T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

Planet Labs Germany GmbH has been awarded a multi-year €240 million contract, funded by the German government, in support of European peace and security. Europe’s MTG-S1 satellite with the first instrument for the Copernicus Sentinel-4 mission launched to GEO. Redwire completes the first deployment test for one of its Roll-Out Solar Arrays (ROSA) for the Lunar Gateway’s Power and Propulsion Element, and more.

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Selected Reading

Planet Awarded €240 Million Satellite Services Deal

MTG-S1 and Sentinel-4 launch to change how we see our atmosphere

Redwire Successfully Deploys the Most Powerful Roll-Out Solar Arrays Ever Built, Prepares for Major Delivery in Fourth Quarter

CU Boulder establishes Colorado Space Policy Center

MDA Space Completes Acquisition Of Satixfy Communications

Launch of Australia's 1st orbital rocket, Gilmour Space's Eris-1, delayed again

US set new record with 21 commercial launches in June, FAA says | Space

ISS National Lab Partners with AIAA to Expand ASCEND with Low Earth Orbit-Focused Sessions in 2025 and 2026

MethaneSAT Loses Contact with Satellite 

BREAKING: New interstellar object candidate heading toward the sun

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The National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration will be eliminates funding for the Traffic Coordination System for Space (TraCSS) in its Fiscal Year 2026 budget.  LeoLabs has been selected for a $4M Tactical Funding Increase (TACFI) opportunity by the US Space Force’s SpaceWERX. Thales Alenia Space has been selected by CNES to develop a very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Kirk Konert, Managing Partner at AE Industrial Partners and Chairman of the Board at Firefly Aerospace. 

You can connect with Kirk on LinkedIn, and learn more about AE Industrial Partners on their website.

Selected Reading

National Oceanic And Atmospheric Administration Budget Estimates Fiscal Year 2026 

LeoLabs Selected by USSF to Further Develop Next-Gen, Scout-Class Radar Capabilities to Detect and Track Launches

Thales Alenia Space to develop SOLiS very-high-throughput laser communications demonstrator

Sidus Space Partners with VORAGO Technologies to Advance Radiation-Hardened Compute Capabilities for Scalable Space and Defense Infrastructure

Momentus and Orbit Fab Partner to Advance Space Servicing with Podracer and RAFTI Demonstration Flight

Rocket Lab Successfully Completes Critical Design Review for Space Development Agency’s T2TL-Beta Constellation

ESA - Watch MTG-S1 and Sentinel-4 launch live

Teledyne Space Imaging CIS120 sensors launch on Japanese GOSAT-GW climate change observation mission - Game Developers Conference News Today

China's Tianwen-2 probe sent back images of Earth and moon - CGTN

NASA+ is Coming to Netflix This Summer - NASA

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Momentus has been selected by NASA for an in-space power demonstration. The Finnish Ministry of Defense plans to acquire ICEYE Synthetic Aperture Radar (SAR) satellites. SatSure has signed a memorandum of understanding with Dhruva Space to develop sovereign Earth Observation capabilities, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Ken Ruffin, Space Communicator and Board Member at National Space Society (NSS).

You can connect with Ken on LinkedIn, and learn more about the National Space Society on their website.

Selected Reading

Momentus Awarded NASA Contract for In-Space Power System Demonstration

Momentus Wins Contract in Highly Competitive U.S. Space Force SpaceWERX Sustained Space Maneuver Challenge

Finland Ministry of Defense selects ICEYE for Space-Based Intelligence and Surveillance Capabilities

SatSure and Dhruva Space forge strategic alliance to deliver end-to-end Earth Observation-as-a-Service (EOaaS) Solutions

Vodafone and AST SpaceMobile Choose Luxembourg as Joint Venture Headquarters to Drive European-Wide Space-Based Mobile Broadband Coverage

Space Systems Command Set to Strengthen Operational Environment with Enhanced Global Weather Sensing- Space Systems Command 

MDA Space Reopens Operations At David Florida Laboratory

NASA tested a new SLS booster that may never fly, and the end of it blew off

Blue Origin’s New Shepard Completes 33rd Mission to Space

Satellites keep breaking up in space, insurance won't cover them.

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Parker Wishik from The Aerospace Corporation explores how experts are turning data into decisions in the space industry on the latest Nexus segment. Parker is joined by Jackie Barbieri, Founder and CEO of Whitespace, and Dr. Steve Lewis, Leader of The Aerospace Corporations’s SPEAR team.

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Selected Reading

Aerospace Advances Massless Payloads for Space Missions 

Aerospace Experts Are Turning Data into Decisions

Aerospace recently assembled a team of highly skilled scientists and engineers who play a critical role in addressing national and global disruptions in GPS and other radio frequency spectrums.

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Rocket Lab successfully launches 67th Electron Mission, schedules next launch in less than 48 hours. US NSF and Amazon’s Project Kuiper establish coordination agreement to prevent satellite interference. Sidus Space picks Atomic-6 for solar arrays in $120M cislunar data mission with Lonestar. And, more.

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T-Minus Guest

We are joined by NASASpaceflight.com with the Space Traffic Report.

