Last week, we ran some news out of the US on space gains. You know, the big investment news which normally centers around the United States. There was, however, the news that the Munich-based Alpine Space Ventures closed a $184 million funding round, making them the largest first-time VC fund dedicated to space globally. Yes, big financial gains from Germany. And today we have more news from the European continent, from their most prominent rocket launcher. Today is July 15, 2024. I'm Maria Varmasus and this is T-minus. PLD Space raises 31.2 million euros. Airbus and Tullis are reportedly exploring a tie-up of some space activities. NASA launches a test balloon from Sweden. And today is the birthday of the iconic NASA Meet Paul logo. And I'll be chatting with Kristen Parker, who is NASA Glenn Research Center's Director of the Office of Communications, all about the iconic logo's birthday today and what NASA is doing to mark the occasion. It's Monday, everybody. Let's dig into today's Intel briefing, shall we? And we're kicking off with some news out of Europe first. The Spanish launcher company PLD Space has signed a 31.2 million euros, or about 34 million US dollar, syndicated loan with Banco Santander, EBN Banco, and the Instituto de Credito Oficial. PLD Space aims to use the new capital to develop technology and infrastructure for its Mura 5 space launcher program. And we mentioned a few weeks ago that PLD Space plans on developing a launch complex at ISA's Guiana Space Center and expect a lot of that money to head that way. The Mura 5 launch vehicle for those following along at home is the two-stage orbital launcher of the Mura family, designed, built, and operated by PLD Space, dedicated to small payloads. The company also plans to grow its workforce, aiming to end the year with 300 employees in all. PLD Space's goal is to conduct the first launch of Mura 5 by the end of 2025 and begin commercial operations in 2026, with the aim of exceeding 30 launches annually by 2030. European aerospace groups Airbus and TALUS are reportedly exploring a tie-up of some space activities as new competition disrupts the sector. According to a report by La Tribune, preliminary talks were focusing on their overlapping satellite activities. The French newspaper reported that Pan-European group Airbus, which is headquartered in France, and French defense and technology firm TALUS had begun "low-key discussions that are exploratory in nature" on space and backed by the French government. It added that the companies had explored similar tie-ups as recently as 2019, but then faced potential antitrust objections by the European Commission. NASA launched a large stratospheric balloon from S-Range Space Center in northern Sweden over the weekend. The balloon is on its way to its destination in North America and will study X-rays in the polar atmosphere. The balloon is carrying a payload called "Booms," which stands for "Balloon Observation of Microburst Scales." It is a high-resolution imager of X-rays from energetic electron microbursts that occur high in the atmosphere closest to the poles. The balloon is 60 million cubic feet in size. In the flight is a test to qualify the balloons for altitudes greater than 150,000 feet. This is higher than NASA's previous stratospheric balloons have ever flown, and at that height you are above 99% of the Earth's atmosphere, which, as you might imagine, is beneficial for studying various radiation that would otherwise be blocked by the atmosphere. BAE Systems and Partners L3Harris Technologies and the Space Telescope Science Institute have been selected as one of three teams to mature technologies in support of NASA's Habitable Worlds Observatory Mission Concept, also known as HWO. The HWO telescope will be designed to seek out signs of life beyond our solar system and conduct transformational observations of the universe. The BAE-led team will conduct a two-year research effort called the Ultra-Stable Large Telescope Research and Analysis Program Critical Technologies, or Ultra-CT. This program is meant to close gaps in the performance of large space telescopes through the advancement of ultra-stable optical systems. The Air Force Lifecycle Management Center Weather Systems Branch at Hanscom Air Force Base in Massachusetts has awarded a contract to tomorrow companies to build a weather data constellation in orbit. The Boston-based company, also known as Tomorrow.io, was awarded the $10.2 million contract to manufacture, build, and deliver two additional microwave satellites to orbit, where they will provide a cumulative 10 months of data across all on-orbit microwave sounder satellites. This follows a similar contract awarded to Tomorrow.io in 2021, when Team Hanscom awarded $19.3 million to support a constellation of high-tech weather satellites capable of observing precipitation and storm structures from space. The final constellation will consist of 18 microwave sounders and 12 microwave radar satellites. The nation of Morocco is buying a single OFEC-13 spy satellite from state-owned Israeli aerospace industries, or IAI, for a billion dollars. This new single satellite will replace several older Airbus and TELUS satellites owned by Morocco. According to the Reuters report, it is expected to be ready in five years. And yes, you heard that number correctly, it is a billion dollars for a single satellite. The Israel Space Agency and the Texas Association of Business have signed a memorandum of understanding to collaborate on space-related initiatives. This new agreement signed at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev aims to foster cooperation between Israeli and Texan companies and institutions, promoting knowledge sharing, networking opportunities, and