Plus: Apex's Series D shoots the company past a $1 billion valuation
Welcome to our roundup of top SpaceNews stories, delivered every Friday! This week, the Office of Space Commerce lost about 40% of its 2025 budget, Apex's valuation surpassed $1 billion and more.
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OUR TOP STORY
| | By Jeff Foust
The Commerce Department has moved to rescind 40% of the current-year funding for the Office of Space Commerce.
According to industry sources, the office was informed in late August that the department was clawing back about 40% of the $65 million appropriated to it in fiscal 2025, putting on hold many of its initiatives. Bloomberg first reported the move.
It was not clear why the rescission was made and whether it was at the direction of the department or the White House. It was not included in a package of rescissions released by the Office of Management and Budget Aug. 29, which focused on State Department and foreign aid programs.
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CIVIL
| | Scientists have found potential evidence of past life on Mars in a rock sample collected by a NASA rover, even as the agency's budget proposal would cancel plans to return those samples to Earth. Agency leaders called the finding the strongest evidence yet that Mars once hosted primitive life.
NASA released Sept. 5 a draft version of an announcement for partnership proposal for the second phase of its Commercial Low Earth Orbit Development Program. NASA is seeking comments on the draft through Sept. 12. The draft reflects a new approach for supporting development of commercial space stations and says NASA expects to spend up to $1.5 billion to support at least two companies to demonstrate crew-tended space stations
| POLICY & POLITICS
| | The Federal Communications Commission has dropped investigations into EchoStar as the satellite operator moves to sell spectrum to SpaceX and AT&T in deals totaling more than $40 billion.
The House Appropriations Committee approved a commerce, justice and science (CJS) spending bill on a 34-28 vote late Sept. 10, sending the measure to the full House. The bill was largely unchanged from what the CJS subcommittee approved July 14. It includes $24.838 billion for NASA, nearly the same as the $24.875 billion the agency received in fiscal 2024 and 2025, and far above the $18.8 billion the administration proposed for fiscal 2026 in May. | | |
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COMMERCIAL
| | Speaking on the sidelines of the Global Aerospace Summit, Airbus CEO Guillaume Faury said Airbus is continuing discussions with Thales Alenia Space and Leonardo about some kind of combination of their satellite businesses to make them more competitive against American rivals.
Cailabs, a French company that manufactures optical ground stations for satellite communications, has raised 57 million euros ($67 million) to scale up production. Cailabs announced it raised 37 million euros from the European Investment Bank and 20 million euros from several other investors.
Apex announced Sept. 12 that it raised $200 million in a Series D round led by Interlagos, a venture capital firm founded by former SpaceX employees. The new round values Apex at more than $1 billion, but the company did not provide a more specific valuation. |
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FROM SPACENEWS |  | Do you know an individual, company or breakthrough that's making waves in the space industry? Nominations for the 2025 SpaceNews Icon Awards are open through Sept. 12. Share who you think deserves to be recognized for innovation, leadership and impact in space. Categories include Lifetime Achievement, Emerging Space Company, Innovative Technology and more —view the full list and submit your picks. |
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