From new launch vehicles, manufacturing and launch facilities, and even the increasing launch pace, there is a lot happening space wise all across China. So if you are not paying attention to the breakneck pace of space industry in China, you really need to be. Today is June 10th, 2024. I'm Maria Varmausis and this is T-minus. China completes a new launch pad. NASA funds new studies to keep the Mars sample return program alive. Red wire to develop ROSA for the Telus-Alenia space satellites. And today we're following up with Dr. Sharon Lamak-Vinceer, academic at the University of Strathclyde on her Cybersecurity in Space Executive Course. We'll be sharing lessons learned and more details about the next course later in the show. Happy Monday! Let's get into our Intel briefing. And no doubt you've heard us mention in previous shows the Juchuan Satellite Launch Center in the Gobi Desert in China's Northwest, as well as Wanchai space launch site to China's very south, in the island province of Hainan in the south China Sea. And as Wenchang is often compared to Cape Canaveral, doubtless anyone surprised to hear that construction there is booming as China's work in space continues to ramp up. And there is a new facility that just completed construction at Wenchang, China's very first liquid fuel rocket launch pad. After two years of construction work, this new launch pad is the second commercial spacecraft pad at Wenchang. It was designed to work with more than 10 different rocket configurations across launch vehicle providers in China. Chinese news media CGTN says that the pad has what's called a "rapid launch mode" to facilitate increased launch efficiency and cadence. And now that the pad's construction is complete, work begins to get it fully up and running for its first launch. And just when we all thought that the NASA Mars sample return program was dead, the US space agency revives our hopes by funding 10 new studies to examine more affordable and faster methods of bringing samples from Mars' surface back to Earth. Hooray! NASA is awarding a firm fixed price contract for up to $1.5 million to conduct 90-day studies to seven industry proposers. Once completed, NASA will assess all the studies to consider alterations or enhancements to the Mars sample return architecture. Lockheed Martin, SpaceX, Aerojet, Rocketdyne, and Blue Origin are among the companies and proposals that were selected following the agency's call for submissions. Let's hope that in 90 days we have a pathway forward for the Mars sample return program. All my fingers crossed. And staying with the US space agency, NASA says it will roll the fully assembled core stage for the agency's space launch system rocket that will carry the first crewed Artemis mission out of NASA's Mishu assembly facility in New Orleans in mid-July. The 212-foot-tall stage will be loaded on the agency's Pegasus barge for delivery to Kennedy Space Center in Florida. The rocket stage, with its four RS-25 engines, will provide more than 2 million pounds of thrust to send astronauts aboard the Orion spacecraft for the Artemis-2 mission. Once at Kennedy, teams with NASA's Exploration Ground Systems program will finish outfitting the stage and prepare it for stacking and launch. Artemis-2 is currently scheduled for launch in late 2025. And it is with heavy hearts that we share the news of the passing of Apollo astronaut William Anders. Bill Anders was part of the Apollo 8 crew and the artist behind the Earthrise photograph that has captured imaginations for the past 60-plus years. The image was summed up perfectly by Anders, who shared that experience, stating, "We came all this way to explore the Moon, and the most important thing is that we discovered the Earth." NASA Administrator Bill Nelson shared the sentiment about Bill Anders' passing. He not only saw new things but inspired generation upon generation to see new possibilities and new dreams, to voyage on Earth, in space, and in the skies. When America returns astronauts to the Moon under the Artemis campaign and ultimately ventures onward to Mars, we will carry the memory and legacy of Bill with us. Add Astra, Bill Anders. Moving on to industry news now. Redwire Corporation has been selected to develop and deliver roll-out solar array wings called Rosa for the Telus Alenia Space's Space Inspire satellites. Inspire is Telus Alenia's newest product line of geostationary telecommunications satellites. The development of Telus Alenia Space's Space Inspire product line is supported by the French National Space Agency, CNES. The cooperation between Redwire and Telus Alenia on this project was initiated last year. Last Tuesday, we had an interview with Erin Miller on the show, the executive director of the U.S. Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center, otherwise known as the Space ISAC. The organization has reaffirmed its recommendation to maintain the threat level at level 3 for U.S. cyber warfare and space weather threats. The level is high for the space industry. That decision is informed by input from Space ISAC's members and partners. Space ISAC says the purpose of this announcement is to raise awareness of the space industry, government and international partner perspective on the current threat level faced in space. And hopefully, it informs new space companies on the need to bake in cybersecurity plans early in their mission setups. Virgin Galactic successfully held a suborbital spaceflight on Saturday from Spaceport America in New Mexico. The space tourism company flew one researcher from the Turkish Space Agency and three private astronauts to an apogee of 54.4 miles. The Galactic 07 mission also flew two autonomous rack-mounted payloads supported by NASA's Flight Opportunities Program, carrying research for Purdue University and the University of California Berkeley. The flight was the last