Vulcan Blasts Off, Ariane Delivers, and Portugal Joins the Spaceport Club.

Summary

T-Minus Space Daily: Vulcan Blasts Off, Ariane Delivers, and Portugal Joins the Spaceport Club
Released on August 13, 2025
Host: Maria Varmazes

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1. United Launch Alliance's Vulcan Rocket Successfully Launches USSF106 Mission

At 8:56 PM local time on August 12, 2025, United Launch Alliance (ULA) made headlines with the successful launch of its next-generation Vulcan rocket from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. This mission marked the first national security space launch aboard Vulcan and demonstrated one of ULA's longest missions, lasting over seven hours and reaching altitudes exceeding 22,000 miles above Earth to complete satellite deployment.

Tory Bruno, ULA President and CEO, emphasized the rocket's specialized design for government missions:

"[Vulcan] is specifically designed for these exotic orbits that are primarily for the government."
(Timestamp: 02:15)

The primary payload, USSF-106, carries the Navigation Technology Satellite 3 (NTS3), an Air Force Vanguard Program experiment developed by L3Harris Technologies under the Air Force Research Laboratory. NTS3 is poised to enhance the Positioning, Navigation, and Timing (PNT) architecture through agile positioning, flexible reprogrammable signals, an electronically steerable antenna, and advanced timekeeping algorithms. This mission revives integrated navigation satellite experiments, reminiscent of the pioneering NTS1 and NTS2 satellites that laid the groundwork for the current GPS constellation.

2. Ariane 6 Debuts Metop SGA1 Satellite from French Guiana

ESA's Ariane 6 rocket successfully launched from the European Spaceport in French Guiana, deploying Umet Sat's Metop SGA1 satellite. Shortly after separation, Umet Sat confirmed signal acquisition from Metop SGA1, marking a significant milestone for European polar-orbiting weather satellites.

Metop SGA1 is equipped with six atmospheric sounding and imaging instruments, providing vital optical, infrared, and microwave data essential for weather forecasting, climate monitoring, and various other applications. Additionally, the satellite hosts the Sentinel-5 atmospheric monitoring mission, integral to the European Commission's Copernicus program.

Listeners on the US and Canada east coast might have witnessed the distinctive spiraling trajectory of Ariane 6 as it ascended to its polar orbit, a sight that underscores the rocket's successful deployment.

3. Atlantic Spaceport Consortium Licenses Malbuska Launch Center in the Azores

In a strategic expansion of Europe's space infrastructure, the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium (ASC) obtained its license to operate a new spaceport in Santa Maria, Azores, now officially named the Malbuska Launch Center. This achievement, sanctioned by Portugal's space authority Enecom, positions Malbuska as a pivotal hub enhancing European access to space and contributing to the global space economy.

ASC aims to attract various launcher operators to Malbuska Launch Center, with plans already underway to host the first suborbital flights scheduled for spring 2026. This development not only diversifies Europe's launch capabilities but also fosters regional economic growth within the Azores.

4. NASA Awards Contracts to KBR and Momentus for Human Health and Robotics Studies

NASA continues to bolster its support infrastructure with significant contract awards:

• KBR has been selected to provide services to the Human Health and Performance Directorate at NASA’s Johnson Space Center in Houston, Texas. The Human Health and Performance Contract 2 is a five-year, single-award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract valued at an estimated $3.6 billion. It encompasses support for programs such as the Human Research Program, International Space Station Program, Commercial Crew Program, Artemis Campaign, and others. Services include ensuring astronaut health, safety, performance, occupational health services, and researching risk mitigation for future spaceflight crews.

• Momentus received a contract under NASA's Flight Opportunities Program to conduct a terrestrial study exploring options to fly advanced robotic systems into space aboard its upcoming orbital service vehicle flights. Having completed the initial contract work, Momentus anticipates submitting a proposal for a follow-on mission to demonstrate this foundational robotics technology in space. NASA is expected to announce the award decision in September, with Momentus being one of two companies under consideration.

5. Sad News: Passing of Saxeford Spaceport CEO Frank Strang

At 07:51, host Maria Varmazes shared the somber news of the passing of Frank Strang, CEO of Saxeford Spaceport. Strang was remembered as a gracious guest, and N2K extended condolences to his family, friends, and colleagues. His contributions to the spaceport industry and his leadership at Saxeford are widely mourned within the community.

6. Notable Incident: Meteorite Crashes Through Georgia Home

In a striking incident discussed at 09:37, a meteorite narrowly missed a resident in McDonough, Georgia, crashing through his home mere feet from where he was residing. The event, which occurred on June 26, involved a 50-gram space rock dubbed the McDonough meteorite. The meteorite penetrated the roof, ductwork, and ceiling, leaving a fist-sized dent in the laminate flooring and producing a sound akin to a close-range gunshot upon impact.

