With NASA committed to a human return to the moon, Mars exploration advocates say those lunar missions can be useful to achieve their long-term goals, if designed properly. SpaceNews.com

WASHINGTON — Air Force buyers of space systems are cutting red tape and removing layers of oversight to expedite programs, Vice Chief of Staff of the Air Force Gen. Stephen Wilson said on Wednesday. Wilson said the reorganization of the Air Force Space and Missile Systems Center and the establishment of a rapid procurement office […] SpaceNews.com

Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) and Tom Udall (D-N.M.) wrote to FCC Chairman Ajit Pai saying the agency “must consider whether sufficient spectrum will remain available to accommodate today's C-band services,” among other issues. SpaceNews.com

One take-away from last week’s Global MilSatcom conference in London is that the satellite communications industry is giving government buyers more choices than they can handle. SpaceNews.com

Space transportation startup Momentus raised $8.3 million in seed funding for its business of offering satellite operators rides from one orbit to another, the Santa, Clara, California company announced Nov. 14. SpaceNews.com

Geospatial imagery and services provider DigitalGlobe secured a $900 million contract extension from the National Reconnaissance Office to provide commercial imagery until August 2023. SpaceNews.com

Elections have consequences. But exactly what the new power structure in Washington means for the future of the Space Force will not be known for some time. SpaceNews.com

The Army’s interest in small satellites has not wavered. Pentagon contractor Dynetics announced last week it has been selected to develop small satellites for the USASMDC/ARSTRAT under a program named Gunsmoke-L. SpaceNews.com

"The end of the development of Ariane 6 and the need to increase competitiveness in the European rocket launch business compel ArianeGroup to reduce its capacity by the equivalent of 2,300 full-time jobs by 2022," the company said in a statement. SpaceNews.com

Griffin said nothing has yet been decided on how the Space Development Agency should be organized. SpaceNews.com

The smaller crew complement on the International Space Station created by last month’s Soyuz launch abort has not affected research activities there or plans to send new experiments on upcoming cargo missions. SpaceNews.com

The European Space Agency expects to carry out the qualification flight of the Space Rider spaceplane in 2021 followed by multiple demonstration missions before handing over the program to industry, according to Lucia Linares, head of ESA space transportation strategy and policy. SpaceNews.com

China unveiled a heavy-lift launch vehicle it is developing to carry a next-generation crewed spacecraft and power human spaceflight missions beyond low Earth orbit. SpaceNews.com

The European Space Agency plans to launch an Earth observation satellite equipped with an artificially intelligent processor that would enable the spacecraft to make decisions regarding what to image and which data to send to the ground. SpaceNews.com

Rupert Pearce, Inmarsat’s CEO, said Nov. 8 that the company is taking steps to retain customers in its largest market segment, having identified broadband for social use among crews as the missing component of Inmarsat’s maritime service offering. SpaceNews.com

A week after the sudden firing of Roberto Battiston as the head of the Italian Space Agency, the reasons for his ouster remain unclear while a grassroots effort is underway to restore his job. SpaceNews.com

The FCC will vote this week to considerproposed changes to orbital debris guidelines that could alter deployment plans for some satellite constellations and shorten the orbital lifetime for experimental satellites. SpaceNews.com

NASA is planning to replace its two-decade-old virtual institute devoted to astrobiology with a looser network of research teams, a move the agency said reflects the maturity of the field but which has some scientists concerned. SpaceNews.com

Rocket Lab successfully launched its Electron rocket Nov. 10 on a long-delayed first commercial mission for the small launch vehicle. SpaceNews.com

NASA signed an agreement in September with a foundation to support initial studies of a privately funded mission to a potentially habitable moon of Saturn. SpaceNews.com