T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

India’s government approves several major new space initiatives, including the first module of the country’s own space station, the Bhatariya Antariksh Station (BAS-1). Japan’s government has approved a Small Business Innovation Research Program Phase 3 grant for Interstellar Technologies worth up to ¥4.63 billion ($32.5 million). China launched the last pair of backup satellites for the BeiDou-3...

Forbes reports that Axiom is facing financial troubles and that about 100 people have been laid off from the company this year. BlackSky has been awarded a data services contract by HEO to bring automated low-latency capabilities to non-Earth imaging services for defense, intelligence and commercial use. SpaceX threatens to file suit against the FAA for regulatory overreach, and more. Remember to...

NASA has awarded Intuitive Machines with a Near Space Network (NSN) contract for communication and navigation services for missions in the near space region, which extends from Earth’s surface to beyond the Moon. NASA and NOAA have selected Lockheed Martin to develop a lightning mapping instrument as part of NOAA’s Geostationary Extended Observations (GeoXO) satellite program. York Space Systems h...

Sierra Space has unveiled its Carbothermal Oxygen Production Reactor which successfully completed thermal vacuum testing at NASA’s Johnson Space Center. Softbank and Intelsat are collaborating to launch a single “Ubiquitous Network” enabling customers to stay connected everywhere they go. The Federal Aviation Administration has proposed $633,009 in civil penalties against SpaceX for allegedly fail...

The Polaris Dawn all-civilian crew safely splashed down near Florida on early Sunday morning, concluding their 5 days in Earth's orbit. Telesat has completed funding agreements with the Government of Canada and the Government of Quebec for its Telesat Lightspeed Low Earth Orbit broadband satellite constellation.  Construction is underway on MDA Space’s 185,000 square foot expansion at its satellit...

Our guest today is Jai Dialani, Managing Director of Leaf Space US. Leaf Space is an Italian company specializing in Ground Segment as a Service (GSaaS) solutions. Its mission is to simplify satellite communications by providing managed services for satellite operators. The company supports a range of space operations, including small satellite constellations and launch vehicle tracking, with a fo...

Polaris Dawn’s crew released a music video from space collaborating with musicians back on Earth. Venture Capitalist group Airbus Ventures have raised a $155 million fund. United Airlines have signed an agreement with SpaceX’s Starlink to provide free inflight wifi to customers using the airline's mainline and regional aircraft fleet, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in yo...

Two members of the Polaris Dawn crew performed spacewalks this morning marking the first ever privately funded EVA. AST SpaceMobile has announced the successful launch of its first five commercial satellites, called BlueBirds. Chinese space company LandSpace conducted a successful 10-kilometer vertical takeoff and vertical landing (VTVL) jump test, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating an...

The crew of Soyuz MS-26 joins Expedition 71 on the International Space Station. Varda Space has announced a research collaboration with SSPC, the Research Ireland Centre for Pharmaceuticals, that aims to advance mathematical modeling of crystallization in microgravity. The Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has announced a new opportunity for commercial space situational awareness (SSA) companies to s...

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 rocket launched the Polaris Dawn mission from Florida to an apogee higher than any human has traveled since the Apollo program. ispace has formed a Lunar Advisory Board that includes respected leaders in the space industry. MDA Space has been contracted by SWISSto12 to provide antenna systems for three of the company's HummingSat satellites for geostationary orbit, and more. Reme...

Boeing’s Starliner capsule returned to Earth on Friday night concluding a three-month flight test to the International Space Station. NASA has delayed the launch of the ESCAPADE mission to Mars until at least the spring of 2025. NASA has selected eight companies for a new award to help acquire Earth observation data and provide related services for the agency, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-st...

Our guest today is Space Educator and Author, Mark Wagner. You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn and read his Space Education Book, access his Space Education Curriculum for high school developed with the Space Prize Foundation and find out more about the Space Education Summit that is coming up on November 22. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an e...

Starliner’s set to return. Varda space cinches their next re-entry license ahead of time. NASA and DARPA to collaborate on a servicing demo in GEO. And more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our weekly intelligence roundup, Signals and Space, and you’ll never miss a beat. And be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagr...

