T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

Rick Howard, N2K CyberWire’s Chief Analyst, CSO, and Senior Fellow, commemorates Memorial Day. References: Abraham Lincoln, 1863. The Gettysburg Address [Speech]. Abraham Lincoln Online. Amanda Onion, Original 2009, Updated 2023. Memorial Day 2022: Facts, Meaning & Traditions [Essay]. HISTORY. Brent Hugh, 2021. A Brief History of “John Brown’s Body” [Essay]. Digital History. Bob Zeller, 2022. How...

We need to extend cybersecurity into space. Learn about the different vulnerabilities in space that currently exist (and will increase in the future) with Rebel Space CEO Carrie Hernandez Marshall.  You can connect with Carrie on LinkedIn and learn more about Rebel Space on their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our...

The Commerce-Justice-Science subcommittee of the Senate Appropriations Committee pushes for NASA to maintain their schedule, and avoid cost overruns and hold contractors accountable for the Artemis program. A resolution to use space to boost European competitiveness has been agreed to by the European Space Agency and the European Union at the conclusion of a Space Council summit held in Brussels....

The European Space Agency (ESA) has signed a contract with Airbus Defence & Space UK worth €340 million for the development of its Vigil satellite. ESA’s Euclid mission has released five new images along with first scientific results. The University of Leicester in the UK and ispace have entered into a strategic consulting agreement to explore lunar night survivability, and more. Our 2024 N2K Cybe...

NASA postpones the crewed flight test for Boeing's Starliner indefinitely. Viasat shares have tumbled after the company delivered its quarterly update forecasting its annual revenue below Wall Street estimates. Thales Alenia Space has signed a first phase contract worth €25m with the European Space Agency to demonstrate a complete cargo delivery service to and from space stations in low-Earth orbi...

NASA has selected BAE Systems to develop a $450 million instrument for NOAA’s GeoXO satellite program.  The US Space Systems Command has awarded Starfish Space a $37.5 million Strategic Funding Increase (STRATFI) contract. ESA’s Ariane 6 Launcher Task Force says that the launch period and the first attempt for launch will happen within the first two weeks of July, and more. Remember to leave us a...

NASA has selected four companies to provide spacecraft and related services, including acquiring spacecraft components and equipment, in support of NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center. China’s first vertical high-altitude simulation test bench for liquid rocket engines successfully completed its ground testing last week. Blue Origin successfully launched the NS-25 crewed mission taking six new astr...

Humanity has long imagined what living in space looks like. We’ve seen it in Sci-Fi movies, series and graphic novels but science fiction will soon become science reality. What do the future habitats in space look like? We speak to Shawn Buckley, Vice President of Destinations at Sierra Space to hear their vision. You can connect with Shawn on LinkedIn and learn more about Sierra Space’s Destinati...

NASA and ESA signed an agreement to expand NASA’s work on the ExoMars Rosalind Franklin rover. Aerospacelab has broken ground on its new manufacturing facility. Spain’s Ministry of Science, Innovation and Universities has appointed Juan Carlos Cortés Pulido as the first director of the Spanish Space Agency, and more. Our 2024 N2K CyberWire Audience Survey is underway, make your voice heard and get...

AT&T and AST SpaceMobile have entered a definitive commercial agreement to provide a space-based broadband network direct to everyday cell phones. Spire Global has announced Q1 financial results with revenue at $25.7 million, representing 6% year-over-year growth. The NASA-led Artemis Accords welcomes Lithuania as its 40th signatory, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in you...

NASA’s Boeing Crew Flight pushed to Tuesday May 21st. Blue Origin has announced that its seventh human flight, NS-25, will lift off from Launch Site One in West Texas this Sunday, May 19. Axiom has announced that they are partnering with Virgin Galactic to send Turkish Space Agency astronaut Tuva Atasever on a suborbital flight on June 8 to conduct microgravity research, and more. Our 2024 N2K Cyb...

Terran Orbital releases Q1 financial results and news of a new subcontract with Lockheed Martin to produce 18 satellite buses for the Space Development Agency Tranche 2 Tracking Layer. Voyager is partnering with NASA on the joint development of an airlock for the Mars Transit Vehicle. NASA appoints a new Chief Artificial Intelligence Officer (CAIO), and more. Our 2024 N2K CyberWire Audience Survey...

