← T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
Sovereign space, smart weather, and a very busy orbit.
00:22:14
D-Orbit raised $53M. Loft Orbital is the prime contractor for DESIR. Aalyria selected by AFRL to provide software for military space communications. And more.
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You're listening to the N2K space network.
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Most security conferences talk about Zero Trust. Zero Trust World puts you inside this is a hands on cybersecurity event designed for practitioners who want real skills, not just theory. You'll take part in live hacking labs where you'll attack real environments, see how modern threats actually work, and learn how how to stop them before they turn into incidents. But Zero Trust World is more than labs. You'll also experience expert led sessions, practical case studies, and technical deep dives focused on real world implementation. Whether you're Blue team, Red team, or responsible for securing an entire organization, the content is built to be immediately useful. You'll earn CPE credits, connect with peers across the industry and leave with strategies you can put into action right away. Join us March 4th through the 6th in Orlando, Florida. Register now@ZTW.com and take your Zero Trust strategy from theory to execution.
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Today is January 23rd, 2026. I'm Maria Varmazas and this is T min 20 seconds to Los. China's uncrewed Shenzhou 20 capsule returned to Earth from the Tiangong Space Station. 4 Tomorrow IO has announced a new AI native space based Atmospheric and Oceanic Sensing Network. ALYRIA has been selected by AFRL's Rapid program to advance software solutions for managing complex military space communications networks. Loft Orbital was selected as the prime contractor for France's D' Azir program. 1 Deorbit has raised $53 million in a series D funding round. And of course it is Friday, which can only mean one thing for our regular listener. The NASA spaceflight team will be joining us later in the show for the latest space traffic report. Alesia Siegel will be wrapping up the launch news from the last seven days and will be giving us a sneak preview at what's on the schedule for the coming week. More on that after today's intelligence briefing. Let's dive into today's headlines, shall we? And we are starting off in Europe first. Italian space company Deorbit has secured $53 million in its series D funding round. The new raise is expected to be used for Deorbit's space to space infrastructure and its proficiency in in space computing. Deorbit, best known for its transportation and satellite deployment, is looking to expand into in space servicing, assembly and manufacturing, or ISAM and dual use space applications that serve both civil and national security interests. The new funding was led by the Azimut Group, which is not expected to fully close until June. In addition, Azimut is expected to purchase $75 million in shares from an existing deorbit investor. It's an interesting expansion for the company and we're sure that things will move quickly for them with this new injection of capital. Yesterday we were talking about Telus Alenia Space being selected for France's first space based radar imaging program and what we failed to mention was that Loft Orbital was selected as the prime contractor for the DZIR program and I think my producer just wanted to hear my French pronunciation again. You got it Alice. Desires as a reminder stands for oh God, you're making me do this again. Demonstrateur des allements Souvrens d' imagerie Radart There you go, I did it again. Pierre Damien Vaujour, who is Loft CEO and co founder, said in the press release that we are very pleased to lead this program alongside Thales, Aleni, Espace and techever France with Desir, Loft Orbital proves that its standardized infrastructure model offers an immediate response to the most critical sovereign needs. By leading this consortium we demonstrate the maturity of new space companies, ability to assume the responsibilities of prime contractor for complex government projects and the ability to have technology startups and large defense contractors working hand in hand on hardware development and satellite operations for sovereign systems. Moving on now and OLYRIA has been selected by the U.S. air Force Research Laboratories Rapid Architecture Prototyping and Integration Development or Rapid Program to advance software solutions for managing complex military space communications networks. The contract falls under the Space Data Network Experimentation Program which is awarded through AFRL's Space Technology Advanced Research Fast Tracking Innovative Software and Hardware or Starfish initiative. That is a heck of an acronym, guys. Elyria plans to evaluate how its spacetime AI enabled orchestration software can integrate diverse satellite systems, ground infrastructure and communications links into a seamless, resilient network for defense operations. The goal is to advance space time as a candidate for a future space Data Network, a hybrid network of networks that integrates multi orbit, multi domain, government allied and commercial communication systems. Tomorrow, IO has announced a new AI native space based atmospheric and oceanic sensing network. The network, called Deep sky is developed and designed to make Earth's atmosphere and oceans continuously observable in real time, powering faster, smarter global decision making and response. This will be tomorrow IO's second constellation announced just a week after completing the full deployment of its first Constellation which was equipped with KA band radar and microwave sounders. Tomorrow, IO says Deep sky will be introduced in phases with additional details shared as the program progresses. And earlier this week, China's uncrewed Shenzhou 20 capsule returned to Earth from the Tiangong Space station. The spacecraft parachuted into the Dongfeng landing site in North China's Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region. This is the capsule that was damaged, by the way, by space debris, causing China to scramble to send another vehicle to the crew in orbit, the China National Space Administration said. On site. Inspection of the returned capsule found that its exterior was generally normal and the items secured inside the vehicle were in good condition. According to a report by the state run Xinhua news Agency, the recovery crew observed that the capsule's porthole had an unexpected mark on the edge of the outermost glass, a triangular shape about 2 cm long. A report conducted at the time that the mark was discovered concluded that indeed the capsule was not safe to use by humans. We are sure further investigations are inspected and bravo to China for taking the safety of their crew seriously. And that wraps up today's top five stories in the space industry. We have more on the latest launch news from NSF coming up. But before that, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth, who just loves my French pronunciation, clearly joins me now with a look at the other stories that are making today's headlines. Alice, what do you have for us on this lovely Friday?
