T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

Iceland asks SaxaVord to tap the brakes. Excitement guaranteed for the space economy in Washington state. ISRO sets a launch date for Chandrayaan 3. And former NASA executive Tom Whitmeyer is joining Booz Allen as executive advisor. We’ve got the story and an exclusive interview with Tom in today’s show. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode?...

So long and thanks for all the fish, Ariane 5. Space ethics in the spotlight this fall at CNES. SpaceX and the FAA seek a case, dismissed. Smartsat of Australia developing AI-powered spacecraft. And our interview today is with Rob Adlard, CEO of Gravitilab. He walks through microgravity services, short duration space access and the growth of the UK space sector. Remember to leave us a 5-star ratin...

Our guest for today's episode is former NASA Astronaut Colonel Eileen Collins talking about her career trajectory and what she has experienced as an air force pilot and as a NASA astronaut.  Col. Collins has released a new book “Through the Glass Ceiling to the Stars: The Story of the First American Woman to Command a Space Mission” and you can connect with her on LinkedIn. Remember to leave us a...

T-Minus Deep Space Guest Scott Stalker, Command Senior Enlisted Leader at US Space Command, shares how the combatant command is adapting to new challenges in the digital era of space operations, new operational concepts, and building the force to deter aggression. You can follow US Space Command on LinkedIn and Twitter, and you can follow MGySgt Scott Stalker on LinkedIn. Remember to leave us a 5-...

What effect does space travel have on humans beyond the physical? Space Philosopher Frank White wrote the first edition of “The Overview Effect: Space Exploration and Human Evolution” in 1987. He has spoken to over 50 astronauts to date and has studied the cognitive shift that results when viewing the Earth from space. But do commercial astronauts experience this on suborbital flights? We ask the...

SpaceX to deliver ESA’s Euclid vehicle into orbit. Vega-C launcher suffers another setback after the static firing test of the Zefiro 40 motor finds another anomaly. Viasat has successfully completed thermal vacuum testing on two satellites for the Arctic Satellite Broadband Mission. SDA opens bidding for 100 new satellites to complete its Tranche 2 Transport Layer, and more. Remember to leave us...

Russian satcom provider Dozor-Teleport targeted by hackers. AST SpaceMobile announces a public offering of 12 million shares. SES lands new Department of Defense contract. OneWeb expands coverage. Virgin Galactic holds its first commercial spaceflight, 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 roundu...

US House Appropriations Committee recommends cuts to Space Force’s FY24 budget requests. Space Delta 9 prepares for potential conflicts in space. Israel-based Ramon. Space raises $26 million for space-resilient computing infrastructure. British space startup Odin Space has successfully demonstrated the operation of its space debris sensor technology in orbit, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-sta...

Look Up Space raises over $15m in the second largest space tech seed round in Europe. US District court backs SES in battle with Intelsat over C-band payout. UK Space Command has launched a Joint Task Force Space-Defense Commercial Operations Cell, paralleling the US, to enhance space monitoring in collaboration with the US and commercial space organizations. And more. Remember to leave us a 5-sta...

Venture Capitalists and executives from tech firms have signed an open letter to the US Defense Secretary requesting that DoD innovation acquisitions get reformed. The final Ariane 5 launch will take place on July 4th. Virgin Galactic has announced that they are targeting Thursday, June 29th for their first commercial spaceflight. NASA’s CHAPEA starts a 12 month analog mission, and more. Remember...

Timur Davis and Peter Ortez, Director and Principal at Munich Re Ventures, on building the "picks and shovels" for the space industry. You can follow Timur on LinkedIn and Peter on LinkedIn. 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 follo...

New US-India space agreements, including Artemis. Apex and Virgin Galactic get new funding, D-Orbit gets new contracts. SpiderOak’s OrbitSecure success. Baby come back, you can get the booster at sea. Lawmakers support Space Force charging for their services. Ovzon 3 delayed… again. We speak with Munich Re Ventures about their investment thesis. More coverage of the Spaceport America Cup. And more...

