Big news on the Hill for Space Force.

Summary

Summary of "Big News on the Hill for Space Force"
Episode of T-Minus Space Daily by N2K Networks
Release Date: June 10, 2025

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Introduction

In the June 10, 2025 episode of T-Minus Space Daily, host Maria Varmazas delivers a comprehensive briefing on pivotal developments within the global space sector. The episode navigates through significant legislative changes, groundbreaking funding initiatives, emerging cybersecurity threats, and upcoming space missions. A highlight of the episode is an in-depth interview with Celia Pelaz, COO at Spire Global, who elucidates the innovative concept of "Space as a Service." This summary encapsulates all key discussions, insights, and conclusions presented during the episode.

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1. Capitol Hill’s Defense Bill Enhances Space Force Funding

The episode opens with groundbreaking news from Capitol Hill. The House Appropriations Committee has unveiled its draft for the fiscal year 2026 defense bill, which allocates substantial funding enhancements to the U.S. Space Force. This allocation exceeds the initial proposals set forth by the administration, signaling a strategic pivot towards prioritizing space-based military capabilities.

• Total Discretionary Funding: $831.5 billion
• Space Force Allocations:
  • Personnel: $1.3 billion
  • Operations and Maintenance: $4.8 billion
  • Procurement: $3.7 billion
  • Research, Development, Testing, and Evaluation (RDT&E): $19.1 billion (up from the White House’s $15.5 billion request)

Additional earmarked funds include:

• National Security Space Launches: $2 billion for 11 launches
• GPS 3F Satellites: $680 million for two units
• Jam-Resistant Wideband Military Satellite Communications: $1.8 billion

Maria Varmazas emphasizes the significance of this shift:
"With a top line of $831.5 billion in discretionary funding... This also comes with a strategic shift in priorities" (01:29).

As the bill progresses towards markup on June 10th, stakeholders are keenly observing committee debates that will shape its ultimate passage.

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2. Quantum Space Secures $40 Million for Ranger Spacecraft Enhancement

Quantum Space has successfully raised an additional $40 million to expedite the development of its Ranger spacecraft. This funding round marks a strategic pivot towards national security missions, expanding Ranger's operational capabilities within the cislunar domain.

• Ranger Capabilities:
  • Operates from Low Earth Orbit (LEO) to cislunar space
  • High maneuverability and modular payload options
  • Potential for hosting sensors, refueling satellites, and supporting missile tracking under programs like Golden Dome
  • Operational Lifespan: Up to 15 years in orbit

Celia Pelaz highlights the strategic importance:
"With this Series A extension, the company is emphasizing military use cases, positioning Ranger as an agile long-duration asset" (04:15).

This investment underscores Quantum Space's commitment to enhancing national security through versatile and durable space assets.

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3. Rising Cyber Threats Targeting Space Systems

The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center (Space ISAC), spotlighted by Kratos, reveals an alarming uptick in cyber threats against space infrastructure. The emergence of polyglot malware, capable of executing across diverse platforms including aviation and satellite communications, poses significant risks to space-based operations and their terrestrial interdependencies.

• Key Threats:
  • Compromise of command and control links
  • Data integrity issues across satellite constellations
  • Ripple effects on logistics, finance, and national security infrastructures due to interconnected terrestrial networks
  • Ransomware Campaigns: Targeting defense contractors to indirectly access space systems

Maria Varmazas underscores the gravity of these threats:
"Attackers are increasingly targeting space assets with advanced malware" (06:45).

The Space ISAC advocates for a zero-trust security model, necessitating a fundamental reevaluation of ground systems, cloud-based mission controls, and satellite firmware to safeguard against these sophisticated cyber-attacks.

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4. Axiom's AX4 Mission Postponed to June 11

Axiom Space has announced the postponement of its AX4 commercial mission to the International Space Station (ISS), now rescheduled for Wednesday, June 11. This mission is historic, featuring government-sponsored astronauts from India, Poland, and Hungary, marking their first trips to the ISS despite it being their second human spaceflight.

Maria Varmazas reflects on the significance:
"While it's the second ever human spaceflight for all three of these countries, it is their first to board the ISS" (07:30).

