#TAMPA, Fla. — International regulators have given Ovzon another six months to provide services from its debut #satellite following a series of manufacturing and launch delays for the project, the Swedish satcoms provider announced Oct. 31.

The company risked losing priority spectrum rights for Ovzon 3 after a change in launch providers from Arianespace to #SpaceX helped put it on course to miss an earlier Dec. 31 ‘Bring into Use’ deadline, already extended a year following manufacturing delays at Maxar Technologies.

#WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is moving forward with plans to procure 27 #missile-defense #satellites for a medium Earth orbit constellation — using an acquisition process that mirrors the model adopted by the Space Development Agency for the military’s low Earth #orbit architecture.

“We are acquiring our architecture through spiral development, with new capabilities being placed on orbit every two to three years,” said Col. Heather Bogstie, senior materiel leader for missile warning, tracking and defense at the Space Systems Command.

#WASHINGTON — A #Spanish company developing green propulsion systems for spacecraft has raised $3 million in seed funding.

Arkadia #Space announced Oct. 25 it closed what it described as an oversubscribed seed round of funding. The round was led by Draper B1, a Spanish venture capital firm that is part of the U.S.-led Draper Venture Network. Expansion Ventures, a European venture fund focused on space and air mobility startups, also participated in the round.

In addition, several angel investors are backing Arkadia Space, among them Pedro Duque, the former Spanish astronaut and science minister, and Antoine de Chassy, founder of Loft Orbital. Both will be advisers to the company. #spacenews

#HELSINKI — China’s human #spaceflight agency says the country’s commercial rocket companies could launch low-cost cargo missions in the future.

The China Manned Space Engineering Office (CMSEO) opened a call for proposals for a low-cost cargo transportation system to supply the Tiangong space station in May this year. Four from a total of 10 submitted proposals meeting requirements were selected to proceed to the detailed design study phase in September.

Despite submissions from commercial companies, the chosen proposals came from entities belonging to state-owned enterprises.

#WASHINGTON — The U.S. Space Force is exploring the use of small #geosynchronous #satellites to enhance military communications networks — either through purchased commercial services or government-owned constellations.

“We’re trying to leverage new capabilities from the commercial industry,” Clare Hopper, chief of the Space Force’s Commercial Satellite Communications Office, said Oct. 19 at the annual MilSat Symposium in Mountain View, California.

Hopper said the Space Force is interested in procuring maneuverable small satellites that can deliver connectivity from geosynchronous Earth orbit.