T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

Avio has signed a €40 million contract with the European Space Agency (ESA) for an in-flight demonstration of a reusable upper stage. The UK Space Agency (UKSA) is supporting 23 new projects with a £6.5 million boost from the International Bilateral Fund (IBF). Axiom Space has selected  Emiliano Ventura as its first-ever “Project Astronaut”, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and revie...

Northrop Grumman has successfully performed a rendezvous, proximity operations (RPO) and docking demonstration with Starlab Space Station. The American Honda Motor Company and Astrobotic Technology are developing a scalable and integrated power solution for sustained lunar surface missions. The International Astronautical Congress (IAC) has kicked off its annual meeting in Sydney, and more. Rememb...

A US Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) research team successfully conducted the first reinforcement learning (RL) control of a free-flyer in space in May. We spoke with NRL Space Roboticist Samantha Chapin, Ph. D., and NRL Computer Research Scientist Kenneth Stewart, Ph. D about the demonstration and the future of autonomous robotics in space. You can read more about the demonstration on the NRL web...

Germany plans to invest €35 billion in space-related defense projects by 2030. NASA and Sierra Space have mutually agreed to modify the Dream Chaser’s contract for resupply missions to the International Space Station (ISS). SpaceX has filed with the Federal Communications Commission asking to launch 15,000 new satellites for direct-to-device service, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating...

Japan’s ispace and ElevationSpace plan to pursue a private mission that will return a lunar sample to Earth. NASA has awarded Katalyst Space Technologies a $30 million contract to raise a spacecraft’s orbit. Redwire has been awarded a contract from Axiom Space to develop and deliver roll-out solar array (ROSA) wings for Axiom Station’s Payload Power Thermal Module, and more. Remember to leave us a...

NASA’s Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe (IMAP) and its two rideshare missions: NASA’s Carruthers Geocorona Observatory, and NOAA’s Space Weather Follow-On Lagrange 1 (SWFO-L1) spacecraft, launched this morning. NATO is reportedly investing $728 million in common funding to develop the alliance’s Space Operations Center. Russian biological research spacecraft Bion-M No. 2 has landed back...

Out of 8000 applicants, NASA has selected 10 new candidates for the 24th astronaut class. Firefly Aerospace has been awarded a $10 million contract addendum under NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) initiative for acquisition of additional science and operational data collected beyond the initial contractual requirements for Blue Ghost Mission 1. Arkisys has been selected as the commer...

NASA has awarded Blue Origin a Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) task order with an option to deliver a rover to the Moon’s South Pole region. Japan’s Yokogawa Electric Corporation has signed agreements with Toyota for research and development activities that will include prototype measurement and control equipment for a manned pressurized rover. IonQ has signed a memorandum of understandin...

The Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) is shaping the future of space access for Europe and the world. They’ve recently secured a licence to operate a Spaceport in Santa Maria, Azores, Portugal. From a unique geostrategic location in the Azores, at the heart of the North Atlantic, ASC’s mission is to deliver innovative and cost-efficient ground service solutions to launch providers. ASC’s ultimat...

US Space Command and UK Space Command have conducted their first-ever coordinated satellite Rendezvous Proximity Operation (RPO). Lonestar Data Holdings partners with KIO Data Centers (KIO DC) to create a hybrid data ecosystem for Earth and space. Space robotics company Icarus has raised $6.1 million in a seed round, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcas...

NASA’s Northrop Grumman CRS-23 mission to the International Space Station has now docked with the orbiting lab. Axiom Space and Spacebilt Inc. have formed a multi-organization collaboration to bring optically-interconnected orbital datacenter infrastructure to the ISS in 2027. NTT in collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Group, has successfully demonstrated the world’s most efficient opti...

Northrop Grumman’s Cygnus XL spacecraft delays docking with the International Space Station (ISS). PLD Space has been selected by the European Space Research and Technology Centre, part of the European Space Agency (ESA), for its first Guidance, Navigation and Control (GNC) contract. The Space Data Association (SDA) has selected GMV to develop its next generation safety of flight system, and more....

