T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing

Zak Kassas, Professor in the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering at The Ohio State University, recently released a white paper on “Navigating the Arctic Circle with Starlink and OneWeb LEO Satellites” and shares his insights. The study suggests that radio signals from low-Earth orbit (LEO) satellites could become reliable navigation alternatives, as disruptions to GPS services increase globally. Zak helps us understand how he reached that conclusion. 

You can read  “Navigating the Arctic Circle with Starlink and OneWeb LEO Satellites” here.

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NASA’s SpaceX Crew-11 has returned to Earth, concluding a more than five-month mission aboard the International Space Station (ISS). Slingshot Aerospace has been awarded a $27 million US Space Force (USSF) contract to modernize scenario training activities. Chinese commercial company CAS Space debuted its suborbital two-stage research rocket, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Cherie Matthew, Architect/ Project Manager at Jacobs. 

You can connect with Cherie on LinkedIn, and learn more about Jacobs on their website.

Selected Reading

NASA's SpaceX Crew-11 Mission Returns, Splashes Down off California

Slingshot Aerospace Awarded $27 Million Space Force Contract to Power the AI-Driven Training Environment for Space Warfare

CAS Space Debuts Suborbital Research and Technology Testing Rocket

Axelspace Signs MoU with Ethiopian Company to Address Social Challenges through the Utilization of Satellite Data

Space Force Teams with Universities to Advance Sonic Boom Research in California

NASA and Johns Hopkins play the cult video game DOOM on satellites

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Chinese firms have submitted more than a dozen proposals to the International Telecommunication Union (ITU) for 200,000 internet satellites. China launched a new batch of internet satellites from the Hainan commercial spacecraft launch site on the southern island province of Hainan on Tuesday. ispace has been selected by JAXA to conduct a study and provide a study on space debris mitigation in lunar orbit and disposal management on the lunar surface, and more.

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Selected Reading

China seeks approval for one of largest satellite constellations

China launches new internet satellite group - CGTN

SkyFi Secures $12.7 Million Series A Funding to Advance Access to Satellite Imagery and Analytics

Intuitive Machines Completes Acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems

What time is SpaceX Crew-11's medical evacuation from the ISS on Jan. 14?- Space

Intuitive Machines Completes Acquisition of Lanteris Space Systems

Boeing Announces Fourth Quarter Deliveries

Black Moon Energy Engages JPL for Robotic Lunar Mission Focused on Recovery of Helium-3 for Fusion Energy

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Astroscale UK has been awarded a contract by the European Space Agency to lead the design of the In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service (IRUS) mission concept. Planet Lab has signed a multi-year agreement with the Swedish Armed Forces to deliver a suite of satellites, space-based data and awareness solutions to support the country’s peace and security operations. Aerospacelab has been selected by Xona Space Systems to produce eight additional satellites for their Pulsar constellation, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is Mark Lester, Head of Aerospace Strategy at Merrick & Company. 

You can connect with Mark on LinkedIn, and learn more about Merrick on their website.

Selected Reading

Astroscale UK Awarded ESA Contract to Develop World-First In-Orbit Refurbishment and Upgrading Service

Planet Signs 9-Figure Deal with Sweden

Aerospacelab to Supply Eight Additional Satellites for Xona building on success of Pulsar-0 

FCC Approves Next-Gen Satellite Constellation- Federal Communications Commission

2026 Civil Space Shortfall Ranking - NASA

Orbion delivers 33 Aurora propulsion modules to York Space Systems for military constellation

Astronaut Brains Change Shape in Space

Brain displacement and nonlinear deformation following human spaceflight- PNAS

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NASA astronaut Mike Fincke hands command of Expedition 74 to Roscosmos cosmonaut Sergey Kud-Sverchkov ahead of Crew 11’s departure from the International Space Station (ISS). US Space Systems Command (SSC) awards $739 million in launch contracts to SpaceX. SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 carrying NASA’s Pandora planet observing satellite along with 39 payloads as part of the Twilight rideshare mission, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Parker Wishik, Senior Communications Specialist at The Aerospace Corporation, is joined by Brandon Bailey, Principal Engineer for the Cybersecurity and Advanced Platforms Subdivision (CAPS) at The Aerospace Corporation.

Selected Reading

NASA, SpaceX Set Target Date for Crew-11’s Return to Earth

Change of Command of International Space Station to Occur - NASA

Mike Finke LinkedIn

Space Systems Command Awards Task Orders to Launch Missile Warning and Missile Tracking Space- Space Systems Command 

Liftoff of NASA’s Newest Planet-Observing Satellite

SpaceX - Twilight Mission

Spire Global Successfully Launches 9 Satellites on SpaceX’s Twilight Mission

HawkEye 360 Successfully Launches Cluster 13 and Establishes Initial Communications

Indian rocket launch loses control after liftoff in fresh blow to ISRO- Reuters

Eutelsat Procures a Further 340 OneWeb Low Earth Orbit Satellites From Airbus

ispace Initiates New Entity in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to Advance Lunar Exploration Partnerships

Mitsubishi Corporation Joins Starlab as Major Space Station Customer

IEEE's Highest Honors: Meet the 2026 Pioneers Transforming Our World Through Technology

NASA to roll out rocket for Artemis 2 moon mission on Jan. 17- Space

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SolaMed Solutions provides aerospace medical expertise with innovative solutions to elevate human performance in space exploration. We speak to Chief Operating Officer Charles (Chuck) Doarn about his background and what he hopes to bring to the new space industry through Solamed Solutions.

