← T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
T-Minus: Space-Cyber Briefing
X37-B Spaceplane is scheduled for its eighth mission.
00:27:12
USSF’s X37-B to launch again on August 21. Firefly targets $5.5B valuation in its IPO. Boeing reports strongest quarter financial results since ‘23. And more.
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- [00:02]
Maria Varmazes
You're listening to the N2K space network.
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Dave
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- [01:27]
Maria Varmazes
Today is July 29th, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T minus.
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Kevin Curran
T minus 20 seconds.
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Maria Varmazes
The Canadian space Agency has selected MDA Space to conduct an early phase study for Canada's proposed lunar utility vehicle. The heads of NASA and Roscosmos are planning on holding their first in person meeting since 2018. Boeing's Defense, Space and Security division reported $6.6 billion in revenue for Q2. Firefly Aerospace is targeting a valuation of about five and a half billion dollars in its U.S. initial public offering. The U.S. space Force's X37B space plane is schedul lift off for its eighth mission on August 21st. And our guest today is cinematographer Kevin Curran. Kevin has captured launches for Blue Origin, SpaceX and more and shares his insights into the visual storytelling of space. And he's speaking with T Minus producer Alice Carruth today. So stay with us for more on that after our headlines. Thanks for joining me today everybody. I am back from vacation and glad to be here. Let's dive into it, shall we? And we are starting off with the announcement that the US's secretive space plane is heading up on a not so secretive next mission. According to a Space Force press release, the X37B Mission 8 will launch next month on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket designated USSF 36, which is with a wide range of test and experimentation objectives. During its mission, it's expected to test laser communications and the highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever tested in space. The Space force says that Mission 8 will contribute to improving the resilience, efficiency and security of US Space based communications architectures by conducting laser communications demonstrations involving proliferated commercial satellite networks in low Earth orbit. Laser communications are integral to the future of space communications as the shorter wavelength of infrared light increases the amount of data that can be sent with each transmission. Additionally, they are more secure than traditional radio frequency transmissions owing to the more targeted nature of laser beams. The Space Force says that the use of proliferated relay networks enhances the resilience of US Space architectures by ensuring that they contain no single point of failure. Additionally, Mission eight will demonstrate the world's highest performing quantum inertial sensor ever used in space. This demo will inform accurate unaided navigation in space by detecting rotation and acceleration of atoms without reliance on satellite networks like traditional gps. And this technology is useful for navigation in GPS denied environments and consequently will enhance the navigational resilience of US Spacecraft and in the space of current and emerging threats. The X37B is scheduled to launch on its eighth mission on August 21 from Kennedy Space center in Florida. Firefly Aerospace is targeting a valuation of about $5.5 billion in its U.S. initial public offering. A new filing shared that Firefly intends to shell 16.2 million shares, which will be priced between $35 and $39 apiece, to raise as much as $631.8 million. The company was valued at over $2 billion in a November 2024 funding round when it had raised $175 million earlier this year. US defense contractor Northrop Grumman also invested $50 million in the launch company. Firefly Aerospace has forged collaborations with industry giants Lockheed Martin and L3Harris as well. It will trade on the NASDAQ under the ticker symbol FLY after the IPO closes. Aerospace giant Boeing has reported its strongest quarter financial results since 2023. Boeing's defense, space and security division reported $6.6 billion in revenue for the quarter, bolstered by a contract from the US Air Force to build 4T 7A Red Hawk production representative. Aircraft backlog at Defense, Space and security grew to $74 billion, with 22% representing orders from customers outside of the United States. The next flight of Boeing's Starliner to the ISS is not expected before 2026, and it's not known yet if it will carry a crew. The heads of NASA and Roscosmos are planning on holding their first in person meeting since 2018 the head of Russian Space Agency Roscosmos Dmitry Bakanov has arrived in Houston for talks with the interim head of NASA, Sean Duffy. Russian media is reporting that the parties plan to discuss ongoing joint projects. Bakanov released the statement that we plan to discuss the continuation of the cross flight program, the extension of the International Space Station's operational life and the work of the Russia US Joint Task Force on the Future safe deorbiting and controlled ocean disposal of the iss. Bakanov, together with NASA officials, will visit divisions of the Johnson Space center and Boeing's production facility for talks with the company's space program leadership. SpaceX Crew 12 is due to lift off to the International Space Station later this week carrying Russian cosmonaut Oleg Platanov, and the Canadian Space Agency has selected MDA Space to conduct an early phase study for Canada's proposed Lunar Utility Vehicle. The study follows on the heels of a successful autonomous lunar surface demonstration by the MDA Space team at the Canadian Space agency in December 2024. NDA Space plans to collaborate with the Centre de Technologies, Evanse b' Europe University de Sherbrooke and the University of Toronto Institute for Aerospace Studies. The phase of work will define the mission concept and technology development plan and the study will focus on mission architecture, technology options and risk assessments, ensuring that the technologies required for funeralunar logistics and mobility are mission ready. And that concludes today's intelligence briefing for you. N2K senior producer Alice Carruth joins us now with some of the other stories that are making the headlines today. Alice, what do you have?
