Two DARPA satellites were damaged while being prepared for launch on a Falcon 9 later this month. The satellites, called Mandrake 1 and 2, were being installed Monday on a payload adapter when the payload separation system was accidentally released, causing unspecified damage. The spacecraft are technology demonstration satellites for DARPA's Blackjack program. DARPA said it is evaluating its next steps in cooperation with SpaceX. The satellites were to be part of a Falcon 9 dedicated rideshare mission called Transporter-1 scheduled for launch Jan. 14. [SpaceNews]

The first Momentus mission, which was also slated to fly on Transporter-1, is being delayed. Momentus said its Vigoride-1 mission will be postponed to a launch later this year because the FAA had not completed an interagency review of the mission. Vigoride-1, once deployed from the Falcon 9, would raise its orbit and then deploy several cubesat payloads. Momentus said the delay in the mission should not affect its revenue projections for the year, or delay its planned merger with a special-purpose acquisition corporation scheduled to close in the first quarter. [SpaceNews]

China is gearing up for launching in the coming months of its first space station module and cargo and crew missions to it. The China Academy of Launch Vehicle Technology (CALT) is finalizing work on rockets that will launch the first space station module, a cargo and refueling craft, and a crewed mission. Those launches include a Long March 5B launch of the roughly 22-metric-ton Tianhe space station core module this spring, which will then be followed by the Tianzhou-2 cargo spacecraft and Shenzhou-12 crewed mission, China's first human spaceflight since 2016. The schedule for those two later missions is unclear, but reports on launch vehicle preparations suggest they will take place relatively quickly after the module launch. [SpaceNews]

A Space Force general says the service needs better tools to distinguish between weapons and benign objects in orbit. Maj. Gen. Leah Lauderback, U.S. Space Force director of intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance, said Wednesday that a major challenge for national security space is the ability to characterize threats to satellites, mentioning satellites with robotic arms as one of several Chinese capabilities the Space Force worries about. She said the Space Force needs improved sensors and "persistence on orbit" in order to identify potential threats. [SpaceNews]