You can connect with Solamed Solutions through their website.

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NASA has made the decision to bring Crew-11 home early from the International Space Station (ISS) due to a medical concern. Satellogic has signed a seven-figure contract with an unnamed customer for satellite imagery. Ursa Major has been selected as a partner for Teledyne Brown Engineering's prime contract under US Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Design, Development, Demonstration, and Integration Domain 1 contract, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Elysia Segal brings us the Space Traffic Report from NASASpaceflight.com.

Selected Reading

NASA Shares Latest Update on International Space Station Operations

Satellogic Secures 7-Figure Imagery Deal for Monitoring - Via Satellite

Ursa Major Announces Partnership with Teledyne Brown Engineering for Contract to Enhance Hypersonic Missile Defense Systems

INNOSPACE chooses Santa Maria as its European launch base

GomSpace signs 2.9 MEUR Contract with Leading North American Space Company

Chinese space station explores battery behavior in microgravity conditions

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NASA says it is considering the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission due to a medical situation on board the International Space Station. Karman Space and Defense has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Seemann Composites and MSC. PowerBank and Smartlink AI’s Genesis-1 satellite is confirmed to be operating an artificial intelligence model directly in orbit, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

Our guest today is John Serafini, the CEO of HawkEye 360.

You can connect with John on LinkedIn, and find out more about HawkEye 360 on their website.

Selected Reading

International Space Station Update - NASA

NASA Postpones Jan. 8 Spacewalk

Karman Space & Defense Expands into High-Priority Maritime Defense Market with Agreement to Acquire Seemann Composites and Materials Sciences, Leaders in Advanced Composite Systems for Submarine, UUV/USV and Strategic Naval Surface Platforms

Artificial Intelligence Production in Space: PowerBank Shares Additional Update on Collaboration with Smartlink AI

Major firsts achieved: China unveils 2025 space station 'work summary' - CGTN

Eric and Wendy Schmidt to fund space telescope, three ground-based observatories

Stellant Systems to be Acquired by TransDigm for $960M - Via Satellite

Study casts doubt on potential for life on Jupiter's moon Europa- Reuters

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The House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the text of their joint conference agreement on the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill with a rejection of the cuts to NASA proposed by the Trump Administration. NASA has selected ARES Technical Services Corporation to provide launch range operations support at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures, Plane 1 of the 18 total satellites the company is contracted to deliver for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA’s) Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program (T2TL), and more.

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Selected Reading

Congress rejects President Trump's deep NASA budget cuts, proposes $24.4 billion for the agency- Space

NASA Awards Launch Range Contract for Wallops Flight Facility

Sierra Space Completes First Nine Satellite Structures for the Space Development Agency’s Tranche 2 Tracking Layer, Three Months Ahead of Schedule

Pentagon Awards Systima, Part of Karman Space & Defense, $5 Million to Expand Solid Rocket Motor Nozzle Production Capacity

Israel announces $19 million national space R&D lab to accelerate startup access to orbit - JNS.org

SkyFi Integrates Vantor to Deliver On-Demand High-Resolution Geospatial Imagery and Advanced Analytics

ARCHE ORBITAL SYSTEMS Signs Strategic MoU with MSRO to Advance National Space Capabilities for the Maldives - SpaceNews

NASA's Hubble Examines Cloud-9, First of New Type of Object

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NASA’s Dynamic Test Stand and the Propulsion and Structural Test Facility, known as the T-Tower at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are due to be demolished. The library at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is closing after a number of disruptions and reductions by the Trump administration. NASA has selected industry proposals to advance technologies for the agency’s Habitable Worlds Observatory concept, and more.

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T-Minus Guest

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

Selected Reading

NASA begins infrastructure overhaul under Isaacman as Trump pushes ambitious space exploration goals

Goddard Space Flight Center staff says library's closure degrades NASA's mission- NPR

NASA Selects Tech Proposals to Advance Search-for-Life Mission

Spain’s New Communications Satellite Suffers “Space Particle” Strike

Redwire Successfully Completes Payload Integration for Upcoming European Technology Demonstration Mission

Tory Bruno Hops From ULA, Skips to Blue Origin - Via Satellite

A Mouse Just Gave Birth After Going to Space. Here's Why That's a Big Deal- ScienceAlert

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What do you think about T-Minus Space Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us continue to improve our show. 

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