The AX4 mission sets a precedent for increased international participation and collaboration in space endeavors, fostering greater diversity and expertise on the ISS.

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5. NASA Revises Asteroid 2024 YR4 Collision Probabilities

NASA has updated the collision probabilities for asteroid 2024 YR4, increasing its potential to impact the Moon from 3.8% to 4.3% in 2032, while maintaining a 0% probability of Earth collision. Although the threat level remains low, this adjustment emphasizes the necessity for robust space situational awareness and resilient command systems.

Maria Varmazas comments:
"This intel, which was derived from the Webb Space Telescope, does reinforce the need for integrated space situational awareness" (08:10).

The findings advocate for ongoing monitoring and the refinement of automated alert and mitigation protocols to ensure preparedness against potential lunar impacts.

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6. Interview with Celia Pelaz, COO at Spire Global: "Space as a Service"

The episode features an insightful interview with Celia Pelaz, Chief Operating Officer at Spire Global, who delves into the innovative model of "Space as a Service."

Key Highlights:

• Definition of Space as a Service:
  • Providing businesses with access to space-based data without necessitating the development and maintenance of their own space infrastructure.
  • Services Offered:
    • Building and launching satellites and payloads
    • Operating satellites and managing ground stations
    • Delivering data through APIs tailored to specific business needs

Celia Pelaz articulates the value proposition:
"We are going to build your satellites, we are going to build a sensor or a payload for you if you need to. Or we can get your payload into our satellites, we're going to launch it, we're going to operate it for you and you are going to just get what you wanted, data from space" (09:48).

• Applications and Case Studies:
  • Wildfire Monitoring: Partnership with Aurora Tech to develop satellite constellations that monitor and mitigate wildfire incidents.
  • Security Applications: Developing systems for radio frequency geolocation to detect GNSS signal jamming, essential for maintaining reliable aircraft navigation and air traffic control without reliance on vulnerable ADS-B data.

Maria Varmazas observes the transformative potential:
"Services like what you all are offering open up the playing field for companies that maybe never thought that this was a possibility for them to use Space Insights" (14:33).

Future Outlook: Celia Pelaz envisions substantial growth in security applications, particularly in response to global conflicts, aiming to provide enhanced support to military and intelligence agencies to ensure national and international security.

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7. Updates from Tiangong Space Station

Concluding the episode, Maria Varmazas provides an update on activities aboard China's Tiangong Space Station. The Shenzhou 20 crew, on rotation since late April, has been conducting various scientific experiments, including:

• Health Studies: Collecting and processing blood samples to assess the impact of microgravity on skeletal and nervous systems.
• Motor Skills Testing: Evaluating fine motor control post-microgravity exposure.
• Kinematic Studies: Analyzing movement patterns to enhance astronaut mobility and ergonomics aboard the newer Tiangong station.

Maria notes the advancements in station design:
"The Tiangong is a lot newer than the ISS. They have more options and space to make things more ergonomic and easy to navigate for the astronauts" (19:00).

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Conclusion

Maria Varmazas wraps up the episode by encouraging listeners to engage with T-Minus Space Daily through various platforms and to share the podcast within their professional networks. She acknowledges the contributions of the N2K team, including senior producer Alice Carruth, producer Liz Stokes, and the mixing team Elliott Peltzman and Trey Hester, among others.

Notable Quotes:

• Celia Pelaz on Space as a Service:
  "We create something and that reduces the risk and the time to market for other companies." (09:48)

• Maria Varmazas on Space Force Funding:
  "This also comes with a strategic shift in priorities." (01:29)

• Celia Pelaz on Scaling Services:
  "Space as a service for you." (13:33)

• Maria Varmazas on Cyber Threats to Space Assets:
  "Attackers are increasingly targeting space assets with advanced malware." (06:45)

For a detailed exploration of all discussed topics, listeners are encouraged to visit the show notes available on space.n2k.com.

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This summary is intended to provide a comprehensive overview of the key points discussed in the "Big News on the Hill for Space Force" episode of T-Minus Space Daily. For the full experience, listeners are encouraged to tune into the podcast directly.