- [08:20]
Alice Carruth
Firstly, thank goodness you're back. My husband took too much pleasure from my mispronunciations all week. I hope you had a good vacation and you're suitably rested.
- [08:29]
Maria Varmazes
Suitably and sufficiently. Yes, thank you.
- [08:31]
Alice Carruth
Good, good. Because as always, things are busy in the space industry. I've added two additional stories in the selected reading section for today. One is on the European Space Agency selecting Spire Global for a new weather data contract and the other is a strategic partnership announcement between starlab and Journey.
- [08:49]
Maria Varmazes
And a reminder that in addition to the show notes that are available on your podcast platform, you will also find links to all of the stories mentioned throughout our show and on our website, which is space.n2k.com hey t/ crew, if you are just joining us, first of all welcome and be sure to follow T minus Space daily in your favorite podcast app. Also, if you could do us a favor, please share our show with your friends and co workers. That's because a growing audience is the most important thing for us. And we would love your help as part of the T minus crew. So if you find our show useful, which is, we always hope that you do, please share T minus so other folks like you can find us. Thank you so much. It means a lot to me and all of us here at T minus.
- [09:52]
Dave
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- [10:32]
Maria Varmazes
Up next, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth spoke to cinematographer Kevin Curran about visual storytelling and space launch.
- [10:43]
Kevin Curran
My name is Kevin Curran. I've been a cinematographer for almost 30 years. So I've worked for Blue Origin, SpaceX, NASA, on Artemis, Mobier, own spaceport. And then with what little free time I had, I, I started producing a documentary that I co produced with the late great Brian Binney, who was the second commercial astronaut. And unfortunately he passed away during the making of it. But I hope to honor his legacy and his story, which he shared with me. And I hope to share that story with the world in the next few months.
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Alice Carruth
Essentially, you're a storyteller like I am, which I think is a really important role that I think we kind of gloss over when it comes to space. What attracted you to space in particular? You've kind of mentioned it's something you've been interested in for a while. Is there any one spark that really triggered it for you?
- [11:33]
Kevin Curran
Yeah, it was definitely Star Trek and Star wars as a kid. I mean, I was six years old when Star wars came out and just avidly, I mean, it just blew my mind. I couldn't line up fast enough again and again and again to go see that movie. So it was something very, I don't know, lizard brain, young mind that just triggered in me. And Star Trek was really the next thing that absolutely got me looking up and thinking about kind of where we at, our, where we're at in human history and where we can be. It got me to think grand big perspectives. And I have a very strange Star Trek story that was kind of a weird full circle story if you want to hear it. Yeah, Blue Origin. Yeah. So before I got the job at Blue Origin, I Basically did the postcards with my daughter for Club for the Future. And that was May of 2021. And a friend called me up, knowing that I was interested in space. I basically told everybody what I wanted to do, all my network of friends. And then one of those friends really looked out for me. So he got a call to become a camera operator for Blue Origin. He couldn't do it. He said, I know the perfect guy to do it. And I got that referral. And what that referral ended up being was a job for being the closest camera operator to the capsule, to capture the reactions of the astronauts, then astronauts as they exited, so that my camera was live streamed to the world. And the weird full circle story about that is that the person that sparked me to become interested in space was William Shatner. And so on NS18, which was the second human space flight, first one being Bezos and the Team, I had a chance to capture the reaction of William Shatner talking to Jeff Bezos from five feet away. That whole interaction that the world saw, I was right there. And the weirdest part of that story is that my daughter's postcards were at the feet of William shatner as ballast, 10ft away from me. So the ones that we sent from Burbank, California were randomly on that new Shepherd NS18 flight.
- [14:00]
Alice Carruth
Wow.
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Kevin Curran
And my daughter got to watch the whole thing live streamed on CNN at home.
- [14:05]
Alice Carruth
I feel like the whole universe watched that one, particularly because it was William Shatner and what an emotional response he had. I mean, you captured that. I think everybody thinks back to that moment when he came out and he was crying and was really moved and felt like his full circle moment had been achieved. What an amazing thing to be able to say that you were there and you were the one that captured that mom. And it kind of leads me to thinking about telling the story of space. Obviously, you've been such a huge part of it, visually capturing these stories. What do you think we're doing wrong when it comes to space for general public? Because there's still this weird, you know, reluctance for people to get behind space as something that's good for all of humanity. Where do you think we're missing that spark?
- [14:48]
Kevin Curran
Yeah, I think it's several things. It's a confluence of things. But I remember James Cameron used to talk about it quite a bit, and he talked about it was the entertainment factor that, that NASA was bringing to it to capture young minds. So I'm trying to alleviate that in some small way by doing this project that I did with Brian Binney, which is part of a much bigger pitch that I can't necessarily talk about right now, but there's a lot of really big people behind it. But it focuses more on the human aspect of it and lets the technology be background. So kind of like, you know, when people landed on the moon, it sparked a lot of people to pursue careers in space because there was a big visual event. They didn't start with the technology. They started with the big, wow, entertainment factor of it. And then people who were sparked by that, that. That touched. They pursued all the rest, they pursued the science. But it started with an event. It started with a visual, entertaining event. And I think that's what is missing.
