U.S. startup Launchspace Technologies has signed a contract with Airbus to test its orbital debris remediation and spacecraft shielding technology for 12 months on the Bartolomeo external platform on the International Space Station.

U.S. satellite servicing startup Starfish Space has raised $7 million in funding to develop its planned Otter space tug.

Automaker Honda has launched development of an electric vertical-takeoff air taxi and reusable small satellite launcher in a push to enter new business areas by leveraging its core technology capabilities.

The FAA on Sept. 29 signed off on Virgin Galactic’s plan to improve communications with the FAA during flight operations of SpaceShipTwo and request a larger zone of protected airspace to ensure violations, such as what occurred during its last flight on July 11, do not reoccur.

Eutelsat Communications confirmed Sept. 29 it had received an “unsolicited, preliminary” takeover proposal from billionaire Patrick Drahi but that his terms were not good enough.

Blue Origin plans to fly its second group of passengers to suborbital space on Oct. 12.

Privately owned Terran Orbital plans to invest $300 million to build a factory at Kennedy Space Center capable of producing 1,000 small satellites per year.

Isotropic Systems, a British flat-panel satellite antenna systems maker backed by Boeing and venture capitalists, says it has landed $37 million in fresh funding, enough to fully fund development of its multibeam ground antenna through expected product launch in 2022.