Transcript

[Maria Varmazas]

You're listening to the N2K space network.

[Dave]

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[Maria Varmazas]

I'm Maria Varmazas and this is T minus T minus 20 seconds at losing. NASA adjusts the odds of asteroid 2024 yr 4 of hitting the moon 4 Axiom's AX4 commercial mission is postponed. Polyglot malware in orbit. Some highlights of cyber threats targeting space systems. Quantum space raises $40 million for cislunar space operations and the Defense bill boosts Space Force funding. Our guest today is Celia Pel? COO at Spire Global. Celia joins us to discuss the next generation of space based business known as Space as a service. That's later in the show, so please stick around to learn more. Happy Tuesday. Thanks for joining us for this intel briefing. First up, we've got some big news from Capitol Hill. The House appropriators have just unveiled their draft fiscal year 2026 defense bill giving the Space Force a major lift in far more than what the administration had originally proposed. With a top line of $831.5 billion in discretionary funding. The House bill maintains funding levels from fiscal year 2025, but reshapes the distribution. As you might imagine, this also comes with a strategic shift in priorities. So for the Space Force specifically, here's a breakdown. The appropriations include 1.3 billion for personnel, 4.8 billion for operations and maintenance, 3.7 billion for procurement and $19.1 billion for research, development, testing and evaluation, which is a notable bump from the White House's $15.5 billion RDT&E request. The defense bill also earmarked $2 billion to support 11 national security space launches, $680 million towards two GPS 3F satellites and $1.8 billion for jam resistant wideband military satellite communications. As the bill moves towards markup on June 10th, we will be watching how committee debates shape the final outcome. Things are certain to shift Quantum Space just secured an additional $40 million to accelerate its Ranger spacecraft, pivoting the platform towards national security missions. Originally designed as part of a cislunar network called QuantumNet, Ranger can operate from low Earth orbit to cislunar space with high maneuverability and modular payload capabilities. With this Series A extension, the company is emphasizing military use cases, positioning Ranger as an agile long duration asset. In this case long duration meaning up to 15 years on orbit. Ranger says Quantum Space can host sensors, refuel satellites and support missions like missile tracking under programs like golden dome. The Space ISAC's latest threat intelligence spotlighted by Kratos shows a disturbing trend. Attackers are increasingly targeting space assets with advanced malware. One notable development is the emergence of polyglot malware, which can execute across different platforms including aviation and satellite communication systems. According to the Space ISAC post, these attacks can compromise everything from command and control links to data integrity across satellite constellations. And since these systems are deeply interconnected with terrestrial networks, an exploit in orbit can ripple down to logistics, finance or national security infrastructures. In parallel, ransomware campaigns aimed at defense contractors hint at another angle, hitting targets lower in the supply chain to access space systems indirectly. And this is a clear signal that legacy security models aren't enough. Ground systems, cloud based mission control platforms and satellite firmware need a rethink, says the Space isac, starting with a zero trust approach. We highly recommend reading the whole post from the Space ISAC on the Kratos website in full link is in the show notes for you in case we were wondering what happened to it, Axiom's fourth private astronaut mission to the ISS has been postponed until Wednesday, June 11. The AX4 mission is setting a historic precedent as India, Poland and Hungary each send a government sponsored astronaut to the International Space Station for the first time in over 40 years. While it's the second ever human spaceflight for all three of these countries, it is their first to board the ISS. So fair winds and following skies to the crew tomorrow. NASA has revised the probability that remember this name asteroid 2024 yr4 could collide with the moon in 2032 from 3.8% probability to 4.3% probability and of it hitting the earth to thankfully zero. While not an immediate threat, planning for lunar impact allows space operators to stress test cross domain communications and refine automated alert and mitigation protocols. So 2032 is some time away and again, Earth collision probability remains at zero. Nonetheless, this intel, which was derived from the Webb Space Telescope by the way, does reinforce the need for integrated space situational awareness and ISS like command systems, ensuring global digital connectivity networks remain resilient. In the meantime, let's hope that probability remains on our side. And that is it for today's Intel Briefing. To learn more about all the stories that I've mentioned, as well as a few extras that we've thrown in there for you, make sure to check out our show notes. It's in your podcast app and it's also at space.n2k.com hey t minus Crew, if you are just joining us, be sure to follow T minus Space daily in your your favorite podcast app. Also, if you could do us a favor, share the intel with your friends and co workers. That's because a growing audience is the most important thing for us and we would love your help as part of the T Minus Crew. So if you find T minus useful, please share so other professionals like you can find the show. Thank you. It means a lot to me.