The last Vega rocket lifted off from the European Space Agency’s spaceport in French Guiana transporting the third Copernicus Sentinel-2 satellite to orbit.  China’s space agency and its counterpart in Senegal signed an agreement on the Chinese-led International Lunar Research Station (ILRS). General Dynamics Missions Systems has been awarded a $491.6 million contract by the Space Development Agen...

Atlas Space Operations has raised $15 million in its latest growth investment round. The University of Notre Dame is leading a series of experiments onboard the International Space Station to revolutionize early cancer detection. Sierra Space has successfully completed acoustic testing on its Shooting Star cargo module at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating...

The FAA declares that the SpaceX Falcon 9 vehicle may return to flight operations while the overall investigation of the anomaly during the Starlink Group 8-6 mission remains open, provided all other license requirements are met. Polaris Dawn is expected to launch on Friday, September 6 from Florida. NASA says that the pulsating noise on the Starliner was the result of an audio configuration betwe...

Welcome to the T-Minus Overview Radio Show. In this program we’ll feature some of the conversations from our daily podcast with the people who are forging the path in the new space era, from industry leaders, technology experts and pioneers, to educators, policy makers, research organizations, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode?...

Our guest today is Analog Astronaut and International Space Alliance Founder, Martina Dimoska. Martina is creating her own path into the space industry from a non-traditional space region. She represents her home nation of North Macedonia, and the Balkan region in general, on the global stage. You can connect with Martina on LinkedIn and learn more about the International Space Alliance on their w...

NASA has selected Intuitive Machines for a fourth Commercial Lunar Payload Services initiative (CLPS) delivery award. Boeing’s Starliner is set to depart the International Space Station no earlier than September 6. NASA astronaut Nick Hague and Roscosmos cosmonaut Aleksandr Gorbunov assigned to NASA’s SpaceX Crew-9 mission to the ISS, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in yo...

NASA’s Office of the Inspector General has released a scathing report on the US Space Agency’s “Management of the Mobile Launcher 2 Project".  Blue Origin’s New Shepard launches six passengers to the Kármán line. The CEO of Millennium Space, Boeing's satellite manufacturing subsidiary, has quietly stepped down from the company, and is joining Firefly Aerospace as CEO, and more. Remember to leave u...

SpaceX’s Falcon 9 first stage booster crashes on a droneship. The FAA is requiring an investigation. Astrobotic have released a post mission report seven months after their lunar lander mission failed in its objective of reaching the moon. Lunar Outpost is joining forces with Arizona State University School of Earth and Space Exploration to form the Lunar Dawn Science Council, and more. Remember t...

Mynaric’s supervisory board has terminated Mustafa Veziroglu as CEO and member of the management board of Mynaric with immediate effect. Redwire has been selected to deliver radio frequency payloads for a constellation of satellites for an unnamed European defense contractor. SpaceX delays the launch of the much anticipated Polaris Dawn mission due to a helium leak, and more. Remember to leave us...

Boeing’s Starliner capsule will return to Earth uncrewed. Astronauts Butch Wilmore and Suni Williams will stay on the International Space Station until February 2025 as part of the Expedition 71/72 crew. Blue Origin is set to launch their heavy lift New Glenn no earlier than October 13, and more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-u...

You can learn more about AWS in Orbit at space.n2k.com/aws. Our guests today are Jason Aspiotis, Global Director, In-Space Data & Security at Axiom Space and Jay Naves, Sr. Solutions Architect at AWS Aerospace & Satellite Solutions. AWS in Orbit is a podcast collaboration between N2K Networks and AWS to offer listeners an in-depth look at the transformative intersection of cloud computing, space t...

Amazon’s Project Kuiper is expanding its footprint at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. NASA has selected three companies to provide launch services for future agency missions through its Venture-Class Acquisition of Dedicated and Rideshare contract (VADR). The US Space Force’s innovation arm SpaceWERX, have announced the Program Year 2024.2 Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI), contract award sele...