T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

The Aerospace Corporation presented ‘Space Governance: Policy and Regulatory Frameworks’ at the Caribbean Space Summit, exploring how Puerto Rico can become a leader in the commercial space industry through smart policy. Here is part of their conversation with the UK Space Agency and UK Space Regulator at the Civil Aviation Authority. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorit...

A new report out of ETH Zürich that sheds light on a spike in cyber activity targeting space-related organizations during the Gaza War. A Soyuz rocket has been rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin counting down to a Thanksgiving Day liftoff. South Korea’s Nuri rocket is scheduled to lift off at approximately 12:55 am on Thursday, according to the Korea Aer...

China has docked an uncrewed Shenzhou spacecraft with Tiangong Space Station which will return the crew currently on orbit in April 2026. NASA has reduced the number of astronaut missions on Boeing's Starliner contract and said the spacecraft's next mission to the International Space Station (ISS) will fly without a crew. The US Space Force (USSF) has awarded multiple small contracts to develop pr...

Luxembourg’s Space Agency has awarded a contract to the Canadian Space Mining Corporation (CSMC) to develop a novel space-based quantum gravimetry sensor system called Quantum Atomic Subsurface Mapper (QASM). China plans to send an unmanned spacecraft to Tiangong Space Station on November 25 to support the crew left without a return vehicle. China has launched a commercial trial of satellite Inter...

The new Netflix movie A House of Dynamite, chronicles what happens when the unthinkable unfolds. How realistic is it? We ask the movie’s advisor and expert, Lieutenant General Daniel Karbler (Ret.). Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach the most infl...

Blue Origin has announced a series of upgrades to New Glenn designed to increase payload performance and launch cadence. SpaceX’s Starship booster 18  suffered a mishap which caused significant damage during static testing. A Falcon 9 mission to launch new Starlink satellites to low Earth orbit marked the 100th launch from Florida’s space coast this year, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star ra...

Katalyst Space has selected Northrop Grumman’s Pegasus XL air-launched rocket to deliver its robotic spacecraft to orbit for the upcoming NASA Swift Rescue Mission. Thales Alenia Space has signed multiple contracts shaping the core industrial team that will build the European Space Agency (ESA) Argonaut Lunar Descent Element. Axiom Space and KBR have completed the first uncrewed thermal vacuum tes...

Germany introduces a new space security strategy. Canada plans to increase its investment in European Space Agency (ESA) programs by $528.5 million. PowerBank Corporation is collaborating with Orbit AI to launch the Orbital Cloud, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Selected Reading Germany Bra...

York Space Systems files for an IPO after a major revenue jump. Ursa Major hits $600m valuation after a $100m series E. The US Space Force publishes “Vector 2025” guidance on force design and warfighting, and more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Michael Anderson, Co...

China has begun preparations to send a Shenzhou spacecraft to Tiangong Space station to support the crew in orbit. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has lifted restrictions on spaceflight launch operations. SpaceX launched the NASA-ESA jointly developed Copernicus Sentinel-6B satellite from California, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app....

The Rebelle Rally is an eight-day, 2,500-kilometer navigation challenge across the Nevada and California deserts with no GPS, no cell phones. Competitors rely solely on analog tools like compasses, maps, and roadbooks to find hidden checkpoints and navigate unforgiving terrain. But behind the scenes, it’s a modern logistics feat made possible by satellite-powered tracking, scoring, communications,...

Blue Origin’s New Glenn successfully launches NASA’s ESCAPADE and lands its booster on its second flight. A United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas V launched the ViaSat-3 F2 satellite from Florida. Space Kinetic has been awarded a multi-million dollar contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) to accelerate the development of its architecture for asymmetric space-based missile...

Voyager Technologies and Infleqtion have announced a strategic partnership to advance dual-use quantum technology in low-Earth orbit (LEO) and beyond. Xairos UK has been selected by Raymetrics and the European Space Agency (ESA) for the delivery of a Quantum Receiver for the Observatories to Optical Ground Stations project. SES and Infinite Orbits have signed an agreement for one geostationary sat...