Selected Reading

Rocket Lab Successfully Launches 67th Electron Mission, Schedules Next Launch in Less Than 48 Hours (Rocket Lab)

Project Kuiper and U.S. National Science Foundation sign satellite coordination agreement (Amazon)

Sidus Space Advances $120M Agreement with Lonestar, Selects Atomic-6 as Solar Array Partner for Cislunar Data Satellite Mission (Sidus Space)

SpaceX says debris recovery attempts hindered after Starship explosion (Reuters)

SpaceX Polluted Border Area, Mexican President Sheinbaum Says (Bloomberg)

China's Shenzhou-20 astronauts complete second EVA (CGTN) 

Scientists Are Sending Cannabis Seeds to Space (WIRED)

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Firefly Aerospace gets approval for orbital launches from Sweden. Xona Space Systems has announced $92 million in new funding. Space VC funding on track to hit record highs this year. And, more. 

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Andy Crocker, Aerospace executive, author of “The Unconditionals”.

You can connect with Andy on LinkedIn, and find more about his book here.

Selected Reading

SSC and Firefly Progress Towards Orbital Launch from Esrange Following TSA Signing Between Sweden and the U.S. (Firefly Space)

Funding for a New Era of Navigational Intelligence (Xona) 

Why We Invested in Xona Space Systems | by Taylor Durand | Craft Ventures (Medium)

VCs shoot for the stars, send space-tech funding on course for new record (PitchBook)

Axiom Space Partners with India-based Skyroot Aerospace to Advance Space Exploration (Axiom Space) 

International Space Station welcomes its first astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary (AP News) 

Europe sees chance in space industry with streamlined rules (Gasworld) 

Yet Another Report On How Broken NASA IT Security Is (NASA Watch)

Likely Saturn-Mass Planet Imaged by NASA Webb Is Lightest Ever Seen (NASA) 

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Axiom-4 mission heads to the ISS. Reusable satellite startup Lux Aeterna comes out of stealth. Plans for European sovereignty continue. And, more. 

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Selected Reading

NASA to Welcome Fourth Private Astronaut Mission to Space Station (NASA) 

SpaceX launches astronauts from India, Poland and Hungary to space station (AP News)

New space startup Lux Aeterna wants to make satellites reusable (TechCrunch)

T-Mobile’s satellite service officially launches in July (The Verge)

German space startup Isar Aerospace secures 150 million euro fund (Reuters)

Astroscale France Opens Toulouse Office Towards French and European Space Sovereignty (SpaceWatch.Global)

Blue Origin eyes Cruz’s space tax (Politico)

EU Space Act (European Commission)

NASA spacecraft around the moon photographs the crash site of a Japanese company's lunar lander (AP News)

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SpaceX Transporter 14 rideshare launches with 70 payloads on board. ESA’s Biomass satellite releases its first images. Five UK public service projects to receive funding for satellite imagery data from UKSA. And, more. 

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Stefan Powell,  CEO, CTO at Dawn Aerospace.

You can connect with Stefan on LinkedIn, and learn more about Dawn Aerospace on their website.

Selected Reading

Transporter 14 mission (SpaceX) 

"ForgeStar®-1 separation confirmed." (SpaceForge on LinkedIn) 

Otter Pup 2 separation confirmed. (StarFish Space on LinkedIn)

The Exploration Company Declares Mission Possible a “Partial Success” (European Spaceflight)

ispace Releases Technical Cause Analysis for HAKUTO-R Mission 2 (iSpace) 

Official text: NATO Commercial Space Strategy, 04-Jun.-2025 (NATO)

New projects use satellite data to drive public service innovation (GOV.UK)

Biomass satellite returns striking first images of forests and more (ESA)

Skyviewer app (Vera C. Rubin Observatory)

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The Vera C. Rubin observatory reveals stunning first images. Second batch of satellites launched for Amazon’s Project Kuiper. ESA and Dassault collaborate further, and Pulsar signs MOU with Thales Alenia. India officially transfers its SSLV program to private sector. And more. 

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Greg Gillinger, SVP for Strategy & Development, Integrity ISR.

You can connect with Greg on LinkedIn, and learn more about Integrity ISR on their website.

Selected Reading

Atlas V Kuiper 2 (ULA)

SpaceX set to launch Transporter 14 rideshare mission (NASASpaceFlight.com)

SpaceX - Launches (SpaceX)

The European Space Agency and Dassault Aviation paving the way for potential collaborations (ESA) 

Pulsar Fusion expanding to U.S. with a new Texas office plus signs MoU with Thales Alenia Space (SatNews)

HyPrSpace to Launch Baguette One Demonstrator from Mainland France (European Spaceflight)

Warplane maker HAL wins bid to make India's small satellite launch rockets (Reuters)

The Vera C. Rubin Observatory's first images are stunning — and just the start (NPR) 

UK researchers to launch “Vantablack satellite” (EuroWeekly News) 

Surrey NanoSystems and University of Surrey partner to combat satellite reflectivity and protect astronomy — Space South Central 

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Satellite IoT refers to the integration of satellite networks with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to enable connectivity and data exchange in remote and challenging environments. This allows IoT devices, like sensors and trackers, to communicate directly with satellites, bypassing terrestrial infrastructure. We spoke to Ian Itz, Executive Director of Global IoT Line of Business at Iridium about the service they offer.

You can connect with Ian on LinkedIn, and learn more about Iridium on their website.

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