Redwire has reached an agreement with Thales Alenia Space to become the prime contractor for Skimsat. Redwire and Honeywell to develop new quantum-secured satellite communication systems. Space42 and Viasat intend to form Equatys, a jointly held entity, to enable global Direct-to-Device (D2) services, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure t...

Spacecraft manufacturer Apex has closed a $200 million Series D funding round. European aerospace groups Leonardo, Thales, and Airbus are reportedly looking to sign an initial agreement to combine their satellite businesses as early as this year. SES and Cailabs are partnering to test laser communication technology, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast...

BigBear.ai is at the forefront of innovation for national security, and is committed to supporting the critical infrastructure driving America’s competitive edge. The company deploys cutting-edge Al, machine learning, and computer vision solutions to defend critical operations and win with decision advantage. Our guests are Eric Conway, Vice President of Technology, and Joe Davis, Cybersecurity Re...

The European Space Agency’s (ESA’s) Director General (DG) Josef Aschbacher delivered the opening remarks at the ‘General Assembly Defence, Space and Cybersecurity’. Satlink is partnering with Rivada Space Networks to provide a network with the necessary security and performance to support Spanish enterprises and Defense Forces. Armada AI and Sophia Space have launched a fully integrated Earth-to-s...

Scientists publish new findings that say they have found the strongest evidence yet of ancient life on Mars. Rendezvous Robotics has emerged from stealth and announced the closing of a $3 million pre-seed funding round. Blue Origin’s Blue Alchemist has successfully completed its Critical Design Review (CDR), and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be...

SpaceX launches the Space Development Agency’s (SDA’s) first Tranche 1 mission to low-Earth orbit (LEO). ReOrbit has closed a €45 million Series A funding round. The Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) says it is working on Chandrayaan 4 and Chandrayaan 5 and plans to have a completed module of their Bharatiya Antriksh Station (BAS) in orbit by 2035, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star r...

NOAA’s Office of Space Commerce (OSC) has announced new solicitations for a “Commercial Conjunction Assessment Screening Services” (CASS) pilot program. Capgemini, Thales and Thales Alenia Space, have been selected by the French Space Agency (CNES) to lead an innovative demonstration of 5G direct-to-device (D2D) connectivity.  Maxar to partner with Anduril to supply the foundational geospatial int...

EchoStar has entered into a definitive agreement with SpaceX to sell the company's AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses for approximately $17 billion. NASA seeks feedback from industry partners on the next phase of its commercial space stations strategy. Planet Labs has announced financial results for the period ended July 31, 2025, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your...

Lunar Helium-3 Mining (LH3M) is at the forefront of the green energy revolution and the quantum computing era, tapping into the Moon’s rarest and most strategic resource, Helium-3. Beyond enabling nuclear fusion, the cleanest and most efficient energy source, helium-3 is critical for cooling quantum computers, which will revolutionize information processing and may provide unmatched strategic info...

French Space Agency CNES has awarded €31 million in funding to UNIVITY to accelerate the development of satellite-based 5G connectivity. Astrobotic has signed a launch site agreement with Andøya Space in Norway. Italy’s Apogeo Space has announced a strategic agreement with Telespazio Brasil to expand its picosatellite IoT services into the Latin American market, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-...

The US Senate Committee on Commerce, Science, and Transportation held a full committee meeting to discuss a longer-term reauthorization of NASA. India and Singapore deepen their cooperation in areas such as semiconductors, maritime and digital connectivity, and the space industry. Israel launched the Ofek 19 spy satellite atop a Shavit rocket on Tuesday, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rat...

US President Donald Trump officially moves the Space Command headquarters to Alabama. Interlune has been awarded up to $4.84 million from the Texas Space Commission (TSC)  to develop and test highly specialized simulants of Moon regolith. General Atomics Electromagnetic Systems (GA EMS) and Kepler Communications have successfully demonstrated bi-directional air-to-space optical communications betw...

A US Executive Order (EO) excludes NASA from the Federal Labor-Management Relations Program (FSLMRS). NASA has awarded ASCEND Aerospace & Technology the Contract for Organizing Spaceflight Mission Operations and Systems to provide services at the agency’s Johnson Space Center (JSC). The Maine Space Corporation is in talks with The Spaceport Company to bring a floating launch facility to the state,...