NASA will get a little slack from Congress on how it may procure commercial crew transportation for astronauts headed to the International Space Station (ISS), but apparently no more money.

Two other spacecraft based on the 1300 bus are due for launch this month.

A Sea Launch Zenit 3-SL orbited the Intelsat 19 telecommunications satellite early June 1 from the Odyssey floating launch pad, setting up a replacement in orbit next month for the aging Intelsat 8.

The U.S. Congress is closer than ever before to reversing a 14-year-old law aimed at limiting dual-use satellite technology that the industry complains has put U.S. exports at a competitive disadvantage.

GENOA — To reduce its debt and take a step to strategically reposition the company, Finmeccanica has reached an agreement to disinvest its 14% stake in Avio and have an Italian state fund buy it. The transaction coincides with Avio’s planned initial public offering (IPO), which is expected to happen this year.

HOUSTON — The Space Exploration Technologies (SpaceX) Dragon capsule has concluded the first International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission flown by a U.S. commercial provider, finalizing a significant upswing in private sector capability to shoulder U.S. civil space activities, with a May 31 splashdown in the Pacific Ocean off the southern California coast.

LONDON — Ultra Electronics has resumed its process of making niche acquisitions with the purchase of satellite communications terminal provider Giga Communications. The price of the deal, £12.4 million ($19.3 million), could rise by another £24.6 million depending on earnings delivered in the next two years. Ultra expects the deal to start adding to its bottom line this year.

COMING HOME: Preparations for the mid-to-early June landing of the U.S. Air Force’s second reusable X-37B space plane mission are under way at Vandenberg Air Force Base, Calif., the service says. The precise landing date and time depends on technical and weather considerations. “Space professionals from the 30th Space Wing will monitor the deorbit and landing of the Air Force’s X-37B Orbital Test Vehicle mission, called OTV-2,” the service said in an announcement. The spacecraft was launched on March 5, 2011, from Cape Canaveral.