for the Virgin Galactic spaceplane named Unity as the company transitions to the next-generation spaceplanes, which they hope will fly passengers the edge of space starting in 2026. Norway has made the transition for launch permit authority from the country's Ministry of Trade and Fisheries to the Norwegian Civil Aviation Authority. Norway has hosted suborbital rocket launches over many decades, including those of ESA, NASA, JAXA, and DLR. However, with the opening of the country's new orbital launch facility, the country has identified the need for a more comprehensive permit regime. The new launch facility, which was opened in November 2023, is preparing to host the inaugural Flight of Spectrum, a two-stage micro launcher being developed by a German launch provider, ISAR Aerospace. The Scottish Space Network has announced a new partnership with New York-based Sustainable Alpha to open up investment opportunities for the Scottish, UK, and international space sectors. The collaboration will initially focus on identifying the funding needs of the industry and developing an investment strategy. The partnership will also look to secure opportunities for the global investment community to invest in leading early-stage and scaling space tech businesses. It will also provide business support for early-stage space startups, helping to establish companies that can deliver long-term growth, scale, and economic and societal impact, while adding training and skills development to bring more talent into the space industry. That concludes our briefing for today, and all the stories that we've mentioned are linked in our show notes so you can read more about them. We've also included three additional articles in the selected reading section, including an announcement from Planet Labs on a new technology partnership, Booze Allen Acquisition Story, and a piece announcing RTX's award by the US Navy to develop lasers. Hey, T-Minus Crew! Every Monday we produce a written intelligence roundup. It is called Signals and Space. So if you happen to miss any T-Minus episodes, this strategic intelligence product will get you up to speed in the fastest way possible. It is all signal, no noise. You can sign up for Signals and Space in our show notes or at space.ntuk.com. Our guest today is Dr. Sharon Lamakvinceer, academic at the University of Strathclyde. There's been a space in cyber workshop that you held with executives, and since we last chatted it has happened. So I was wondering, just tell me how it went, how did it go? Yeah, so we had the 3D executive course, so it wasn't a workshop, it was a course, yeah. It's a course, yeah, yeah, yeah. And it was an executive course that had postgraduate microcredentials as well, so that was kind of cool. So, you know, the executives were leaving with some qualifications if you like. The course was amazing, it was so much fun. So one of the cool things on the course was the case study that I had developed for the executives, so it was about making decisions and putting yourselves in a scenario. So I had developed it for a future mission, because the UK's got a mission coming up next year in partnership with Axon Space. So I used that as a kind of bench, as a situation for the executives to take on different roles. And it was fantastic, it worked so well. And it was great just interjecting, and kind of they thought they had solved the problem and identified, you know, who had hacked the ISS and what had happened. They weren't expecting it to be the space suit that was part of the problem. Mm-hmm. Yeah, so that was a kind of red hen and the one that caught them off guard. And they weren't really expecting the, because I don't know if you're aware, but there was an issue with a space suit and water. All right, so in 2022, I'm seeing an article here, NASA shells routine spacewalks for now due to leaky space suit helmet. Yes, so I used that case study, I used that example and put that into the case study that I wrote. So what was really neat about the case study that executives were working with was it was based on real events, but not your normal or obvious ones and some that you wouldn't necessarily have been aware of or thought about. So it was building up that picture that they had to continually think about what's going on here, what's the priority, what's a red heron. And what they said was that it was really good fun because they were able to almost get a head start. So they were thinking about the mission next year and they were doing a risk assessment of all the cyber issues and the problems that could happen. Oh, that is the idea, right? That sounds like that was the goal. 100%. But I think the really nice thing about it was was the executive said that at the end of the three day course, it totally changed their perceptions of cyber and how they could go about thinking about a cyber attack on a space-based asset. It completely changed because they had different perspectives and they'd run the simulation. So I think for me that was exciting. Can we talk about perceptions versus what they came out with? Because I love this. You must have had a nice variety of executives in your course. I imagine with some cyber knowledge, but probably not a whole lot. Nobody would call themselves a cyber expert, certainly. So what were those perceptions coming in? Just to generalize, because I'm sure they were all very different. But what were their thoughts as they were coming into the course of what a cyber issue for a space-based asset would be? Yeah. So we had lawyers, we had investors, we had one gentleman who is an expert in cyber, but we had no experience in space. We had... Oh, yep. Yeah, interesting. A finance director from a major space company, a regulator. Some people from regulation as well, looking at launch and giving you know, approvals for that. So it was a real mix and everybody