Mind the blind spots.

Summary

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Podcast Summary: T-Minus Space Daily – "Mind the blind spots."

Host: Maria Varmazas, N2K Networks
Date: October 22, 2025
Special Contributor: Torsten Kriening (Spacewatch Global)
Theme: Addressing critical blind spots in the space industry, with a particular emphasis on space domain awareness, new technology initiatives, and global space sustainability policy action.

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Overview

This episode of T-Minus Space Daily offers a focused look at the latest advancements and challenges in space domain awareness—especially the tracking of high-interest objects in "blind spots"—along with research breakthroughs, industry mergers, and real momentum in international space sustainability policy. The highlight is live reporting from the Secure World Foundation’s 7th Summit for Space Sustainability in Paris, where commercial, regulatory, and global inclusion topics are center stage.

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Intel Briefing – Key Headlines & Analysis

1. Vantor’s New Contract: Tracking in the Gaps

[02:26 – 03:40]

• Background: Vantor (formerly Maxar Intelligence) secured a contract to help the US Space Force track high-interest objects that pass through detection "blind spots."
• COLA Gap Pathfinding: The COLA (Conjunction on Launch Assessment) Gap refers to the period post-launch when satellite tracking is weak or imprecise, elevating collision risks.
• Role: Vantor will provide high-resolution, non-Earth imagery and space domain awareness, maintaining "persistent custody of high-interest objects,” especially those capable of changing orbit.
• Impact: The initiative is key for minimizing collision risks and strengthening real-time, continuous space monitoring.

2. Advancing Space Domain Awareness: RCATC Project

[03:41 – 04:23]

• Institutions: Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Texas A&M University.
• Funding: $1 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research.
• Goal: Develop reconfigurable satellite constellations for adaptive tracking in cislunar space (the region between the Earth and the Moon).
• Quote:

  “The system addresses critical safety and security needs as cislunar space becomes increasingly congested and contested.”
  — Maria Varmazas [04:07]

• Significance: Will enable resilient tracking as objects maneuver, informing future mission planning and collision avoidance.

3. European Space Agency (ESA): Numerical Health Index

[04:24 – 04:56]

• New Metric: ESA introduces a yearly Space Environment Health Index, distilling complex orbital status into a single number—similar to global temperatures for climate change.
• Goal: Enable rapid, high-level conversations about the space environment and track stress levels/projections up to 200 years.
• Quote:

  “ESA hopes that it'll provide a useful impression of the space environment's health that speeds up high level conversations.”
  — Maria Varmazas [04:52]

4. Update: United Airlines Object Strike

[04:57 – 05:14]

• Windborne Systems announced a weather balloon component may have been responsible for a recent United Airlines aircraft incident, countering broader space debris fears.

5. Link Global and Omnispace Merger

[05:15 – 06:08]

• Merger Purpose: Deliver a global direct-to-device (D2D) satellite connectivity solution, bridging satellite and terrestrial networks.
• Quote (Ram Viswanathan, OmniSpace CEO):

  “By combining OmniSpace's spectrum portfolio with Lynk's innovative technology, we are creating a powerful platform … for cost-effective global D2D that will serve the immediate connectivity needs of customers and has the spectrum to enhance capacity over time.” [05:30]

• Industry Response: SES, already an investor, will deepen its involvement and provide ground infrastructure and multi-orbit support.

6. Artemis II Assembly Update (NASA)

[06:09 – 06:32]

• Milestone: Orion spacecraft has been placed atop the Space Launch System (SLS) rocket, completing Artemis II assembly.
• Significance: Launch scheduled for as early as February 2026, and the mission remains a high US government priority.
• Quote (Sean Duffy, acting NASA Administrator):

  “We are one step closer to mission complete.” [06:14]

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Secure World Foundation 7th Summit – Live Report from Paris

[13:18 – 17:43]
Contributor: Torsten Kriening, Spacewatch Global

Conference Highlights

Framing the Challenge

• Dr. Peter Martinez (Secure World Foundation):

  “Space traffic, space debris and space trust are no longer abstract issues. They demand operational solutions built on transparency and shared norms.” [13:35]

Policy and Strategy

• Sebastien Martin (French Minister of Industry):
  • Space sustainability is integral to Europe’s industrial and geopolitical strategy.
  • Called for stronger multilateral mechanisms, warning,

    “…the time for voluntary guidelines alone is over.” [13:52]

European Commitment

• Dr. Josef Aschbacher (ESA Director General):
  • 180+ organizations from 33 countries signed the Zero Debris Charter, aiming for debris-neutral missions by 2030.
  • Focus on eco-design, life cycle assessment, and active debris removal.