Intuitive Machines (IM) selects Dcubed solar arrays to power their space data network satellites. XRComm and SpinLaunch are collaborating to advance testing, performance analytics, and system readiness across the emerging 5G Non-Terrestrial Network (NTN) ecosystem. French President Emmanuel Macron has announced a new national space strategy, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and revie...

Lieutenant Rob Sarver and Alex Gendzier are the authors of Warrior to Civilian: The Field Manual for the Hero's Journey, the definitive guide to transition to civilian life for veterans and their spouses and families. The book aims to provide actionable advice to veterans looking for work, while coaching those in hiring positions to give veterans the fair shake they deserve after serving our count...

Vodafone is partnering with AST SpaceMobile to establish a Europe-led satellite constellation to provide satellite-to-smartphone, direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity for commercial and government applications. Chinese commercial space company Galactic Energy said a launch mission for one of its Ceres-1 rockets failed 10 minutes after lift off. China’s Institute of Mechanics’ Sky Flight Science and...

 Defense contractors, including space industry companies who are doing work with the Department of Defense, have requirements in their contracts right now to implement cybersecurity requirements to various degrees.  Those requirements have been in contracts for a very long time. Unfortunately, there has never been a mechanism in those contracts to make contractors prove that they're doing those th...

The US Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) has issued an emergency order that prohibits commercial space launches and reentries during peak daytime hours. The launch of a United Launch Alliance (ULA) Atlas 5 carrying the ViaSat-3 F2 mission is scrubbed for a second night in a row. Canadian Prime Minister Mark Carney has introduced his first federal budget which includes C$182.6m ($130M) over thr...

EchoStar says it will sell a set of wireless spectrum licenses to SpaceX for about $2.6 billion in exchange for stock in the space startup. Kratos Defense & Security Solutions has signed a definitive agreement to acquire 100 percent of the ordinary shares of Orbit Technologies Ltd for $356.3 million. Reflex Aerospace has closed a €50 million Series A funding round, and more. Remember to leave us a...

Google Research is detailing a new research initiative they're calling Project Suncatcher, the blueprints for a constellation of solar-powered satellites carrying Tensor Processing Units to operate as space-based AI data centers. US President Donald Trump has renominated Jared Isaacman to become Administrator of NASA after withdrawing his initial nomination just this past May. China’s crewed space...

Intuitive Machines (IM) has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Lanteris Space Systems (Lanteris), formerly Maxar Space Systems, for $800 million. The Progressive Policy Institute (PPI) has warned the European Commission (EC) that the EU Space Act initiative is doomed to be uncompetitive globally and will put a drag on America’s industry as well. The UK House of Lords has published The...

SpaceX’s Bandwagon-4 mission launched on Sunday from Florida carrying 18 payloads for KOREA ADD, Exolaunch, Fergani, Tomorrow Companies Inc., Starcloud, and Vast.  India launched the CMS-03 satellite to provide communication services over the Indian landmass and a wide oceanic region. China’s Shenzhou-21 crew arrived at the Tiangong Space Station 3.5 hours after liftoff, and more. Remember to leav...

When satellites burn up upon re-entering Earth’s atmosphere, they release particles and gases, including metals like aluminium, which may affect atmospheric chemistry. This process, known as atmospheric ablation, is still poorly understood, but early evidence suggests metal content in the atmosphere is rising. To address these uncertainties, the UK Space Agency commissioned three targeted studies...

The European Space Agency (ESA) is establishing its first hub in Asia with a new office in Tokyo, Japan. Luxembourg telecommunications company OrbitsIQ Global has acquired UNIO Enterprise. Space infrastructure company Catalyx Space has raised $5.4 million in an oversubscribed Seed funding round, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to foll...

China says it's on course to land astronauts on the Moon by 2030. stc group has committed to a prepayment of $175 million for future services from AST SpaceMobile (AST). Japan’s Axelspace Corporation has signed agreements with governmental organizations from Ghana and Kenya to support Earth Observation (EO) data usage, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podc...