The 10-year contract is for operations and support of the Advanced Extremely High Frequency, Milstar and Defense Satellite Communications System constellations. SpaceNews.com

Exos Aerospace said the failed launch of a reusable suborbital sounding rocket last month was caused by a structural failure of the rocket shortly after liftoff. SpaceNews.com

NASA’s inspector general warned in a new report that, because of commercial crew delays, utilization of the International Space Station will drop sharply in 2020 and that NASA runs the risk of losing access entirely by next fall. SpaceNews.com

EchoStar has ordered two tiny S-band satellites from Tyvak Nano-Satellite Systems to jumpstart a low-Earth-orbit constellation using spectrum gained through its October acquisition of IoT startup Helios Wire.  SpaceNews.com

NASA paid Boeing nearly $300 million more than originally planned in its commercial crew contract in part because of agency concerns that the company might drop out of the program, a new report claims. SpaceNews.com

SDA is the new term replacing Space Situational Awareness, according to an Oct. 4 memo from Air Force Space Command. SpaceNews.com

Loft Orbital has raised a fresh $13 million to continue development of a constellation of small satellites purpose-built to carry a mix of payloads for customers who don’t want to fly their own satellites.  SpaceNews.com

With growing bipartisan skepticism that NASA’s current plan to return humans to the moon by 2024 is achievable, members of the House Science Committee used a Nov. 13 hearing to advocate for a different, and arguably more conventional, approach. SpaceNews.com

SpaceX successfully tested Nov. 13 the thrusters used as part of the abort system for its Crew Dragon spacecraft, nearly seven months after a similar test resulted in the loss of another spacecraft. SpaceNews.com

The Senate Commerce Committee approved Nov. 13 a NASA authorization bill introduced a week earlier to extend the life of the International Space Station and support other agency programs. SpaceNews.com

Launcher won its first government funding when the U.S. Air Force awarded the the Brooklyn-based startup $1.5 million to accelerate development and testing of its E-2 rocket engine. SpaceNews.com

Chairman Adam Smith said House-Senate divide is deepening over the establishment of a Space Force SpaceNews.com

Mark Rigolle, CEO of LeoSat, told SpaceNews Nov. 13 that the company laid off all 13 employees — himself included — in August after its earlier investors decided not to fund the company any longer.  SpaceNews.com

Isotropic Systems has completed two-way communications tests of its electronically steered antenna using Avanti’s Hylas-4 satellite. SpaceNews.com

In its ongoing quest to increase launch vehicle production, Rocket Lab has unveiled a new industrial robotic system designed to speed up manufacturing of its Electron rocket. SpaceNews.com

The former chairman of the House aviation subcommittee and adviser to United Launch Alliance argues that all commercial spaceflight companies should support, rather than disrupt, the FAA's ongoing effort to streamline existing launch licensing processes. SpaceNews.com

China launches six remote sensing satellites into orbit with two launches inside three hours from sites in north China. SpaceNews.com

A new study says companies can build, launch and operate constellations to gather global imagery with a resolution of one meter for a fraction of the cost of previous constellations. SpaceNews.com

A NASA official warned that extended delays in finalizing a fiscal year 2020 budget for the agency could have implications for its ability to stay on schedule for returning humans to the moon in 2024. SpaceNews.com

Two astronauts are set to begin a series of spacewalks this week to repair an instrument outside the International Space Station that was never designed to be serviced in orbit. SpaceNews.com