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You're listening to the N2K space network.
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At Thales. They know cybersecurity can be tough and you can't protect everything. But with Thales you can secure what matters most. With Thales industry leading platforms you can protect critical applications, data and identities anywhere and at scale with the highest roi. That's why the most trusted brands and largest banks, banks, retailers and healthcare companies in the world rely on Thales to protect what matters most applications, data and identity. That's Thales. T H A L E S learn more@thalesgroup.com Cyber.
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Today is October 3, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T minus T minus 20 seconds to Los Speed Res to go for deploy. EXA Launch is manifested to deploy 13 satellites for customers across the world on the upcoming Bandwagon 4 mission with SpaceX. The Maldives has kicked off the $50 million MAL leaves space for Islands fund. Cosmic Shielding Corporation has been awarded a $4 million tactical funding increase contract from the US Department of War. Safran Federal Systems has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The UK Space Agency and UK Space Command have announced a new project to detect and analyze lasers that are currently being used against UK Satell. Happy Friday. You made it everybody. Let's dive in. The head of the UK Space Agency, Major General Paul Tedman, has shared that Russian forces have been actively trying to disrupt UK based military activities weekly and we're closely monitoring the country's space assets. The news comes as the British government announces new investment in sensors that that will protect satellites and enhance security from attacks by adversaries and the UK government plans to spend £500,000 on this project. The funding was first allocated as part of the UKSA's unlocking space for Government program which aims to harness space to improve UK public services and strengthen national security. As part of the government's plan for change. A UK Government Commission security review published this summer said Britain urgently needs to bolster defenses for military space systems as adversaries improve their own abilities to attack space. And we do hope that the new project does enough to protect critical space based assets that are used from everything from bank transfers to weather forecasts to emergency services and intelligence operations. Safran Federal Systems has been awarded a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, better known to most of us as darpa. The contract falls under the Robust Quantum Sensor Program, which is a key initiative supporting the Department of Defense's drive to deliver assured position, navigation and timing in contested and GPS denied environments Safran will develop quantum sensors that are inherently resistant to environmental disruptions, and these sensors are expected to enable reliable navigation across multiple domains, helping reduce dependence on GPS and strengthening operational readiness for U.S. and allied forces. The award covers the first phase of the program in which Safran will complete the quantum sensor development, including tests on a military helicopter to demonstrate effectiveness in one of the most challenging environmental conditions. Cosmic Shield Incorporation has been awarded a $4 million tactical funding increase contract from the US Department of Defense, sometimes also known lately as the US Department of War. The award includes a $2 million match from the US Air Force and Space Force and will be managed through AF Works to accelerate the development of next generation radiation protection systems for space electronics. Cosmic Shielding's products protect electronics so that they can survive much longer in orbit with minimal bit flip errors, and they've already proven their concepts in both in space missions, including a SpaceX launch that protected the Nvidia Jetson Orin NX GPU and in high energy radiation tests on Earth. Using the new TAC FI contract, Cosmic Shielding Corporation plans to develop a modeling tool that predicts how any electronic system will perform in space once it is shielded. You know, earlier this week we mentioned that Axiom Space had signed an MOU with the Maldives, but we missed a big part of that announcement and here it is now. The Maldives has also kicked off the Maldives Space for Islands Fund, and the Fund is a $50 million initiative which aims to transform the nation's equatorial position into a cornerstone of the future space economy. The Maldives already boasts a strong space industry with ground stations and astronomy infrastructure, and it's already conducting a feasibility study for a potential spaceport, yes, spaceport in the Maldives. The Maldives Space Fund is domiciled in the UAE's financial ecosystem. Exo launch is manifested to deploy 13 satellites for customers around the world on the upcoming bandwagon 4 mission with SpaceX. The flight is scheduled to lift off no earlier than November 2025 from Cape Canaveral Space Force Base in Florida aboard a Falcon 9 rocket. Bandwagon four builds on Exolaunch's steady growth, enabling launch access for cubesats and microsatellites supporting Earth observation IOT as well as science and technology demonstration missions with customers originating from Argentina, Czechia, Finland, the Netherlands, Turkey and the United States. And we look forward to seeing this one take.