The U.S. needs a civil space guard to license and regulate civil and commercial space activities other than what's done by the FCC, Commerce Department and FAA, the National Space Society (NSS) said Monday. A space guard also would monitor and guide U.S. civil and commercial space activities' compliance with international treaties, enforce civil and commercial space regulations and collaboratively work with other space players globally, NSS said. In the future, the space guard could license and regulate civil and commercial orbital debris removal technologies and missions, it said.

There were 114 orbital launch attempts worldwide in 2018, with China accounting for 39, surpassing the U.S.' 34, Jonathan McDowell, Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics astronomer, tweeted Monday. He said the U.S. had more launch attempts in three of the four previous years, with the two nations tying in 2016. Of those 114 launch attempts -- 112 successful -- 24 were by commercial operators under host government contract and 28 for commercial customers that included foreign governments. The year had 461 satellite launches, up from 441, with the U.S. having 205. Of the 190 with mass of 100 kilograms or more, 62 were U.S. manufactured, with China at 58. McDowell said 18,995 objects in orbit or beyond were cataloged by Dec. 31. Fourteen geostationary satellites were retired last year, with seven satellite breakups or debris events.

Blue Origin broke ground on a rocket engine production facility Friday in Huntsville, Alabama. The launch company said engines from the plant will be used for the reusable first stage of its New Glenn launch rocket, in the upper stage of its New Shepard rocket and in United Launch Alliance's Vulcan rockets.

OneWeb's ultimate goal is 1,980 broadband satellites, though such plans "are always subject to change!," CEO Greg Wyler tweeted Wednesday. He said those 1,980 -- 55 satellites for each of 36 orbital planes -- are the limit of what the company can do "because whatever we build must respect (not interfere) with prior filed satellites." He said phase one is at least 600 satellites needed for global coverage and "enough profitability to self-fund growth," and as many as 900, while the second-generation designs are finalized and OneWeb builds its tooling and manufacturing lines. Those second-generation satellites "will have at least 50x more throughput than Gen1" and get the company up to its planned 1,980, he said. The process will take "(at least) a few years!," he said.

Satellite spectrum monitoring systems and very small aperture terminal network company Integrasys joined the Satellite Industry Association, SIA said Wednesday.

SiriusXM General Manager-Emerging Business Joe Verbrugge said a new program gives AutoNation stores the ability to stay connected to their customers and improve retention after purchase. Under the program, five AutoNation USA Stores will give customers an Automatic Labs plug-in adaptor and introductory subscription, allowing them to become connected for access to safety and convenience features, service alerts and recall notices. Though there's no direct SiriusXM tie-in here, AutoNation customers are offered a free three-month trial subscription when they buy vehicles with SiriusXM factory-installed, a spokesperson emailed us. Customers who go to AutoNation locations for service can receive a complimentary two-month trial of SiriusXM if they have a compatible receiver, he said.

The partial federal shutdown could mean "several months" to work through the backlog of commercial space licensing, flights and payloads, aviation industry groups said in a letter to President Donald Trump, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell, R-Ky. The Jan. 10 letter -- released Tuesday by the Aerospace Industries Association (AIA) -- said the FAA has "a minimal team of engineers working without pay" to do public safety inspections of already-licensed launches but licensing activities, including modifications and waiver requests, are closed. The letter urged quick resolution of the shutdown. The 34 signatories included AIA, Airlines for America and the Commercial Spaceflight Federation.

KB Home is offering Google Assistant smart home control as a standard feature in two Orange County, California, communities, joining homes in Denver, Jacksonville and Las Vegas, it said Friday. Dish Smart Home Services is installing and integrating the devices after move-in, and will integrate the smart home products with the homeowners' existing internet service, a spokesperson emailed us. A base package includes a Google Wi-Fi mesh network, a Google Home and a Home mini smart speaker, a Nest Hello video doorbell and installation and integration. Buyers can add cameras, smoke and carbon dioxide alarms, lighting controls, window shades, appliances and door locks, he said.

Iridium's Iridium Certus satellite broadband service is available, the company said Wednesday, following completion of its Next constellation earlier this month (see 1901110024). The L-band Certus service is targeted now at maritime and terrestrial applications, with aviation applications expected later this year.

Satellite broadband company Astranis Space Technologies signed Alaskan connectivity company Pacific Dataport as an inaugural customer for Astranis' first commercial satellite, with the intention of bandwidth availability in Alaska and lowered pricing of internet access, they said Wednesday. Astranis will build, launch and operate the high-throughput microsatellite, which will operate in geostationary orbit. Launch is expected in 2020, providing 7.5 Gbps of capacity -- roughly tripling current available satellite capacity there.