The successful flight of NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter on Mars paves the way for its use on future missions, agency officials said, but exactly when and how remain to be determined. SpaceNews

The U.S. Army has approved plans to explore the use of satellites in low Earth orbit to give soldiers dedicated communications, navigation and imaging capabilities. SpaceNews

The National Reconnaissance Office wants to better understand the capabilities of commercial satellite radar imagery providers. SpaceNews

Amazon has ordered nine Atlas 5 rockets from United Launch Alliance to help place its 3,236-strong Project Kuiper broadband constellation. SpaceNews

Download the digital edition of the April 19 issue of SpaceNews magazine, provided compliments of Blacksky.  SpaceNews

Gulf Energy Development, a Thailand-based power producer, offered April 19 to buy out the parent company of Thai satellite operator Thaicom for as much as 169 billion baht ($5.4 billion). SpaceNews

Canada’s space industry seems to be on the path of a relaunch. The relaunch is two-pronged — backed by an ambitious and hungry private sector and increasing government support.  SpaceNews

NASA’s Ingenuity helicopter successfully performed the first powered aircraft flight on another planet April 19, briefing hovering above the surface of Mars. SpaceNews

Boeing said April 17 that the next test flight of its CST-100 Starliner commercial crew vehicle won’t take place until at least August, confirming a lengthy delay widely expected because of the schedule of other launches and International Space Station missions. SpaceNews

NASA now plans to attempt a first flight of the Mars helicopter Ingenuity early April 19 after finding a workaround to a software problem that delayed the flight earlier this month. SpaceNews

NASA has selected SpaceX as the sole company to win a contract to develop and demonstrate a crewed lunar lander, while keeping the door open for others to compete for future missions. SpaceNews

Private investors deployed another $1.9 billion in SpaceX, OneWeb and other space infrastructure companies in the first three months of 2021, according to data from New York-based Space Capital. SpaceNews

Analysts said a U.S. intelligence report painted China’s space program with a broad brush and failed to draw distinctions between civilian and military pursuits. SpaceNews

The White House announced April 16 it will nominate former astronaut Pam Melroy to be NASA’s deputy administrator. SpaceNews

China is developing a mission to send a pair of spacecraft to study the far reaches of the solar system and reach interstellar space by mid-century.  SpaceNews

NASA managers approved plans to launch a SpaceX commercial crew mission to the International Space Station next week, pending the resolution of one minor issue with the Falcon 9 rocket. SpaceNews

More than a year after selecting SpaceX to deliver cargo to the lunar Gateway, NASA has yet to formally start that contract as it performs a broader review of its Artemis program. SpaceNews

LeoLabs is adding more sensors and data processing capacity to its network in preparation for a surge in satellites launches. SpaceNews

Inmarsat’s competitors have vowed to continue pursuing legal action to block its hybrid satellite and cellular European Aviation Network (EAN), after the European Union’s highest court rejected their challenge. SpaceNews

A consortium led by the State of California, NASA Jet Propulsion Laboratory and Planet announced plans April 15 for a constellation of hyperspectral satellites to pinpoint, quantify and track point sources of methane and carbon dioxide. SpaceNews