The US Senate approves the Federal Aviation Administration Reauthorization act, which reauthorizes both the FAA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) for five years. Viasat has selected Loft Orbital as a partner for its Real-Time Space Relay service. NASA is awarding approximately $45 million to 21 higher-education institutions to help build capacity for research, and more. Our 2024...

The Milo Space Science Institute makes space exploration accessible to countries around the world with University-led missions that transform the way we think about engaging in space exploration and innovative business models that reduce the cost of entry. You can connect with David on LinkedIn and learn more about the Milo Space Science Institute on their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star ra...

Forecasters warn that a geomagnetic storm is expected to impact the Earth this weekend. The Federal Aviation Administration is preparing an Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) to evaluate the potential environmental impacts of issuing a commercial launch Vehicle Operator License for proposed SpaceX Starship operations at Kennedy Space Center in Florida. Clark County has approved plans for the fir...

SpaceX has exceeded the amount of launches from its Kennedy Space Center pad that was held by NASA’s Space Shuttle. Sierra Space’s Dream Chaser Tenacity, has successfully completed its rigorous environmental test suite at NASA’s Neil Armstrong Test Facility in readiness for first flight. MDA Space has released its Q1 financial report, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in yo...

NASA and ULA have confirmed that the next launch attempt of the Boeing Starliner will be May 17 at the earliest. D-Orbit’s ION satellite has come within 1 kilometer of Starfish Space’s Otter Pup to collect data. Redwire Space has successfully 3D bioprinted the first live human heart tissue sample through its 3D BioFabrication Facility onboard the International Space Station, and more. Remember to...

A noisy oxygen pressure relief valve on the ULA Atlas V's Centaur second stage causes a scrub for Boeing’s Starliner crewed testflight. Privateer Space has raised $56.5 million and also acquired analytics firm Orbital Insight. Rocket Lab has completed the first full assembly of its new Archimedes 3D printed, reusable, rocket engine for the Neutron medium lift launch vehicle, and more. Remember to...

It’s launch day for Boeing's Starliner and its two crew. NASA is reportedly assessing its facilities on Wallops Island, Virginia, to increase the number of authorized rocket launches by 200%. Two NASA veterans will be receiving the Presidential Medal of Freedom, 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 intellige...

China's Chang'e 6 mission lifted off from Wenchang early this morning via a Long March 5 rocket. HyImpulse launches the rocket "SR75" from Australia's Southern Launch Range in Koonibba. The US Government Accountability Office (GAO) has identified gaps in NASA's cybersecurity measures for spacecraft acquisition, emphasizing the need for updated policies and standards, and more. Remember to leave us...

Our sister podcast the Spycast hosted by Curator of the International Spy Museum Andrew Hammond, spoke to Harvard Astrophysicist Avi Loeb. Avi is an Israeli-American theoretical physicist who works on astrophysics and cosmology. He’s also a best selling novelist and in 2012, TIME magazine selected him as one of the 25 most influential people in space. Andrew spoke to Avi Loeb about his theory of w...

NASA’s Inspector General’s Office releases its report on the Artemis 1 mission. China’s Chang’e 6 lunar probe has completed a final systematic joint rehearsal ahead of Friday’s launch. South Korean healthcare company Boryung, has launched the 2024 Humans In Space (HIS) Challenge in collaboration with global partners, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcas...

Boeing subsidiary Millennium Space Systems has secured a $413 million dollar contract from the Space Development Agency (SDA). NASA Administrator Bill Nelson asks the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee to pass a pending domestic supplemental appropriations bill that includes money to build a deorbit vehicle for the International Space Station. Astroscale Holdings has been approved by t...

SES has agreed to acquire Intelsat through the purchase of 100% of the equity of Intelsat Holdings S.a.r.l. for a cash consideration of $3.1 billion and certain contingent value rights. Kuva Space has been awarded a €1.8 million contract to participate in the European Space Agency’s Continuous Saftey Services program. The Shenzhou 17 crew have returned to Earth after completing a six-month mission...

SpaceX launches a pair of the European Commission’s Galileo satellites. Spire Global has announced that they have entered into a multi-million-dollar deal with a financial firm to provide its High-Resolution Weather Forecast model. The Commercial Space Transportation Advisory Committee (COMSTAC) recommends that the Commercial Space Transportation Office (AST) be moved out of the FAA, and more.  Re...