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Alice Carruth
Yeah, I completely agree. I mean, unfortunately, I feel like it backfired a little bit when it came to the latest celebrity launch with Blue Origin with Katy Perry. But I think it was more about the minutiae of the language around it all. And I wish we'd done it a little bit better. But I still agree with you. I still think it'd be something that we need to be pursuing. You've covered a lot of events and you mentioned and touched a little bit on not just the Blue Origin flights, but also Artemis. You've got to a favorite, baby, so far. Which one you've covered, which one do you feel like touched you the most as a space fan and as a.
- [16:28]
Kevin Curran
Cinematographer working with Blue Origin? Just because I was right there in the trenches with Artemis. I worked for Meta and Felix and Paul, and so we were the closest stage to the Artemis launch, and it's still incredibly overwhelming. And we had Doug Hurley and Karen Nyberg as our hosts. But I would say the Blue Origin, just because it was so visceral and kind of gritty, being in the trenches and all figuring it out together at the same time. And it's really a company that could become anything 100, 200 years from now. And to be there for first human spaceflight and for several human space flights was an honor. And kind of back to what you were saying about the Katy Perry flight. What I think happened was it was a reaction that people have had against perceiving private space flight as a billionaire endeavor and ignoring the problems here on Earth. I think somehow that perception has galvanized in that troll community or whatever it is, instead of understanding that suborbital spaceflight is a launching point to something much, much bigger, you know, for Blue Origin and for really all of these companies in particular. And I think that's what was kind of missed by at least the general public. I don't think it was a failure of communications at a place like Blue Origin, but somehow that became, that belief system, became galvanized.
- [18:11]
Alice Carruth
I've seen lots of amateur photographers and videographers at events that have gone to capture Anything from Falcon 9 launches to the suborbital human space flights. What advice do you give to them to get to that next stage to become a photographer and videographer of events like you've covered?
- [18:27]
Kevin Curran
I would say really just pursue your dreams. I mean, there was a cinematographer that I met, I'm a union camera operator. And so we have to attend these things called safety events. And so I went for one with respiration and they call roll call at the beginning of every single one of these events. And there's only three of us in this respiratory event. And one of them was Dante Spinotti, who ended up being Michael Mann's cinematographer for things like Heat, like Big, what we call ASC cinematographers, the best of the best. And so I pulled him aside afterwards and I said, do you mind if I have a full moment your time? And he was very incredibly generous with his time with me. And what he said to me, which was, you know, as his biggest piece of advice, which is very obvious, but unless you really stop to think about these things, they just kind of go past you. He said to me, reach out to the people that you want to work with and the companies you want to work for, instead of just taking every job that comes your way. And that really resonated with me. And that's what I would really recommend to young cinematographers, if you know what you want to do. If you can live life backwards a little bit like from your deathbed, saying, I wish I would have done this, I wish I would have pursued that. If you can answer that question or you think you can pursue that thing. And I think really I'd like to leave people with just that childlike curiosity. Never left me. If you just keep asking questions, you're always going to be curious. It always leads to the next thing. And the further you go out into space, I mean, the more fascinating it gets, you know, so just be curious, look up, ask big questions, ask kind of where we're at in the grand scheme of things and, and pursue those answers and it will humble you and make you look.
- [20:34]
Maria Varmazes
We'll be right back.
- [20:40]
Dave
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- [21:31]
Maria Varmazes
Welcome back. It was on this day, 67 years ago, that the United States officially entered the space age. On July 29, 1958, President Eisenhower signed the National Aeronautics and Space act into law to provide for research into problems of flight within and outside the Earth's atmosphere and for other purposes. And with that, NASA was born. This new agency that is so well loved and respected today also marked a new way of thinking for exploration and technical and scientific advancement. Remember, NASA is a peaceful, civilian led approach to exploring space, which seemed revolutionary and frankly still does when you consider that it came at a time when rockets mostly meant weapons. The National Aeronautics in Space act laid out an exemplary vision for discovery, innovation and international cooperation that formed the bedrock of NASA's mission and shapes not just that one agency, but really much of the ethos driving the space world today. So let's think about it for a moment, shall we? From Mercury to Apollo to Artemis, from moon rocks to Mars rovers to Jovian explorers to our great observatories like Hubble and Webb, to our interstellar voyagers, all of it and much more traces back to that one piece of legislation. Not bad for a 67 year old birthday. And that's T minus. Brought to you by N2K CyberWire we would 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 this show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or if you feel like it, send an email to space2k.com we always love to hear from you and 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 Fortuna 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 how@n2k.com N2K Senior Producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltier and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Ivan. Peter Kilby is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazes. Thanks for listening. I'll see you tomorrow.
- [24:25]
Kevin Curran
T minus.
- [24:39]
Dave
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