← T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
From space weather to space warfare.
00:12:51
NASA and NOAA launched observatories to study space weather. NATO invests $728M in the Space Operations Center. Bion-M No.2 completes its mission. And more.
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- [00:02]
Alice Carruth
You're listening to the N2K space network.
- [00:10]
CyberWire Announcer
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- [00:58]
Alice Carruth
Today is September 24, 2025. I'm Alice Carruth and this is T -T/20 seconds. Boeing and Palantir are partnering to integrate AI systems and software across Boeing defence, space and security factories and programs. Starlab Space has SEL Vivace Corporation to manufacture the primary structure for its commercial space station. Russian biological research spacecraft BION M number two has landed back on Earth after 30 days in orbit. NATO is reportedly investing $728 million in common funding to develop the Alliance's Space Operations Center. NASA and NOAA have launched observatories to study space Happy Wednesday everyone. Let's dive into Today's Intelligence Briefing. NASA's Interstellar Mapping and Acceleration Probe, better known as IMAP, and its two rideshare missions, NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory and NOAA's Space Weather Follow on La Range 1, or SWFOL1 spacecraft launched this morning. A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carried the payloads to orbit, lifting off at 7:30am local time from Launch Complex 39A at NASA's Kennedy Space Center. Mission controllers for NASA's IMAP have received full acquisition of signal from the spacecraft. IMAP aims to help researchers better understand the boundary of the heliosphere, a huge magnetic bubble created by the sun surrounding and protecting our solar system from harmful radiation across the galaxy. NASA's Carruthers Geocorona Observatory is communicating with mission operators at the Mission Operations center at the University of California, Berkeley. The Carruthers Observatory will capture light from Earth's Geocorona, the part of the outer atmosphere that emits ultraviolet light. It's expected to be fully operational in March 2026. NOAA's SWF1L1 spacecraft is now headed to Larange Point 1 following separation from the SpaceX Falcon 9 second stage. The satellite will pave the way for the decommissioning of aging legacy satellites that are operating beyond intended design life and with limited fuel SWFOL1 will serve as an early warning beacon, helping to provide protection to key assets and industries, including the electric power grid, aviation and satellites from Space weather. Moving on NATO is reportedly investing $728 million in common funding to develop the Alliance's Space Operations Center. The new funding is intended to deliver mission Systems contractors the training and data for the NATO Space operations Center. Additionally, U.S. space Force Colonel Jonathan Whittaker, Chief of Staff of the NATO Combined Forces Space Component Command, told Breaking Defense that NATO is working on a new space data lake. The data lake is called ACS for Allied Exchange Environment and is being modeled after the US Space Force's Unified Data Library. It's great to hear that the alliance is taking space and data to new heights. Russian biological research spacecraft Bion M number two has landed back on Earth after 30 days in orbit. The Bion M number two descent module has been called a Noah's Ark due to the payloads that it carried. Its more than 30 payload experiments included, get this, 75 mice, over 1,500 flies, cell cultures, microorganisms, plant seeds and more. BioNEM number two's payload of selected biological specimens were exposed to high level of cosmic radiation, spending the duration of the mission in polar orbit. The BioNEM number two mission was a joint effort by Roscosmos, the Russian Academy of Sciences and the Institute of Biomedical Problems of the Russian Academy of Sciences, known as ibmp. The first post flight studies were done at a deployed medical tent at the landing site. The biological objects were then transferred to IBMP labs for further testing. Starlab Space has selected Vivace Corporation to manufacture the primary structure for its commercial space station. The aluminum or aluminium if you're British based structure, one of the largest single spacecraft structures ever developed for launch, will be built at vivaci's facility in New Orleans with additional development and testing support from the Michoud assembly facility in Louisiana. Starlab Space is a US led global joint venture among Voyager Technologies, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, MDA Space and Palantir Technologies. They're aiming to launch their commercial space station before the end of the decade. Boeing and Palantir are partnering to integrate artificial intelligence systems and software across Boeing defense, space and security factories and programs. Boeing will