Astra has won a NASA contract to launch a small constellation of Earth science cubesats, while General Atomics selected Rocket Lab for the launch of a small satellite with a NOAA hosted payload. SpaceNews

Lockheed Martin is redesigning the bus used for Global Positioning System satellites so they can be upgraded with new hardware on orbit. SpaceNews

Chinese automaker Geely has got the green light to begin manufacturing satellites for navigation, connectivity and communications needed for self-driving cars. SpaceNews

After 14 years at satellite communications fleet operator SES, Nicole Robinson is taking on a new role: president of Ursa Space Systems, the geospatial analytics firm based in Ithaca, New York. SpaceNews

It is increasingly likely that a NASA astronaut will fly on a Russian Soyuz mission to the International Space Station in April as the agency finalizes an agreement with its Russian counterpart. SpaceNews

CSIS released a new study called "Defense Against the Dark Arts in Space: Protecting Space Systems from Counterspace Weapons." SpaceNews

Virgin Galactic says it is delaying the next test flight of its SpaceShipTwo suborbital vehicle by more than two months to address technical issues, part of a revamped flight test program that will postpone flights of space tourists to 2022. SpaceNews

On the heels of raising $24 million in December, Orbex announced Feb. 24 that it has commissioned AMCM to build a large-volume 3D printer for manufacturing its rocket engines. SpaceNews

Maxar Technologies is continuing to diversify its business but remains in the “early innings” in attracting expanding defense and intelligence work, said Dan Jablonsky, Maxar president and CEO. SpaceNews

Chief Master Sergeant Roger Towberman said the Space Force is trying to balance tradition against a desire for innovation and for doing things differently.  SpaceNews

A startup founded by a group of former Blue Origin and SpaceX employees has raised a seed round of funding to support their effort to make a fully reusable launch vehicle. SpaceNews

"The seeds for everything SpaceX has grown into today were planted during the early days of the Falcon 1 program," journalist Eric Berger writes in his forthcoming book, Liftoff: Elon Musk and the Desperate Early Days That Launched SpaceX. SpaceNews

South Korea will spend 615 billion won ($553.1 million) in 2021 on space activities aimed at bolstering its capacity to produce satellites, rockets and other key equipment. SpaceNews

Senior VP Jarrett Jones said the schedule had to be pushed back following the Space Force decision to not select New Glenn as a national security launch provider. SpaceNews

Iceye published the first images Feb. 25 from three synthetic aperture radar satellites the Finnish company launched in January on a SpaceX rideshare mission. SpaceNews

With NASA “down to the wire” in reviewing lunar lander proposals, agency officials say a priority is to maintain competition for a later procurement. SpaceNews

Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin directed the Pentagon to develop plans to prepare for the impact of climate change. The guidance could shape investments in satellites for weather monitoring. SpaceNews

Maj. Gen. DeAnna Burt said U.S. diplomats and military leaders are drafting language in support of an international effort to adopt rules of behavior in space. SpaceNews

Satellite operator Inmarsat has hired the former president and chief executive of Nokia as its new chief executive, succeeding Rupert Pearce. SpaceNews

ClimaCell, a weather data company, announced plans Feb. 24 to launch dozens of radar satellites to improve forecasts. SpaceNews