The Pentagon is in discussions with SpaceX about the future of Starlink satellite internet connectivity in Ukraine after the company threatened to end the service if the Defense Department does not pick up the bill, while the military is also reaching out to alternative satellite communications providers.

With business partnerships sweeping across the new space and commercial space marketplace–for survival, growth or both–relative newcomer Sierra Space has opened its own corporate venture capital (VC) office to facilitate strategic tie-ups with other space upstarts.

Japan’s Space Cotan Ltd. and the Hokkaido town of Taiki have begun the expansion of Hokkaido Spaceport (HOSPO), part of its vision to create a space Silicon Valley in Japan.

Venture capital groups for Airbus and Boeing have teamed with others to provide a $10 million seed funding round for Arizona-based Solestial, a startup working on solar panel technology for satellites and spacecraft.

Eutelsat Communications said Oct. 12 that its proposed acquisition of OneWeb would grow its annual expected revenue to almost $2 billion by fiscal 2027, from less than $1.2 billion in fiscal 2021.

Ispace of Japan plans to launch the world’s first private lunar lander mission, dubbed Mission 1, during a target window of Nov. 9-15.

Pioneering space tourist Dennis Tito, who 21 years ago became the first privately paying passenger to visit the International Space Station, has booked two seats aboard a planned SpaceX Starship mission around the Moon. 

A Rocket Lab Electron booster has arrived at NASA’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia in preparation for the company’s first launch from the U.S.