The utility of space sensors has been studied for decades so the Pentagon has plenty of data to draw from. SpaceNews.com

Striking United Launch Alliance employees will return to work after voting May 19 to accept a revised contract, ending a two-week strike. SpaceNews.com

As NASA formally requests proposals for studies on the commercialization of low Earth orbit, another study presented at a congressional hearing May 17 concludes commercial space stations are unlikely to be financially viable in the mid-2020s. SpaceNews.com

Members of a NASA safety panel said May 17 they believed that a SpaceX approach for fueling its Falcon 9 rockets known as “load-and-go” could be used for future commercial crew missions. SpaceNews.com

As House appropriators approved a spending bill May 17 that partially restores funding for a NASA astrophysics mission slated for cancellation, the agency’s administrator said he was “90 percent” confident that the mission will continue. SpaceNews.com

Planet hopes to grab market share by offering “guaranteed collection” twice a day. SpaceNews.com

NASA is dealing with a contamination problem with tubing in part of the core stage of the first Space Launch System vehicle, an issue that could contribute to further delays for its launch. SpaceNews.com

Nine satellite companies agreed May 17 to donate satellite capacity and equipment to the United Nations, seeking to coordinate their responses to natural disasters. SpaceNews.com

Nearly 600 members of a union that has been on strike against United Launch Alliance for almost two weeks will vote on a new contract May 19 that would end the labor dispute. SpaceNews.com

SpaceX and OneWeb, two companies building thousands of satellites for broadband services, both expect to connect billions of the world's least-served to the internet. The two most prominent developers of electronically steered antennas don’t share that aspiration, however. SpaceNews.com

The new Pentagon-based vice commander of Air Force Space Command, Lt. Gen. David “DT” Thompson, made his first public appearance May 15, 2018, at a Washington Space Business Roundtable luncheon. SpaceNews.com

Testimony by NASA’s Inspector General at a May 16 hearing provided new support to efforts by two senators to block plans to end funding of the International Space Station in 2025. SpaceNews.com

A spending bill to be marked up by the House Appropriations Committee would provide some funding for a NASA space telescope proposed for cancellation, but not necessarily enough to keep the mission on schedule. SpaceNews.com

A British billionaire has invested in a company operating a ground station that has aspirations to support commercial missions beyond Earth orbit. SpaceNews.com

Todd Harrison, CSIS senior fellow: “With hosted payloads, there are a lot of great opportunities to increase resiliency and capacity.” SpaceNews.com

Aireon raised $69 million from a British partner, enabling the aircraft-tracking startup to begin making hosting payments to Iridium Communications. SpaceNews.com

Inflight connectivity provider Global Eagle will help Telesat in design and test the operator’s low Earth orbit satellite constellation, the companies announced May 15. SpaceNews.com

A NASA advisory committee, concerned about delays in the development of commercial crew systems, wants the agency to look at options where the International Space Station is operated with a reduced crew. SpaceNews.com

Thompson: “We needed somebody to work space every single day. Before, I didn’t recognize how much that was needed." SpaceNews.com

Eutelsat on May 14 said it is taking steps to secure a foothold in the European broadband market after last month’s decision to forgo jointly funding a satellite with Viasat turned the two companies into direct competitors. SpaceNews.com