London — Warsaw Increasing tensions with Russia have prompted defense spending boosts throughout Europe that will benefit fledgling smallsat launcher companies across the continent.

SES has turned to Japan’s flagship operator for extra satellite bandwidth to keep up with soaring connectivity demand from passengers flying across Asia, even after significantly expanding its own fleet by buying Intelsat.

From the first satellite in orbit, to the first human in space, to the first steps on the moon, the United States government has always framed space exploration as a race.

Intuitive Machines, a lunar lander company, announced Nov. 4 it is buying Lanteris Space Systems, a satellite builder formerly known as Maxar.

A Chinese institute recently completed ground tests on what it describes as a reconfigurable flexible on-orbit manufacturing platform, targeting future large-scale, low-cost space manufacturing.