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Happy Friday, Maria. We've included two extra stories today in the selected Reading section of our show. Notes Spire Global has been selected by AI DASH to provide advanced weather intelligence and data. The data will be used to enhance AI Dash's integrated solution for securing the modern electric grid from vegetation and weather driven risk. And we have an update on Blue Origin's new Shepherd space tourism flight which lifted off yesterday from down the road to me in Van Horn, Texas.
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And how about you introduce tomorrow's Deep Space for us because it's you and your guest?
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Absolutely, yes. Tomorrow be sure to check out your podcast feed for T Miners Deep Space. It's our special edition Saturday show where we share an in depth interview and dive a bit deeper into fascinating topics with brilliant guests. And on T Miners Deep Space tomorrow I'll be talking to retired NASA astronaut Dottie Metcalfe Lindenberger about the Challenger Learning centers. It's been 40 years since the tragic Challenger disaster, but the crew's legacy lives on in the Challenger Learning Centers. And Dottie, who is the incoming chair of the Challenger Board, shares what the education organization is doing to mark the anniversary that's on T Minus Deep Space tomorrow. Don't miss it.
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Ever wished you could rebuild your network from scratch to make it more secure, scalable and simple? Meet Meter, the company reimagining enterprise networking from the ground up. Meter builds full Stack Zero Trust networks, including hardware, firmware and software, all designed to work seamlessly together. The result? Fast, reliable and secure connectivity without the constant patching, vendor juggling, or hidden costs. From wired and wireless to routing, switching, firewalls, DNS security and vpn, every layer is integrated and continuously protected in one unified platform. And since it's delivered as one predictable monthly service, you skip the heavy capital costs and endless upgrade cycles. Meter even buys back your old infrastructure to make switching effortless, transform complexity into simplicity, and give your team time to focus on what really matters helping your business and customers thrive. Learn more and book your demo@meter.com cyberwire that's M E T E R.com cyberwire.
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Let me hand you over now to our partners@nasaspaceflight.com.