[Dave]

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[Maria Varmazas]

Today'S guest is Celia Pelaz, COO at Spire Global.

[Celia Pelaz]

My name is Celia Pelaz. I'm originally Spanish, but I've been living in Germany for 25 years now and funnily enough I started my career in space. I came from Spain to Germany to do my final year project. I did it at Astrium, which was the satellite company for Airbus. But at the time I thought it's a little bit slow. Space was very, very very slow. To build a satellite took many years. It and the missions the satellites were having were mostly Earth Intelligence or something very scientific. So I moved from there to Defense and I spent 25 years working for Defense and Airbus. Airbus Defense and Space Eventually Carving out the defense electronics part and going with a company or creating a company called Hensold in Germany doing radars, electronic warfare and optronics. And I was in the management board of the company until mid of last year and then I thought it was about time, experience something new. And I, yeah, as life is, it was a little bit of naive chance that I learned about spire and I met Teresa, our CEO and I was so inspired by her and by what the company has been able to achieve, you know, within I think it's been like 13 years since it was founded back in 2012 at a garage in San Francisco and then meeting this great person that said, well, but we have already launched nearly 200 satellite. And I said, hey, I want to be part of this. So that is how I became the chief operating officer at spire. And now I lead our business operations, so to say, with our business units doing space as a service, which I think we're going to be talking about, and then also doing downstream business with the data that we collect from our own constellation in the areas of aviation, weather and climate and space reconnaissance. And we are very passionate about making life in Earth better with data from space. And we concentrate to really, you know, have a better world for all of us and a more secure world for all of us.

[Maria Varmazas]

You have a fascinating career journey. So thank you for sharing that with me also. So yeah, as you mentioned, space as a service. So I guess maybe just to start for our audience, maybe just give me the pitch for what do you all mean by space as a service?

[Celia Pelaz]

With a space as a service, let's say whatever as a business model that you want to have. Maybe you are trying to collect data in order to have better crops for agriculture or we are trying to see if you can have some sort of chemicals that are going to develop in a different way in space than on Earth. Or you are an Iot Internet of things company and want to have a network that covers the whole world. So you need space for that. And of course you can say, well I'm going to build my own satellites now and I'm going to launch them, I'm going to have ground stations and operate them. All that just actually not to do that as your business, but just to try to create to get data from space that is then going to help you implement your business model. So what we are saying, hey, you can have a business model that includes data from space, but we are here to do that for we are going to build your satellites, we are going to build a sensor or a payload for you if you need to. Or we can get your payload into our satellites, we're going to launch it, we're going to operate it for you and you are going to just get what you wanted, data from space. You can directly access the data yourself, you get an API to your own sensor and then you just do your business model in a way which you haven't invested anything in. Infrastructure or no time and no risk. Because we know what we are doing. We have been satellites to space for many years and operating them. So we create something and that reduces the risk and the time to market for other companies. I would say this is space as a service for you.

[Maria Varmazas]

It's a conversation about how the space industry reaches beyond sort of the usual suspects and gets into talking to businesses that maybe didn't think space was accessible to them or wanted to try and integrate Space Insights. But again, up until rather recently, as business timelines go, this became a, you needed to become also a space company. And it is remarkable to me that services like what you all are offering opens up the playing field for companies that maybe never thought that this was a possibility for them that they could use Space Insights. And I'm very curious about maybe the kinds of verticals that you all are reaching with space as a service.