Planetary Geologist Scott Harris from the University of Georgia provided insights into the meteorite's origins:

"The meteorite is 4.56 billion years old, about 20 million years older than the Earth itself... it belongs to a group of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that we now think we can tie to a breakup of a much larger asteroid around 470 million years ago."
(Timestamp: 08:30)

Harris emphasized the importance of studying such meteorites to better understand larger asteroids that could pose significant planetary threats in the future. This incident also raises pertinent questions about homeowner insurance coverage for space debris-related damages, likening it to severe hail damage but with unique legal and practical challenges.

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Conclusion

This episode of T-Minus Space Daily encapsulated significant advancements in rocket launches, satellite deployments, spaceport developments, and critical NASA contracts, alongside poignant personal news and an extraordinary meteorite incident. For comprehensive details on these stories and more, listeners are encouraged to visit N2K Networks and explore the show notes available on their website.

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Notable Quotes:

• Tory Bruno, ULA President and CEO:
  "Vulcan is specifically designed for these exotic orbits that are primarily for the government."
  (02:15)

• Scott Harris, Planetary Geologist:
  "The meteorite is 4.56 billion years old, about 20 million years older than the Earth itself... it belongs to a group of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that we now think we can tie to a breakup of a much larger asteroid around 470 million years ago."
  (08:30)

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For more updates, expert interviews, and in-depth analysis, stay tuned to N2K Networks' T-Minus Space Daily.

Transcript

[Maria Varmazes]

You're listening to the N2K space network.

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[Maria Varmazes]

Today is August 13th, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T minus T minus 22nd. Los T dress momentous has been awarded a contract by NASA to perform a study to fly critical foundational robotics technologies into space. NASA has selected KBR to provide services to the Human Health and Performance Directorate at Johnson Space Center. The Atlantic Spaceport Consortium has obtained its license to operate a spaceport in Santa Maria, Azores. Arianespace's Ariane 6 lifts off from ESA's spaceport in French Guiana carrying Umet Sat's Metop SGA1 satellite. A United Launch Alliances Vulcan rocket launched from Cape canaveral carrying the USSF106 mission for the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command. Happy Wednesday everybody. Hope you're having a great one. It was an exciting night on the eastern shore of both north and South America last night and we will get to French Guiana shortly. But let's start with ULA's Vulcan launch from Florida first, shall we? And at 8:56pm local time yesterday, United Launch Alliance's Vulcan lifted off from Space Launch Complex 41 at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. The mission marked the first national security space launch aboard the next generation Vulcan rocket. It also marked one of ULA's longest ever launches, lasting more than seven hours and extending more than 22,000 miles above Earth to complete deployment. ULA President and CEO Tory Bruno told media that Vulcan is specifically designed for these exotic orbits that are primarily for the government. Vulcan carried a satellite for the United States Space Force's Space Systems Command. The primary payload for the mission, called USSF 106, is the Navigation Technology Satellite 3, which is an Air Force Vanguard Program experiment provided by the Air Force Research Laboratory and built by L3Harris Technologies. NTS3 will demonstrate an agile positioning, navigation and timing payload at near geosynchronous orbit and is part of an effort to achieve a more robust, resilient and responsive PNT architecture. The US Space Force says it will demonstrate this through flexible reprogrammable signals, an electronically steerable antenna and advanced timekeeping algorithms. NTS3 is the first US integrated navigation satellite experiment in nearly 50 years, following in the footsteps of NTS1 and NTS2, which paved the way for the current GPS constellation. And the second big launch that we saw last night was the Ariane 6 liftoff from ESA's spaceport in French Guiana. The the heavy lift launcher carried Umet Sat's Metop SGA1 satellite, and a few minutes after separation, UMET SAT successfully acquired signals from the satellite. The Metop SGA1 satellite is the first of the next generation of European polar orbiting weather satellites. Now heading into a polar orbit around 800 km above the Earth's surface, Metop SGA1 will soon begin transmitting high resolution and high quality observations from its onboard instruments. Metop SGA1 hosts a total of six atmospheric sounding and imaging instrument missions that will provide optical, infrared and microwave observations that are essential data for weather forecasting, climate monitoring and a wide range of other services and applications. The spacecraft is also carrying the new Sentinel 5 atmospheric monitoring mission, which is part of the European Commission's Copernicus program. And a little footnote, if you were on the US or Canada east coast last night and saw something kind of spirally in the sky, it's indeed that actually was the Ariane 6 heading to its polar orbit. Very, very cool, huh? And staying in Europe News the Atlantic Spaceport Consortium, known as asc, has obtained its license to operate a spaceport in Santa Maria in the Azores. The spaceport, now designated as the Malbuska Launch center, is the first to be licensed by the Portuguese space Authority called enecom. ASC says the Malbuska Launch center is positioned to contribute to greater European access to space and add value to the glob global space economy. With the license now obtained, ASC aims to advance to the next level of activity, continuing to attract launcher operators to the Malbuska Launch Center. The ASC says that they have already signed contracts for the first suborbital flights to occur in the spring of 2026. Don't need to twist my arm to get me to visit the Azores. NASA has selected KBR to provide services to the Human Health and Performance Directorate at the agency's Johnson Space center in Houston, Texas. The Human Health and Performance Contract 2 is a follow on single award, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract that begins its five year period of performance on November 1st with two possible option periods that could extend it through 2035. The total estimated value of the base period plus the optional periods is $3.6 billion. The contract will acquire support services for several programs, primarily at NASA Johnson. This includes the Human Research Program, International Space Station Program, Commercial Crew Program, Artemis Campaign, OH, and more. Services include ensuring crew health, safety and performance, providing occupational health services, and conducting research into mitigating risks to the health, safety and performance of future spaceflight crews. And KBR is not the only lucky recipient of a contract by the US Space Agency. Momentus has been awarded a contract by NASA to perform a study to fly critical foundational robotics technologies into space, and the contract was awarded under NASA's Flight Opportunities Program and it tasks momentous with conducting a terrestrial study that explores options to fly advanced robotic systems in space aboard one of its upcoming orbital service vehicle flights. Momentous has subsequently completed work under this initial contract and expects to submit a proposal to NASA to fly a follow on mission that would demonstrate this technology in space. NASA expects to award a contract in September and Momentous is one of two companies under evaluation for this larger contract for the follow on mission. Best of luck to them. And that concludes today's intel briefing for you. But stay with us for more on the meteorite that punctured through a residence in the state of Georgia earlier this summer. But before that, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth joins us now. Alice, what additional stories are you following today?