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I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF and this is your weekly Space Traffic Report for T Minus Space. This week started with two back to back launch failures from China, the first one occurring with the Changjiang 3Be Rocket that launched on January 16th at 16:55 UTC from Shichong. The rocket was carrying one of China's secretive Shijian line of experimental satellites. Based on the prelaunch notices, the satellite was intended to be placed into a geosynchronous transfer orbit. However, according to the China Aerospace Science and Technology Corporation, the rocket's manufacturer, an anomaly occurred during the third stage phase of flight which resulted in a launch failure. This failure was a rare one, as the Changjong 3B is an old rocket with a relatively good track record. The third stage of the Changjong 3 BE is a relatively small hydrogen fueled upper stage that shares commonalities with the Hydrolox upper stages of other similarly sized rockets in China. So as a result of this failure, some other launches have also been paused for the moment. This failure also coincided with the start of a roughly one month long series of celebrations ahead of the Chinese New Year, a period also sees a reduction in launch activity from China. So with all that said, don't be surprised if we don't see a lot of launches from them in the next month or so. The second launch failure from China this week occurred during the debut flight of Galactic Energy's Series 2 rocket. The vehicle lifted off on January 17th at 4:08 UTC from the Jochuan Satellite Launch center to test out all of the new systems of this rocket. Series two draws upon the experience that the company had gained with its Smaller Series 1 rocket, which has launched 23 times so far. But this experience can't really translate one to one for this new rocke rocket as it's over twice the diameter of the other. Like its smaller sibling, Series two also has four stages, with the first three fueled by solid propellant, while the fourth is made of a liquid fueled stage with hypergolic propellants. According to the reports from local spectators, the rocket started having problems shortly after liftoff, then crashed to the ground. No details have been published of the accident and little to no pictures or video exist of the rocket or of its failure. Despite those two failed launches from China, the rest of the launches this week were successful. Just a few minutes after the debut launch of Series 2, a Fat Falcon 9 launched from Vandenberg in the United States at 4:39 UTC. The mission carried another batch of Starshield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office as part of the agency's proliferated space architecture. The first stage for this mission, B1 100, was flying for a second time, and it successfully landed back at landing zone 4, just a few hundred meters away from its launch pad. After that we had another Falcon 9 launch, this time from Florida, lifting off on January 18th at 23:31 UTC with another batch of Starlink V2 mini satellites. The first stage for this mission, B1080, was flying for a 24th time, and it successfully landed on SpaceX's droneship, a shortfall of gravitas Meanwhile in orbit, there was a return from space of a crew spacecraft, but with no one on board. I'm of course talking about the return of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft, which was previously docked to the Tiangong space station. Shenzhou 20 had launched with three crew members back in April of last year, but in early November, just hours before it was scheduled to return with them on board, the departure was called off. This cancellation came after the astronauts astronauts discovered a crack in one window of the descent module of the Shenzhou 20 spacecraft. The ChinaManned Space Agency, also known as CMSA, decided not to take any risks and send the Shenzhou 22 spacecraft to the station without a crew. It would then serve as a lifeboat and return spacecraft for the crew of Shenzhou 21, which had arrived at the end of October to relieve the crew of Shenzhou 20. As for the crew of Shenzhou 20, well, in a game of orbital musical chairs, the three crew members successfully returned to Earth on the Shenzhou 21 spacecraft, since there was now a safe way for everyone on the station to return to Earth. While the crews changed locations, Shenzhou 20 had remained undocked from the station since it only had two active docking ports for crewed spacecraft it returned to the station once Shenzhou 21 departed and was later inspected from the outside on the spacewalk. In December, with all possible data taken, the CMSA decided to end the spacecraft's mission in orbit and return it back to Earth. Undocking took place on January 18th at 16:23 UTC. After nine months in space, the spacecraft then executed its deorbit and re entry sequences and touched down in the deserts of inner Mongolia on January 19 at 01:34 UTC. While it didn't carry anyone on board, it did carry some cargo back to Earth, and the damaged window was quickly covered up after landing. The reason for this was supposedly to preserve the state of the window for later analysis. It's not clear whether we'll ever get any information as to what happened to it, as well as what happened to the capsule during descent because of it, but. But here's hoping that we do. Back on Earth, we had more launches, with at least one successful mission out of China. A Changjong 12 rocket lifted off on January 19 at 7:48 from the Commercial Wenchong Space launch site in China. The rocket was carrying the 19th batch of operational Guo Wang satellites into low Earth orbit. Back in the United States, there was another Starlink launch, this one from Vandenberg on January 22nd at 5:47 UTC. The first stage for this launch, B1093, was flying for a tenth time, and it successfully landed on SpaceX's drone ship, of course. Ice, love you. And just a few hours later, at 10:52 UTC, we had the launch of an Electron rocket from New Zealand. The mission, called the Cosmos we'll see you now, was carrying the first two satellites of open Cosmos broadband constellation. This marked Electron's first launch of the year and also its 80th launch overall. That was it for the orbital launches this week, but right at the end, we had a suborbital launch of Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket with six passengers on board. The mission lifted off on January 22nd at 16:25 UTC from Blue Zone Spaceport in West Texas. On board were Timothy Drexler, Linda Edwards, Allen Fernandez, Alberto Gutierrez, Jim Hendren, and Laura Stiles, the last passenger on that list. Laura Stiles, is actually Blue Origin's director of New Shepard launch operations. She stepped in as one of the passengers when Andrew Yaffe, who was part of the original ensemble, fell ill and had to waive off his opportunity to fly on this mission. Though Blue says he'll still fly on a future mission thanks to this change, Laura got to experience firsthand the rocket and capsule that she'd been working on for 13 years since she joined the company in 2013. Going into next week, we'll have up to four Falcon 9 launches, three of them carrying batches of Starlink satellites and the fourth launching the ninth GPS 3 satellite for the US Space Force rocket Lab is also looking at launching another Electron from New Zealand with the bridging the Swarm mission, and we may also potentially have one launch from China out of Wenchang. Up in orbit, we've also got the unbirthing and release of the HTV X1 spacecraft, which will depart the ISS after three months. After separation, it'll remain in orbit for a few more months to carry out further missions while in free flight and demonstrate longer on orbit durations. As always, we recommend that you visit nextspaceflight.com or download the app on your phone so you can be up to date with these events whenever and wherever you are. I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF and that's your weekly Space Traffic Report. Now back to T minus Space.