Looking Beyond Earth

• Lionel Suger (COO, CNES):
  • Sustainability principles must extend to lunar and deep space missions as exploration accelerates.

Industry Voices: Fireside Chat

• Guests: Teresa Condor (Spire CEO) and Jean-François Falah (Eutelsat CEO)
  • Key Points:
    • Need for real-time Space Situational Awareness (SSA) and enforceable coordination.
    • Condor:

      “Data sharing and enforceable coordination rules are critical.” [14:55]

    • Falah:

      Warned of spectrum monopolies and unequal access, noting, "Industry is ready but needs regulation that works.” [15:02]

Inclusion and Global Access

• Arti Holla-Maini (Director, UN OOSA)
  • Warned against sustainability as a “gatekeeper for legacy powers.”
  • Called for inclusivity:

    “Sustainability must be inclusive, enforceable, and owned by all nations.” [15:24]

Environmental Impact: Re-Entry Pollution

• Keynote: José Ferreira
  • Underlined unknown impacts of alumina and black carbon from re-entry, urging more research.

Summit Takeaways

[16:30]

1. Consensus Needs Enforcement:

   “Voluntary norms must evolve into enforceable global rules—fast.” — Torsten Kriening

2. Industrial Stakes:
   • “Sustainability is now an industrial issue … about fair competition, spectrum equality, and long-term access for all nations.”
3. Inclusion:
   • “Sustainability can't become a new form of space colonialism.”

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Memorable Quotes & Moments—With Timestamps

• “Space traffic, space debris and space trust are no longer abstract issues. They demand operational solutions built on transparency and shared norms.”
  — Dr. Peter Martinez, [13:35]

• “The time for voluntary guidelines alone is over.”
  — Sebastien Martin, [13:52]

• “More than 180 organizations across 33 countries have signed ESA’s Zero Debris Charter, moving towards debris-neutral missions by 2030.”
  — Dr. Josef Aschbacher, [14:20]

• “Sustainability must be inclusive, enforceable, and owned by all nations.”
  — Arti Holla-Maini, [15:24]

• “We don’t know the impact today.” (regarding re-entry pollution)
  — José Ferreira, [16:00]

• “Consensus works, but it needs teeth.… Sustainability can't become a new form of space colonialism.”
  — Torsten Kriening, [16:38, 16:54]

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Additional Resources Noted

• News links on Eutelsat's financials, ESA's summer intern call, and ispace's contract with Toyota (see episode show notes for details).
• Listener Q&A segment invites audience queries on law, cybersecurity, intelligence, policy, and innovation in space.

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Takeaways

• Blind spots in space tracking remain a critical concern; new contracts and research are addressing these vulnerabilities.
• Space sustainability discourse is transitioning from voluntary principles to calls for enforceable global regulations.
• Industrial competition, equitable access, and inclusion for emerging nations are top-of-mind for policymakers and industry leaders alike.
• Environmental effects of space activities, such as re-entry pollution, are under-scrutinized and merit urgent study.
• The movement for "space sustainability" is expanding beyond Earth to include cislunar and deep space missions.

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For deeper dives and supporting news links, visit space.n2k.com. For direct engagement with experts, submit your questions to the show.

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Transcript

[A]

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[A]

