3.0 spaceflight safety platform. Venture capital firms Space Capital and EVE Atlas have funded the extension round following in-depth reviews of the company's technology roadmap.  In addition, the company aims to leverage new funding to open an office in Washington, DC, and scale its U.S.-based team of 20 employees to more than 30, adding executives and specialists in key roles.

Prof. Grzegorz Wrochna, President of the Polish Space Agency (POLSA) said Poland’s presence on the moon is a matter of ten years during the European Rover Challenge (ERC) to the Polish Press Agency (PAP). Wrochna said that work is underway to establish a Polish space mission. Several months ago the Polish Space Agency made a call for concepts for a National space mission. From the applications received the Moon featured heavily. 

Euroconsult, a space consulting and market intelligence firm, organized an exclusive space sector awards ceremony celebrating outstanding achievements in Earth Observation, with four companies scooping the top awards. In addition, stand-out startup businesses also received recognition through the Finspace contest and the inaugural Space Business Catalyst award. The event marked the finale of World Satellite Business Week in Paris, a flagship conference.

Space Systems Command’s Assured Access to Space (AATS) office have awarded a $15 million contract to ABL Space Systems to demonstrate responsive launch capability. The Small Launch and Targets Division at Kirtland Air Force Base, Albuquerque, New Mexico, part of AATS, awarded the Small Business Innovative Research (SBIR) Strategic Funding Initiative (StratFI) to develop a launch mission design that incorporates planning for numerous satellites to multiple orbits from a variety of locations and conduct a proof-of-concept responsive launch.

GSOA announced a new pledge to the Partner2Connect Digital Initiative led by the International Telecommunication Union (ITU), the United Nations agency for digital technologies. The pledge came at the SDG Digital event during the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG) Action Weekend at United Nations Headquarters in New York City. On the eve of the SDG Summit, the company pledged its best efforts to contribute through its members to help double the number of people connected by satellite to at least 500 million globally by 2030.