leverage Palantir's foundry platform, which uses AI to unify complex and disparate systems under a streamlined and intuitive user interface. Boeing Defence, Space and Security operates more than a dozen major production lines manufacturing military aircraft, helicopters, satellites, spacecraft, missiles and weapons. The partnership between Boeing and Palantir will help standardize data analytics and insights across its geographically dispersed family of factories foreign that wraps up today's top five stories as part of our daily intelligence briefing. This is the point in the show where now host Maria asked me what else we're keeping an eye on in the space news. So crew, we have three additional stories for you in the Selected Reading section of the episode. Show Notes Remcon has been awarded a NASA SIBA for simulations of wireless channels for Artemis spacesuits and lunar rovers. Firehawk has been awarded a $4 million TACFI contract by AF Works to develop solid rocket motors using 3D printed propellant. And Virgin Galactic, where I spent my Sunday this past weekend at their facility at Spaceport America, has announced a new suborbital research flight with Purdue University. We hope to see the new Delta spacecraft back in the skies over New Mexico in 2026. Haiti miners crew if you find this podcast useful, please do us a favor and share a five star rating and a short review in your favorite podc. It will help other space professionals like you find the show and join the T minus crew. Thank you. We really appreciate it. We'll be right back.
- [08:16]
Maria Valmazes
CISO Perspectives is back with an all new season. This season is all about change. Whether it be emerging technologies like AI shifting governmental roles or evolving threats, we are sitting down with security experts and getting their insights to help you make sense of these changes. We are part of a larger ecosystem and if you look at the largest cyber incidents, they have massive downstream effects. I'm Ethan Cook, Editor of ciso Perspectives at N2K CyberWire. I'm this Week host Kim Jones with his first guest Ben Yellen to discuss the current state of regulation. Absolute security by definition is an oxymoron. I can secure you absolutely if you shutter your doors, wipe your computers, wrap them in Lucite and drop them in the madness trash. But then again, you ain't gonna make no money. Cisco perspectives is an N2K Pro exclusive show, but for this season we're sharing the first two episodes free on the Cyberwire Daily. To hear the full season, visit TheCyberWire.com and click on subscribe now to become an N2K Pro Member.
- [09:18]
CyberWire Announcer
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- [10:52]
Alice Carruth
NASA's Psyche probe just set a new record for deep space communication. The spacecraft, now about 218 million miles from Earth, is on its way to explore a metal rich asteroid, and it successfully used a laser to beam data home. The demo is part of NASA's Deep Space Optical Communications Experiment. Think of it as an upgrading from dial up Internet to fiber optics. But in space, traditional radio waves spread out as they travel, limiting data rates. Lasers, on the other hand, can send much more information with far greater precision. So why does this matter? NASA is thinking about future missions, of course. From Mars bases to robotic explorers in the outer solar system, these missions will need to move huge volumes of data. Laser communications could be the key to making deep space as connected as Earth. Psyche's tests showed that even across hundreds of millions of miles, lasers can cut through cosmic distances, delivering reliable high bandwidth connections. It's not just a milestone for one spacecraft. It's a glimpse of the communication infrastructure that could support humanity's next giant leap. And what of the original mission of the psyche probe? Asteroid? Psyche's gravity is expected to capture the spacecraft in late July 2029, and Psyche will begin its prime mission in August. It will spend about two years orbiting the asteroid to take pictures, map the surface, and collect data to determine Psyche's composition. Let's hope that the laser communication system continues to work as it travels further into deep space. And that's T Miners. Brought to you by N2K CyberWire. What do you think about T Miners Space Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us to continue to improve our show. We're proud that N2K CyberWire is part of the daily routine of the most infamous 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 helps space and cyber professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring you the people, technology and ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how@n2k.com N2K's executive producer is Jennifer Iban. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our host is Maria Valmazes. Peter Kilpie is our publisher and I'm senior producer Alice Carruth. Thanks for listening.
- [13:39]
Maria Valmazes
T minus.