space sector growth. This agreement supports Israeli companies in accessing opportunities in Texas and facilitates the exchange of delegations in the space industry and academia. The two organizations say that this new MOU underscores a commitment to advancing space exploration and related industries through international collaboration with joint ownership of any content developed. Some interesting new efforts in the UAE to improve health and safety outcomes for their astronauts. The Mohammed bin Rashid Space Center signed a cooperative agreement with Dubai Health to jointly enhance medical training technologies and methodologies relating to space health care. The two entities say they will conduct comprehensive medical assessments on UAE astronauts before mission deployment to ensure fitness for space travel, as well as provide health training programs for astronauts to deal with health-related emergencies. Sierra Space is looking at spaceport Oita in Kunisaki, Japan as a potential landing site in Asia for the company's Dream Chaser space plane. MUFG Bank and Tokyo Marine and Nichido Fire Insurance, who are the anchor investors in Sierra Space's Series B funding round, are joining forces with Sierra Space, Oita Prefecture, Kanematsu Corporation and Japan Airlines to conduct a comprehensive utilization and landing site study at spaceport Oita. The consortium will work together to identify and develop new business opportunities for Sierra Space's Dream Chaser in Japan and across the Asian continent. And that concludes our intelligence briefing for this Monday. You'll find further information on all of the stories that we mentioned by following the links in our show notes. And we've added some additional selected stories for you today. One's a piece in opposition to NASA's plan to de-orbit the ISS, and another is an update from the UK government on work completed to protect the nation in space. AT-Minus crew, every Monday we produce a written intelligence roundup, and it is called Signals and Space. So if you happen to miss any T-minus episodes, the Strategic Intelligence product will get you up to speed in the fastest way possible. It's all signal, no noise. And you can sign up for Signals and Space in our show notes or at space.n2k.com. As you heard at the top of the show, NASA's logo is turning 65 years old today. The iconic symbol, known affectionately as the "meatball," was developed at NASA's Lewis Research Center in Cleveland, which is now called NASA Glenn. Employee James Moderelli, who started his career at the center as an artist and technical illustrator, was the meatball's chief designer. And I spoke to Kristen Parker, NASA Glenn Research Center's director of the Office of Communications, about the iconic logo and what the US Space Agency is doing to mark the occasion today. My name is Kristen Parker, and I am the communications director here at NASA's Glenn Research Center. Excellent. Thank you so much for joining me, Kristen. And we have such a fun chat today to talk about the emblematic, beautiful logo that is the meatball. You all are having a big celebration in honor of the meatball. Please tell me more about this. This sounds amazing. Sure. So the NASA logo was created here in Cleveland by a graphic designer 65 years ago, and we wanted to really take pride in that and celebrate it and appreciate it. So we are having a cake cutting ceremony and a free day at Great Lakes Science Center, which is also home to our NASA Glenn Visitor Center. That's so fun. So what is the connection? So the creator of the meatball, he was an art, originally an art student from Cleveland, but then he ended up working at what later became Glenn. I'm trying to remember the story a little bit. Yeah. So he attended the Cleveland Institute of Art, which is the well-known art school in the area, and he worked at NASA Glenn as a graphic artist, graphic designer. And when there was a call for submissions to take the seal and create it into a more usable logo for less official things, I guess he submitted the design idea and they adopted it. They loved it. Yeah. So what do we know? I mean, did he have a really interesting process about designing this logo? I know every piece has sort of an interesting meaning, but I mean, it's become such an emblem that people really have strong feelings about. So I'm so curious about how he sort of built that. Yeah. I would have loved to have had the opportunity to talk to him, but unfortunately did not. I think he probably just took inspiration from the insignia or from the seal, but I don't think you'd have to go back into history to check. But most things that become iconic like the NASA meatball, the NASA logo, people are not creating it with that in mind. They have a passion. They're really excited about the work and that's what shines through and makes something become iconic. Similar to probably Nike and the Air Jordan, if you watch the movie about how that was created and how the Nike Jordan connection. And it was just a thing. Someone was like, "This is really cool. I'm really passionate about it. I'm just going to do this." It does have symbolism, of course. So I think that adds to it as well. The round shape is the planet. So that's the blue part. The stars represent the space. There's the red V-wing that you can see. It's called a vector. Oh, I was thinking it was like a sweep. Oh, okay. Yeah. So a lot of people, when they think of NASA, they forget about the foundational work and the work that continues in aeronautics. And then the white ellipse that goes orbit, it is representing space travel and our exploration. So it's really cool when you dig into it and you figure out, "Okay, every little piece does mean something." That is really cool. And