The European Space Agency will ask its 22 member states to fund an additional two to eight Prometheus reusable engines so that the agency can further its development. SpaceNews.com

Potential customers include partner countries of the U.S. government's WGS constellation. SpaceNews.com

Vice President Mike Pence told an international audience that the United States intends to lead in space but seeks cooperation in space exploration with “freedom-loving” nations. SpaceNews.com

After years of secrecy, Umbra Lab is revealing details of its plan to launch a constellation of 50-kilogram synthetic aperture radar satellites to capture imagery with a resolution of 25 centimeters. SpaceNews.com

Airstream, maker of the iconic “silver bullet” travel trailer, unveiled Astrovan II, an eight-seat transport vehicle Boeing will use to transport commercial crew astronauts to the CST-100 Starliner’s Cape Canaveral, Florida, launchpad. SpaceNews.com

Made In Space announced plans Oct. 21 to send a plastic recycling facility to the International Space Station on a Northrop Grumman commercial cargo resupply flight scheduled for early November.  SpaceNews.com

The Japanese government plans to join NASA in its Artemis program of lunar exploration, although the details about how it will contribute remain to be worked out. SpaceNews.com

WGS program and Boeing leaders are preparing for an upcoming “system requirements review." SpaceNews.com

The International Astronautical Federation is ready for one of its biggest conferences ever this week, even as organizers deal with political and geopolitical issues about the event. SpaceNews.com

DIU wants to 'make the process easy for companies that don't have time to answer traditional government solicitations.' SpaceNews.com

An independent report is calling on NASA to update decades’ old planetary protection policies to reflect changing knowledge of solar system habitability and to enable future exploration by both the space agency and commercial entities. SpaceNews.com

Two NASA astronauts successfully replaced a faulty battery charger during the agency’s first all-female spacewalk Oct. 18, an event that at times appeared to go better in orbit than on the ground. SpaceNews.com

Firefly Aerospace on Oct. 18 said it is collaborating with Aerojet Rocketdyne to increase the performance of its upcoming Alpha launch vehicle, and is considering Aerojet Rocketdyne’s AR1 engine for a future launch vehicle.  SpaceNews.com

Sen. John Kennedy (R-La.) said the FCC should be able to clear the spectrum just as fast as the C-Band Alliance, if not  faster, by holding a public auction. SpaceNews.com

A probe on NASA’s InSight Mars lander that has been stuck for months is moving deeper into the surface again thanks to an assist from the lander’s robotic arm. SpaceNews.com

The European Space Agency will ask its 22 member states to commit to a budget of 12.5 billion euros ($13.9 billion) to fund the next three years of the agency's work. SpaceNews.com

A Rocket Lab Electron rocket launched a single cubesat for Astro Digital Oct. 16, placing the satellite into a much higher orbit than previous Electron launches. SpaceNews.com

The vote on Oct. 16 makes Barrett the third consecutive woman confirmed to lead the Air Force and its 685,000 airmen. SpaceNews.com

OQ Technology of Luxembourg used GomSpace’s two GOM-X4 cubesats in low Earth orbit to demonstrate waveforms for a future constellation. SpaceNews.com

The chairman of the House appropriations subcommittee that funds NASA said he remains unconvinced of the need to accelerate NASA’s plans to return humans to the moon because of its uncertain cost. SpaceNews.com