Posted: Sun, Jun 22 6:52 AM ET (1052 GMT)
A SpaceX Starship upper stage exploded on a test stand Thursday. The vehicle, known as Ship 36, exploded just after midnight Eastern while on a test stand ahead of a planned static-fire test. SpaceX said all personnel were accounted for and that it was working with local officials to secure the site. Ship 36 was being prepared for the tenth Starship/Super Heavy test flight, which had been planned for as soon as late June. The explosion dealt another setback to SpaceX's development of Starship after failures of the upper stage on three previous flights.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  AP article
•  NASASpaceFlight.com article
•  New York Times article
•  Spaceflight Now article

Posted: Sat, Jun 21 8:38 AM ET (1238 GMT)
The French government is leading an investment of more than $1.5 billion into satellite operator Eutelsat. The company said Thursday it planned to raise $1.56 billion by the end of the year, to be completed in two parts. The French government will become Eutelsat's largest shareholder, more than doubling its current stake to nearly 30%. Eutelsat said the extra capital would help reduce its debt and thus allow the company to take out loans on more favorable terms, such as financing backed by export credit agencies. Eulelsat will need that to both deploy a second generation of OneWeb satellites as well as finance its stake in the IRIS2 system.

Related Links:

•  SpaceNews article
•  Aviation Week article
•  France 24 article
•  Reuters article
•  Eutelsat press release

NASA further delays Ax-4 launch
Posted: Sat, Jun 21 8:34 AM ET (1234 GMT)
NASA says it needs more time to study an International Space Station air leak before giving the go-ahead for a private astronaut mission. The...

Indian government selects HAL to commercialize SSLV rocket
Posted: Sat, Jun 21 8:32 AM ET (1232 GMT)
The Indian government has selected a company to take over production and operations of a small launch vehicle. The Indian National Space Promotion and Authorisation...

Airbus, Leonardo, Thales to decide in July on space business combination
Posted: Sat, Jun 21 8:29 AM ET (1229 GMT)
Three European companies who are studying a combination of their space businesses expect to decide in July whether to proceed. At a press conference Tuesday...