came with different preconceived ideas on what they thought about cybersecurity. But in actual fact, when we went through the course and we had an overview of the ecosystem, if you like, about all the different issues that could happen, they were like, actually, I hadn't really thought about whatever it was or you know, Naomi, I hope she doesn't mind me saying, but Naomi was saying from a legal perspective, she's now been able to press your test advice and press your test what she would do in that situation. And it wasn't what she came in the course thinking she would do. I love that. I love that people had those preconceived notions and it was just, they came out with that real, much more real world example of what can happen and it changed their minds. That's so cool. That's got to be very rewarding for you Sharon, honestly. I think for me, it was super exciting because that's, as an academic, that's what you want to do and you hope that's what's going to happen, but you're never sure. So for people to get in touch and say, actually, you've really helped inform my thinking and my practice, what work can you ask for? That's exactly it. And this was such a success, it sounds like that you're doing it again. I am. I'm excited. So I imagine this experience is going to inform the next one. So tell me a bit about what you've got, what you're thinking about for the next version. So the next version, we're trying to keep components together, similar story, but I am in the process of building a decision cyber security virtual platform. They're going to be able to use for the first time. I'm kind of excited. This is a commercial project. I'm spinning out of the university. So they'll be able to use this platform and they'll be the first people to be able to use it. And also, we've got a new partnership. We're continuing the partnership with International Space University, but this time we're partnering with Spacecom Expo. They're coming to Scotland for the first time. And our executives will be spending day three at the conference and they will be taking to the stage to present their views and insights on space cyber security. Yes! That is such a big win for space cyber. Oh my God! On the stage. Hooray! We need that visibility. Yes. Yeah, exactly. And for me, it's super exciting because they're able to take that kind of learning from, I'm going to say classroom, but it's not really, but from the classroom straight to industry and help inform thinking. So for me, I think it's that quick turnaround is going to be amazing. We've talked a bit about the course that was and a little bit about the course that will be. Anything that we should leave our audience with that you want them to know. Yeah. So I'm currently conducting some research on space cyber security, obviously. And if anyone would like to take part and share their views on space cyber security and what we should be thinking about in the next five year horizon, please reach out to me at Staff Pleys University. I'd love you to get involved in the research. And thank you for having me. We'll be right back. Welcome back. An update now on a space mission that is moving one step closer to reality from mere concept. And I could not imagine a space mission more close to my heart than this one, even in my wildest imagination. The incredible biotech minds at intercellar lab have been working on fascinating experiments for years to progress biosciences and bio farming technologies on earth and for future space and interplanetary missions. And intercellar lab is now partnering with the Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Foundation for what is officially called now Mission Little Prince. And if you've ever read the book, The Little Prince, this mission sounds straight from the pages of the legendary tale. They will be growing roses on the moon in a little enclosure, a sci-fi glass cloche, if you will. Why? Well, to show that you can really and to inspire young minds to protect and preserve life on earth and one day on other worlds too. The cloche's name is Bloom, a 12-view biopod payload that is an autonomous, controlled environment module designed to grow plants in a closed-loop system on the lunar surface. And Mission Little Prince is not just a very adorable photo op. The Bloom Biopod has a plant life support system, sensors, cameras, and a speaker. It'll run as an experiment to help us understand how plants fare in the lunar environment. It's a kind of poetic and romantic mission, isn't it? And those are not words that I often use for just about anything space-related. And if you also can't wait to see live roses on our own asteroid B612 stand-in, keep cheering on the iterative designs of SpaceX's starship because that is going to be our little roses ride to the moon. The floral payload will be deposited, or really I should stay very gently placed, onto the lunar surface by Astrolab's FlexRover. And should current timelines hold, it'll all happen in 2027. [Music] That's it for T-Minus for June 10th, 2024, brought to you by N2K CyberWire. For additional resources from today's report, check out our show notes at space.n2k.com. 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. And 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 us an email to space@n2k.com. Your privilege 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 makes it easy for companies to optimize your biggest investment, your people. We make you smarter about your teams while making your teams smarter. Learn how at N2K.com. This episode was produced by Alice Caruth, our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Iben. Our executive editor is Brandon Karp. Simone Petrella is our president. Peter Kilpie is our publisher. And I'm your host, Maria Varmasus. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. [Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
