The Space Development Agency has awarded a $176 million agreement to Ball Aerospace to create 10 space vehicles and ground systems to test new payloads to potentially be incorporated into future National Defense Space Architecture tranches.

AE Industrial Partners, the leading private equity investor in aerospace and defense by deal volume, has acquired a majority stake in small satellite builder York Space Systems, the companies announced Oct. 4.

Planned liftoff from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center on Sept. 29 was scuppered by Hurricane Ian.

The U.S. Space Force has awarded small satellite manufacturer Millennium Space Systems and launch service provider Firefly Aerospace contracts for its Victus Nox mission, an attempt to demonstrate the ability to launch a small satellite into low Earth orbit less than 24 hr. after requested.

The Space Development Agency, the defense space acquisition startup launched more than three years ago to shake up how the Pentagon acquires capabilities in orbit, is now officially part of the U.S. Space Force.

The Russian government plans to allocate additional funds to Roscosmos Space Corp. to facilitate the deployment of the new Sfera multisatellite orbital constellation of more than 300 satellites by 2030.

U.S. space infrastructure specialist Redwire said it will buy Qinetiq Group’s Space NV business, a provider of integration, equipment and other backbone space systems in Europe, for about €32 million ($31.4 million).

The new facility will enable the integration of eight satellites onto Virgin Orbit’s LauncherOne rocket.