[Celia Pelaz]

I can give you an example. For example, we work with a company called Aurora Tech which is dedicated to collecting data from space in order to be able to monitor and mitigate wildfires. So from one side, Aurora Tech wants to have their own service for the different governments or different clients to do this for them. For that they have contracted us to build a constellation. The good thing as well is that we they can leverage the rest of our infrastructure. They don't need to pay for the whole satellite. Maybe it's a ride share. Maybe they can profit from the fact that we have over 30 ground stations already around the world. And then they get their access to their sensor, to their data and they then build this service for governments or for. On the other hand, we're also working for them for the Canadian Space Agency to build a system that we are giving them. The Canadian Space Agency wants to operate that system. So we are building it for them, we are training them in the operation and then we are going to give it over. And for that we prime the contract towards the Canadian space agencies. And Aurora Tech is our subcontractor. So in other cases we also use satellite constellations to collect data for security applications. So this can be a radio frequency geolocation where for Example for an intelligence or for a military entity, you want to see who trying to jam GNSS signals that then are going, for example, to make navigation of aircraft difficult because you don't really know where the aircraft is or you are getting wrong data because they have been either jumped or spoofed. Also we can collect any other signal in case of aviation. We are also looking at building a Constellation here. We have a contract with the European Space Agency in which we want to do aircraft tracking for air traffic control applications without having to rely on ADS B data. Because ADS B data again relies on GNSS data and this is jammed and we have problems. So we are creating a constellation proving that you can do this with multilateration and then you don't need to rely on data that can be jammed or spoofed. I think there are so many applications, and I think this is the fun part also of space services, that whatever you have in mind, whatever it is that you want to do, if you want a rideshare, if you want your own satellite, if you want your Constellation, we can do it for you.

[Maria Varmazas]

That sounds like it really does scale in both directions really nicely. For if someone just says listen, I just need access to some data, I don't need the full thing versus I need an entire constellation and I need to own it.

[Celia Pelaz]

Yes.

[Maria Varmazas]

I'm curious where you are going to maybe be taking space as a service in the long term future. I mean certainly right now you all are very busy, so I'm not saying like you know, this is not enough. I mean you're very busy with this already. I'm curious what you see maybe as the long term path.

[Celia Pelaz]

Yeah, I see. I mean we have been doing space as a service a lot for commercial applications. So we have been doing a lot of Internet of things or topics like wildfire monitoring or Earth intelligence and so on. And we started a couple of years ago to look more at the security applications as mentioned and radio frequency geolocation or in seeing what we can do in order to luckily in this situation that we are currently in the world with so many conflicts around of being able to offer more to our military and intelligence agencies to keep us all very secure. So I think that is where we are driving the business and we expect that we are going to grow quite a lot in that area.

[Maria Varmazas]

We will be right back.

[Dave]

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[Maria Varmazas]

And lastly, while we wait for the Axiom 4 mission to lift off to the International Space Station, I thought we should take a look at what's going on on the other space station. You know, the one we don't talk about nearly as often as we'd like to, and that would be the Tiangong Space Station. Plenty of science is happening over there too, of course. The Shenzhou 20 crew, which is currently on rotation aboard Tiangong since late April, just completed a number of experiments aboard. According to the China Manned Space agency, the Shenzhou 20 crew are getting poked and prodded quite a bit up there, collecting and processing blood samples to see how their skeletal and nervous systems are responding to being up in Liu. And the crew are also testing their fine motor control skills. Are they not so fine now that they've been in microgravity for a few weeks? The crew has also been studying how they move in microgravity, the kinematic characteristics of astronauts in orbit. If you want to use the official language, the Tiangong is a lot newer than the iss. Keep in mind so they do have more options and space to make things more ergonomic and easy to navigate for the astronauts in less, well, series of tubes. Each being the new guy on the orbital block certainly has its advantages. That's it for T minus for June 10, 2025, brought to you by N2K CyberWire. For additional resources from today's report, check out our show [e-mail] we are privileged that N2K and podcasts like T Minus are part of the daily routine of many of the most influential leaders and operators in the public and private sector, from the Fortune 500 to many of the world's preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies. N2K's senior producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliott Peltzman and Trey Hester, with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Peter Kilby is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.