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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 21st, 2026. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T min.

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20 seconds to Los Speed Rest Go for deploy.

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Orion Space Solutions has been awarded a follow on contract from Advanced Space to support Phase two of the Intelligence Advanced Research Project Activity Space Debris Identification and Tracking Program. NASA has selected three new science investigations for the Commercial Lunar Payload Services Initiative initiative. Starfish Space has been awarded a 52 and a half million dollar contract by the US Space Force's Space Development Agency to provide deorbit as a service for satellites within the proliferated warfighter. Space Architecture Canada Rocket Company has emerged from stealth with 6.2 million Canadian dollars in seed funding from entirely Canadian investors. One Swiss to 12 has secured 73 million euros in financial support from ESA member states through the Hummingsat Artes partnership project. Happy Wednesday everybody. I hope you're having a good week and getting yourself ready for all the fun and excitement of Commercial Space Week in Orlando. If you'll be joining us there. We will be there next Tuesday through Friday at the Convention Center. So if you're going to be there, come on by our booth and make sure to say hello. We have merch. Anyway, we're starting off today's intelligence briefing in Europe who are once again rallying behind a commercial company to drive sovereign capabilities. Swizta 12 has secured 73 million euros, which is around US$84.8 million, in financial support from ESA member states through the Hummingsat Artes partnership project. The funding will accelerate Swiss to 12's development of Hummingsat as well as scaling up its manufacturing capacity and accelerating new product innovations. The company says these initiatives address increasing global demand for cost effective agile and sovereign communications in both government and commercial sectors. The HumanSat platform is being developed in partnership with the European Space Agency. It's scheduled for first launch in 2027 and is significantly smaller and more cost efficient than legacy geostationary satellites. This new investment will also allow SWIS to 12 to further develop its phased array antenna technologies to be used onboard leo, MEO and GEO satellite payloads and ground products such as user terminals. This will strengthen Swiss to 12's ability to serve a broad set of customer needs for communications from and to geostationary and non geostationary orbits, and we are seeing the trend of sovereign launch and manufacturing capabilities extend to Canada as well. Toronto based Canada Rocket Co. Which will be known as CRC, has emerged from stealth with 6.2 million Canadian dollars in seed funding from entirely Canadian investors. The company says the funding will support its mission to deliver sovereign medium lift space launch capability. CRC wants to position itself as an alternative to SpaceX's Falcon 9 with the ability to independently launch, place or maintain complex spacecraft like satellites at scale. CRC plans to initially design a light lift vehicle to meet tactical launch requirements and establish an industrialized foundation for the medium lift vehicle. The startup says that it hopes its presence brings Canadian aerospace talent back home and is hiring for for engineering and technician roles in Toronto with some remote positions in Canada available, Moving to the United States now and Starfish Space has been awarded a $52.5 million contract by the US Space Force's Space Development Agency to provide deorbit as a service for satellites within the proliferated warfighter space architecture. The contract represents the first dedicated end of life disposal mission for a LEO Constellation. Starfish Space will build, launch and operate an OTTER spacecraft in low Earth orbit to safely and efficiently dispose of SDA satellites at the end of their operational lives. The mission begins with an initial deorbit with options for multiple additional deorbits enabled by otter's significant capacity and ability to service several satellites in a single mission. The mission is targeting launch in 2027. NASA has selected three new science investigations that they say will strengthen humanity's understanding and exploration of the moon. As part of the agency's Commercial Lunar Payload Services, or clps initiative and the Artemis Campaign. American companies will deliver these research payloads to the lunar surface NO earlier than 2028 and the selected scientific payloads number one the Emission Imager for Lunar Infrared Analysis in 3D. Known as Amelia 3D. The payload will create three dimensional thermal models of the lunar Terr using a thermal imager to measure the temperature of the landscape, coupled with a stereo pair of visible light cameras. Number two is the lister, which stands for Lunar Instrumentation for Subsurface Thermal Exploration with Rapidity. This instrument will measure the heat flow of the Moon's interior by drilling beneath the lunar surface, pausing at intervals to measure temperature changes and the ability of the subsurface material to conduct heat. And the third is the Selene, or the Site Agnostic Energetic Lunar Ion and Neutron Environment. And the Selene payload will provide new insight into the Moon's radiation environment by studying for the first time at the lunar surface the radiation from both primary galactic cosmic rays and their secondary particles and how this radiation interacts with the lunar regolith. NASA says that these three science experiments, which were selected through NASA's Payloads and Research investigations on the surface of the Moon, call for proposals do not require a specific landing site on the lunar surface to gather their data, and the space agency will assign them to specific clps delivery task orders at a later time. Congratulations to all three investigations teams and Orion Space Solutions, which is a subsidiary of Arkfield, has been awarded a follow on Subcontract from Advanced Space to support Phase two of the Intelligence Advanced Research Projects Activity, or iarpa Space Debris Identification and Tracking Program, known as sintra. Lots of acronyms in this one. This two year award builds on the success of Phase one, where the team made breakthrough discoveries in the study of ionospheric interactions that were induced by orbital debris. Phase two will further refine and operationalize these methods for detecting and characterizing untracked objects through measurements of the plasma wave environment. And that wraps up today's top five stories. But stay with us to find out who has retired from NASA and what is the latest with this week's fantastically active geomagnetic storm. But before we get to both of those stories, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth is eagerly awaiting in the wings to share some of the other news stories that we are keeping an eye on. Go on Alice. What do you got for us today?