Intelsat and SES call off the merger. Anomaly affects the Otter Pup. A Russian hacker claims they’ve got Maxar satellite access if you have coin. SDA taps SAIC to make an app store for BMC3 LEO satellites - and yep we’ll translate that for you. NorthStar pivots from Virgin Orbit to Rocket Lab. NASA opens Earth Information Center. Ecuador joins the Artemis Accords. Danti unveils a search engine for...

Happy summer solstice! A whole slew of funding rounds just announced - we’ll take a look at three of them. DARPA, SpaceLogistics, and Intelsat have their eye on 2025. Also, rockets and sharks, awesome together? Or terrible? And for our interview today, we speak with Steve Bleymaier, CTO for Aerospace & Defense at Ansys, on managing risk via modeling and simulation and the Ansys Startup program. Re...

Launch complex upgrades are afoot for Relativity Space’s Terran R. Skyrora’s 3D printed engine hits a testing milestone. Rocket Lab’s suborbital Electron test packs a Wallop. European new space startups join Copernicus. We speak with Chief Corporate Development Officer for D-Orbit, Jonathan Firth, all about their recent activities. And, Alice brings us on-the-ground coverage from day one of the Sp...

158 teams from around the world were selected to compete in the 2023 Spaceport America Cup. Up to 120 will make it to the competition in New Mexico which runs from June 20-24. T-Minus Space will be covering all the action at the world’s largest student rocket competition. We spoke with the University College London (UCL) Team Lead Adrien Coutant about what drew his team to compete in the Cup. You...

Space travel has changed so much in a short period of time. Who better to talk about the advancements of point to point space travel and share the experience of flying to the Kármán line than Dr. George Nield, former Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation at the Federal Aviation Administration, Blue Origin Astronaut and Head of the Global Spaceport Alliance. You can connect wi...

NASA selects seven commercial space companies to partner with through its second Collaborations for Commercial Space Capabilities program. VAST selects Impulse to provide the Haven-1 Space Station propulsion system. Virgin Galactic announces a flight window for its first commercial spaceflight, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode?...

The US Science, Space and Technology Committee announces a bill instructing both the Department of Energy and NASA to work together on research areas for space-based solar power. Four US senators have introduced the Spaceport Project Opportunities for Resilient Transportation Act which aims to open federal funding for commercial spaceports. The FAA makes steps to mitigate aviation and space air tr...

The US Commerce Department to hold meetings with industry on space situational awareness. The United Nations says countries need to improve collaboration on their space activities. Chinese Space News is reporting that construction of a new complex at a spaceport in Hainan Province has started, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode?...

72 satellites rideshare to LEO. FAA faces possible workload expansion. . The draft text of the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act pauses military construction on the temporary Space Command headquarters in Colorado Springs. US Defense Secretary and Director of National Intelligence commission a study on how to separate responsibilities in intelligence gathering from space, and more. Re...

SpaceX to launch from both US coasts in one day. US Space Force GPS ground system overhaul delayed. US House Republicans have proposed a bill to make the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration an independent agency. Capella Space has been awarded a 5-year blanket purchase agreement with NASA‘s Earth Science Division, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favori...

T-Minus Space is a sponsor of the 2023 Spaceport America Cup and we spoke with President of the Experimental Sounding Rocket Association, Cliff Olmsted, about the event which runs June 20-24. You can find out more at SoundingRocket.org or SpaceportAmericaCup.com. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss an episode? Sign-up for our weekly intelligence round...

The US Space Force launch procurement office assigned an additional 12 missions to SpaceX and United Launch Alliance under the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 contract. The Government Accountability Office finds red flags in Space Force procurements. Reports suggest that Cuba is considering allowing China to establish a facility on the island that is capable of conducting electronic surveil...

Purdue University’s Applied Research Institute opened the doors to a new 65,000-square-foot Hypersonics and Applied Research Facility. ULA achieves a nominal six-second test fire of the two BE-4 engines of the Vulcan Centaur rocket. Firefly Aerospace has acquired Spaceflight Inc. for an undisclosed amount, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Miss...