T A dot com cyber today is October 22nd, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazas and this is T minus T minus 20 seconds. The Space Launch System rocket being stacked for the Artemis 2 mission has its final piece. Link Global and Omnispace have announced plans to merge to deliver a direct to device connectivity solution. The European Space Agency is adding a new Numerical Health Index to its yearly Space Environment Report. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute and Texas A and M University have secured a $1 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research for space domain awareness. 1 Vantor has been awarded a contract to support the US Space Force in tracking high interest objects that pass through blind spots in Space, and the Secure Foundation's 7th Summit for Space Sustainability is being held in Paris this week. Our colleague at Spacewatch Global, Korsten Kreening, will be sharing his insights from the conference with us this week, so do stick around for more on that after today's headlines. It is Wednesday, friends. Thank you for joining me today. Let's take a look at our intel briefing, shall we? First up, Vantor, formerly known as Maxar Intelligence, has been awarded a contract to support the US Space Force in tracking high interest objects that pass through blind spots in space. In other words, places that are not visible to ground sensor networks. Now, Vantor is an awardee of the Office of Space Commerce's commercial COLA Gap Pathfinder program and the COLA Gap refers to the period right after a satellite launch when space traffic coordination is hampered by limited or imprecise tracking data and during that time, newly deployed satellites may not have reliable positional information, creating a spike in collision risk and posing coordination challenges for satellite operators, launch providers and traffic management authorities. Vantor's non Earth imagery and space domain Awareness insights will deliver visual based intelligence to help minimize collision risk. And under the new contract, which will support Space Force's Joint Commercial Operations Program, Vantor will use its high resolution imagery of space objects to deliver key information about an object's position and trajectory. The observations will allow the Space Force to maintain persistent custody of the high interest objects and will be particularly useful in situations where where an object has the potential to change orbit. Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, better known by many as RPI, and Texas A&M University have secured a $1 million grant from the Air Force Office of Scientific Research. The grant will support the development of a system to track and monitor resident space objects, including spacecraft, satellites and debris moving through cislunar space and the initiative is called RCAT C, which stands for Reconfigurable Constellations for Adaptive Tracking in Cislunar Space. The researchers plan to develop intelligent networks of sensor satellites that can be reconfigured to perform resilient tracking of objects as they maneuver through the cislunar environment. The system addresses critical safety and security needs as cislunar space becomes increasingly congested and contested. The research will also advance fundamental knowledge in orbital dynamics and autonomous space systems, with implications for mission planning, collision avoidance, and safe coordination of a growing cislunar economy. And of course, it is not just the United States that's concerned about space domain awareness. The European Space Agency is adding a new health index to its yearly space Environment report that summarizes in one number the status of our space environment over time. ESA says that the numeric report will be similar to how climate scientists use temperature as a key indicator of global warming. The Space Environment Health Index will provide a single score that reflects how healthy or how stressed the orbital environment is and what the consequences will be in a 200 year time period. ESA hopes that it'll provide a useful impression of the space environment's health that speeds up high level conversations. And I have a quick update now on a story that we covered earlier this week. On Monday's show we reported on an incident where something pierced the windscreen of a United Airlines aircraft and that was all blamed on possible space debris. Well, a company called Windborne Systems has come forward and said that the object that the plane struck is likely to be part of their weather balloon. The NTSB and the FAA have been informed about Windborne's suspicions for their investigation. Next up, Link Global and Omnispace have announced plans to merge to deliver a direct to device connectivity solution, bridging the gap between today's satellite and terrestrial networks. Ram Viswanathan, President and CEO of Omni Space, added a statement to the press release that says by combining OmniSpace's spectrum portfolio with Lynx Innovative Technology, we are creating a powerful platform for sc cost effective global D2D that will serve the immediate connectivity needs of customers and has the spectrum to enhance capacity over time. And D2D as a refresher is direct to device. Now. SES is a current investor in both companies and it will deepen its partnership profile following the merger, providing access to its multi orbit network and globally deployed ground infrastructure. SES says it'll also support the engineering, operations and regulatory needs of the combined entity. And the transaction between Link Global and OmniSpace is expected to close late this year or early next year, subject of course to customary approvals and closing conditions. And acting NASA Administrator Sean Duffy shared this on social media we are one step closer to mission complete. The Space Launch System rocket being stacked for the Artemis 2 mission has its final piece integrity. The Orion spacecraft that will fly NASA's Artemis II crew around the moon and as early as February 2026 has been hoisted atop the SLS, completing the Rocket's assembly ahead of launch. This is a major milestone for the mission, which has been marked as a priority and exempt from the ongoing US Government shut and all that wraps up today's intelligence briefing. We will have more on space sustainability from the Secure World Foundation Summit in Paris. But before we get to that, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth joins us now for a look at more stories that are making headlines today around the world. What do you have for us today.

