While NASA has yet to update the schedule for the first flight of its Space Launch System, companies working on the heavy-lift rocket now expect the rocket to launch in early 2021 rather than 2020. SpaceNews.com

Boeing and SpaceX said Aug. 19 that they expect to carry out critical test flights of their commercial crew systems this fall, with SpaceX still hopeful of launching astronauts to the International Space Station this year. SpaceNews.com

The Federal Aviation Administration’s space-related workload is growing faster than its workforce, but the agency wants to complete a reorganization focused on efficiency before seeking more personnel.  SpaceNews.com

Vulcan scores two new customers as ULA begins factory upgrades in preparation for the transition to Vulcan production. SpaceNews.com

Viasat selected Blue Canyon Technologies (BCT) to design and manufacture a cubesat for a U.S. Air Force test of a military communications terminal in low Earth orbit. SpaceNews.com

A Chinese rocket company launched its first rocket Saturday, successfully sending three commercial satellites into orbit and boosting domestic light-lift competition. SpaceNews.com

Rocket Lab launched four small satellites Aug. 19 on a mission that also brings the company one step closer to reusing the first stage of its Electron rockets. SpaceNews.com

NASA formally issued a call for proposals to provide cargo transportation services for its lunar Gateway Aug. 16, offering up to $7 billion in contracts to support operations of the human-tended facility. SpaceNews.com

APT Satellite says it has received $21 million in insurance payments for the partial failure of the Apstar-6 communications satellite in May 2018.  SpaceNews.com

NASA’s Marshall Space Flight Center will manage the agency’s efforts to develop a lander needed to achieve the goal of landing astronauts on the moon by 2024, an announcement overshadowed by political wrangling about what center should be responsible. SpaceNews.com

India’s second lunar mission, Chandrayaan-2, is scheduled to enter lunar orbit Aug. 20 following a relatively circuitous journey to the moon. SpaceNews.com

OSP-4 is designed to accommodate payloads greater than 400 lbs. The Air Force projects it will procure about 20 missions over nine years. SpaceNews.com

As Virgin Galactic prepares to finish the test program for its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle, the company says the New Mexico spaceport it will operate from is ready. SpaceNews.com

Sierra Nevada Corp. announced Aug. 14 that it will use United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan launch vehicle for sending Dream Chaser cargo spacecraft to the International Space Station starting in late 2021. SpaceNews.com

Australian farmers are celebrating the start of less restrictive satellite internet from the country’s twin Sky Muster broadband satellites. SpaceNews.com

NASA will perform an independent review of the non-profit organization that runs the portion of the International Space Station designated a national laboratory while also calling for a “strategic pause” in that organization’s work. SpaceNews.com

As NASA gears up a decade-long effort to return samples from Mars, some scientists are worried that the campaign may not leave any funding available for other robotic missions to the planet. SpaceNews.com

BAE Systems originally won the contract for the Hallmark Tools, Capabilities, and Evaluation Methodology program in November 2017. SpaceNews.com

Spire Global announced an agreement Aug. 13 to share data and develop new products alongside Concirrus, a London-based insurance analytics company. SpaceNews.com

Whether Lacuna Space will rise to the front is still to be determined. But Spurrett believes the company’s emphasis on offering the lowest price service will make it a winner. SpaceNews.com