[Alice Carruth]

I'm sorry to say that we're starting with the sad news that Saxeford Spaceport CEO Frank Strang has passed away. We at N2K send our condolences to his wife Debbie, his family, friends and colleagues. There's also two other stories in today's selected Reading section of our show Notes. One covers new details on the Golden Dome system and the other is on Ukraine's Direct to Cell demonstration with starlink.

[Maria Varmazes]

That is sad news indeed about Frank. He was a gracious guest and I am sure he will be missed by many and more. Details about all the stories that we mention throughout the show can be found by following the links in our show notes, which are also included on our website space.n2k.com@/crew if you find our podcast useful, please do us a favor and share a five star rating and short review in your favorite podcast app. If you do that, it'll help other space professionals like you to find the show and join us here on T Minus. Thank you so much for your support everybody. We really appreciate it. We will be right back.

[Ben Yellen]

I'm Ben Yellen, co host of the Caveat Podcast. Each Thursday, we sit down and talk about the biggest legal and policy developments affecting technology that are shaping our world. Whether it be sitting down with experts or government officials, or breaking down the latest political developments, we talk about the stories that will have tangible impacts on businesses and people around the world. If you are looking to stay informed on what is happening and how it could impact you, make sure to listen to the Caveat podcast.

[Maria Varmazes]

Welcome back. We've covered quite a few times on the show that space debris poses quite a conundrum geopolitically and practically right now, when it comes crashing down through people's homes or into their farmyards, it is still a lot harder than it should be to track down who's responsible for paying for the damage and and then have them actually pay up. But today we had a related question during our daily editorial meeting and it's this. When a space rock comes crashing through your home, narrowly missing you, thankfully, but leaving quite a trail of damage, what is a homeowner to do? Does standard homeowners insurance cover that? Sort of like hail damage but on steroids, or is it a force majeure situation? In other words, is a space rock an act of God? Wild question. Right. And we were asking it because of a new story in the New York Times about an incident this past June 26 that happened to a resident who lives in McDonough, which is just south of Atlanta, Georgia. He was narrowly missed by a meteorite ripping through his home a mere 14ft between him and a terrible fate. The resident said it created a sound in his home similar to a close range gunshot on impact. And that meteorite ripped through his roof ductwork and ceiling and left a fist sized dent in his laminate flooring. Unless you imagine that this was some decent sized rock hurtling through. No, indeed. 50 grams of space rock in total was recovered. And the largest bit that was studied is the size of a cherry tomato. Yeah, high speed cherry tomato, big damage. And a planetary geologist at the University of Georgia named Scott Harris has studied that space rock cherry tomato now named the McDonough meteorite. And it ends up that in addition to its splashy entrance here on Earth, it has an interesting backstory. Apparently the meteorite is 4.56 billion years old, about 20 million years older than the Earth itself. And this is what Harris also added. It belongs to a group of asteroids in the main asteroid belt between Mars and Jupiter that we now think we can tie to a breakup of a much larger asteroid around 470 million years ago. But in that breakup, some pieces get into Earth crossing orbits, and if given long enough, their orbit around the sun and Earth's orbit around the sun end up being at the same place at the same moment in time. Now, studying these tiny bits that make it through our atmosphere do help us better understand their bigger cousins that could potentially pose a planetary threat. Just ask the dinosaurs. In the meantime, here is hoping that when meteorites crash land, we all continue to avoid bodily harm and that everyone's homeowners insurance decides to be generous. And that is 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 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 space2k.com we're 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 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 Varmazes. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. T minus.