[C]

Alice Maria We've included three additional links in today's selected reading section of the show. Notes. They cover Eutelsat's financial updates ESA's call for summer interns and ispace's contract with Toyota to support their rover development. And a reminder that those links are available in addition to the podcast platform that you listen to us on on our website, space.in2k.com just click on today's.

[A]

Episode title it minus crew. We have regular segments that we air here on T Minus, where we have regular experts that join us monthly to talk in depth about their areas of space expertise. And if you have burning questions, our guest experts probably have answers for you. Law, Cybersecurity, Intelligence, Policy and Innovation. Got questions on any of those? I'm sure you do. Just send us your questions to space2k.com and we will share them with our segment experts to answer on the show. Chances are whatever's on your mind is top of mind for a lot of other listeners too. So help yourself out, help others out. Don't be shy. We'll be right back.

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[A]

Welcome back. I'll hand you over now to Torsten Kreening from Spacewatch Global for the latest from the Secure World Foundation' Sustainability Summit in Paris.

[D]

Hello Maria, I'm happy to be back on your channel and back from Paris, reporting from the 7th Summit for Space Sustainability organized by the Secure World Foundation, CNES and the French government, where space policy meets practical action. And we are meeting in the French Ministry of Economics. How cool. So this morning kicked off with Dr. Peter Martinez, the Executive Director of Secure World foundation who framed the Summit with a strong reminder. Space traffic, space debris and space trust are no longer abstract issues. They demand operational solutions built on transparencies and shared norms. And then we heard from Sebastien Martin, France's newly elected Minister of Industry, who underlined that space sustainability is part of Europe's broader industrial and geopolitical strategy. He urged stronger multilateral mechanism and made clear the time for voluntary guidelines alone is over. And then we heard from ESA's Director General, Dr. Josef Aschbacher. And he brought numbers and ambitions to to the video stage. More than 180 organizations across 33 countries have signed ESA's Zero Debris Carta moving towards debris neutral missions by 2030. And ESA is investing in eco design, life cycle assessment and next generation active debris removal missions, not just for esa, but to lead the global standard. And then on behalf of France, CNES COO Lionel Suger urged that our sustainability principles must reach beyond Earth's orbit, especially as lunar and deep space missions accelerate. And then an outstanding CEO Fireside chat brought commercial urgency into focus with SPIRES CEO Teresa Condor and Utilsat CEO Jean Francois Falaha. Data sharing and enforceable coordination rules are critical. And Condner emphasized the need for real time SSA space situational awareness. While Falagar warned of spectrum monopolies and the risk of unequal access. Their message was clear. Industry is ready but needs regulation that works. And in a standout exchange, UN OSOS Director Arty Holameini joined Dr. Peter Martinez to highlight policy blind spots from lunar traffic coordination to SSA capacity building in emerging nations. She warned against sustainability becoming a gatekeeper for legacy powers, stressing that access to space cannot mean access to just starlink. Her message? Sustainability must be inclusive, enforceable and owned by all nations. And the environmental dimension was not forgotten. In Clearing the Air, Jose Ferreira led a sharp keynote on the underestimated impact on re entry, pollutions, alumina particles and black carbon. The hard point I understood we don't know the impact today. So three takeaways from day number one. A consensus works, but it needs teeth. From UNOSA to esa, the call is voluntary norms must evolve into enforceable global rules fast. Second, space sustainability is now an industrial issue. It's not just about physics and orbits. It's about fair competition, spectrum equality and long term access for all nations. Third, inclusion matters. Sustainability can't become a new form of space colonialism. Emerging nations must shape, not just follow the rules. The summit is still in full swing and there's more to come. And tomorrow we will bring you more updates. Thank you and greetings from a wonderful autumn evening here in Paris. Space Watch out. And back to you, Maria.

[A]

Thank you again, Thorsten Kreening from spacewatch global. And that's T minus brought to you by N2K CyberWire we'd love to know what you think of our podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like this show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or you can send us an email. Spacentuk.com we are proud that N2K Cyberwire is part of the daily routine 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 helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection, we bring more you the people, the technology and the ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn [e-mail] N2K's senior producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ibin. Peter Kilpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Vermazes. Thank you for listening. We'll see you tomorrow.

[D]

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