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We'll be right back.
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When it comes to mobile application security, good enough is a risk. A recent Survey shows that 72% of organizations reported at least one mobile application security incident last year, and 92% of responders reported threat levels have increased in the past two years. Guard Square delivers the highest level of security for your mobile apps without compromising performance, time to market or user experience. Discover how Guard Square provides industry leading security for your Android and iOS apps at www.guardsquare.com.
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Welcome back. As more space debris comes screaming back to Earth or reentering the atmosphere as is often put in the spacey parlance, researchers are discovering that the best way to track the debris may already be buried underground. That's because a new study that was published in the journal Science shows that earthquake sensors can actually pick up the sonic booms from re entering spacecraft. This seismic technique actually helped scientists to reconstruct the breakup of a discarded Chinese crew module over California in 2024, where researchers were able to place its path actually further off than orbital models had predicted. And the team who have figured out this technique have also used it to track a number of debris events, including the three starship test failures last year that ended in explosions over the Caribbean. Right now this technique allows researchers to trace debris paths after radar coverage fails. And while this technique takes a bit of time now, the goal is to get it refined so that we will get that information in minutes, if not in seconds. We're not there yet, but hopefully one day soon. Understandably, space debris falling through our atmosphere at increasing amounts is a dangerous problem to have such a gap in our understanding of where the debris is actually going as it starts breaking up in our atmosphere. Especially I don't know for planes as they are in transit. Really. Need I say more on the risk there? If you would like to dig in more to this research, there is a link to the study in Science in our show Notes for you. Definitely go check it out. And that is T minus Brought to you by N2K CyberWire we'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email to spacen2k.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 you the people, the technology and ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how@n2k.com N2K 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 Ivan. Peter Kilpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thank you for listening. Have a wonderful weekend.
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T minus. Foreign.
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If you only attend one cybersecurity conference this year, make it RSAC 2026. It's happening March 23rd through the 26th in San Francisco, bringing together the global security community for four days of expert insights, hands on learning and real innovation. I'll say this plainly, I never miss this conference. The ideas and conversations stay with me all year. Join thousands of practitioners and leaders tackling today's toughest challenges and shaping what comes next. Register today@rsaconference.com cyberwire26. I'll see you in San Francisco. Security works best in layers, and when those layers actually work together, that's when things get interesting. Nord Layer is a network security platform designed for modern teams. It secures connections, controls access, and helps stop threats, all without hardware or long deployment cycles. Now, Nordlayer has partnered with CrowdStrike to bring Falcon Endpoint protection into the mix, giving small and mid sized businesses a multi layered security approach that's practical to deploy and easy to manage. Nordlayer handles secure access and zero trust networking. CrowdStrike Falcon adds endpoint visibility and protection. Together they cover more ground than either could alone without requiring a large IT staff. For business leaders, that means clearer control and easier compliance. For IT teams, IT means granular access policies, faster onboarding and protection that scales. If you're looking for enterprise grade security without enterprise grade complexity, take a look at Nordlayer. Get up to 22% off yearly plans plus an additional 10% with code CYBERWIRE10. There's even a 14 day money back guarantee. Check out nordlayer.com cyberwire daily to learn more.