I always just thought of it as the swoopy thing, which is not obviously a very good thing. But the vector is a much more appropriate and frankly, cool sounding way of describing it. So thank you for that. So, yeah, the meatballs have a party, which I just, I really love that. And it is so worthy because again, I'm always surprised by where I see it turn up, how much people really love the logi. Even though I'm more of a worm fan, I will fess up to that one, which feels sort of a thing I should not be mentioning right now. There's always the teams, right? There is a party happening. So tell me about what's going to be going on today. So we're having a, they'll be the beginning part, which is obviously the cake cutting. And for those folks that are familiar with what's a military birthday cake cuttings that happen, we really wanted to take some inspiration from that and call attention to it, celebrate it. So we'll have a few remarks from our center leadership and from the Great Lakes Science Center CEO and representatives from James, Monarelli's family will also be there. And we're going to talk a little bit, cut a cake, serve cake, celebrate it. And then the day is really going to be focused on a lot of programming tied to arts and creative careers that are at NASA, because a lot of people forget or don't realize that you don't necessarily have to be a scientist to work at NASA. I definitely am not. So it's interesting when you think of all the people that have made contributions and a contribution like this as iconic as the logo has come, it wasn't an engineer. So that's pretty cool. It is pretty cool. I have to wonder, as someone who works at NASA, have you been surprised by how iconic these both, both the meatball and the worm, but let's be real, it's really meatball, how iconic they've become. I mean, they really are just everywhere. I mean, it's amazing. Yes. I, it's crazy. And I think it's wonderful, though. And I've tried to figure out, you know, why or how, and I don't know that there's a clear answer. It's really cool to see. I mean, it's up there with McDonald's and Nike and Coca-Cola. So it's really inspiring to know that you work for an organization that is so widely known and appreciated and supported. It truly is. And as I said, I see the logo everywhere. It's just really, it's really lovely to see. Like, when I travel abroad, I'll just see the meatball on things from people who are just like big NASA fans. And it's just, it's, they just, they love what NASA means, but also the meatball, they're just like, it just looks so cool. So I just, I just, I just attached myself, not thinking that the people that I see work here too. I'm not asking them. Like, most people probably are just wearing it because they like it. It's true. And, and, you know, and it's, again, like when I'm, especially when I'm abroad and I'm talking to people who have no connection to the United States, they're just like, I really like how the meatball looks. They don't even know that it's what we call it sometimes. But, but they also are like, I really like what NASA does, even though, you know, you know, my country's not doing something like that, something like that. I just, I think it's just truly amazing how far it's gone. And I really love that you all are throwing at a party. I think it's just very worthy of that. So I love that. I hope it goes really well. And I really look forward to seeing the pictures from it. I kind of wish I could be there in person, but it sounds like it's going to be a great time. Well, thank you so much. We're really excited and we hope that this inspires a lot of future artists and photographers and designers that want to look at careers at NASA because they too could make something inspirational in the future. We'll be right back. Welcome back. It is a big anniversary month for the US Space Agency. On top of the meatball anniversary, this weekend marks the 55th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing. And understandably, NASA is marking the date with a week worth of activities. It's also hosting a rollout of the agency's Artemis II SLS, or Space Launch System, core stage at the Mishu Assembly Facility in New Orleans today and tomorrow in celebration of future lunar exploration. And Johnson Space Center in Houston is holding a dedication and ribbon cutting event to name its building 12 the Dorothy Vaughn Center in honor of the women of Apollo. And on Sunday, July 21, NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center in Greenbelt, Maryland will host a model rocket contest hosted by the National Association of Rocketry Headquarters Astro-Modeling Section. Wow, it's also been two years since the first images from the James Webb Space Telescope and, well, the Webb team likes to show us what this incredible instrument can do by revisiting iconic images taken by previous great observatories like Hubble so we can all compare and contrast. And by the way, shout out to webcompare.com for making it super easy to do just that. Anyway, Webb has revisited the penguin and the egg, two galaxies that are swirling and looping around each other, mingling their gases and dust as they go. Located in the Hydra constellation, one of the galaxies looks like a cute penguin head complete with a bright eye and the other looks, well, like a bird's egg. They are very aptly named, yes. Two of Webb's instruments, the Nurcam and Mary, took a look at these lovely intersecting galaxies in near and mid-infrared to reveal new details. Not just lots of new surrounding galaxies as Webb often reveals, but also the array of new stars being formed as the penguin and egg galaxies dance and crash together. It's a lovely image quite worthy of celebrating Webb's second science anniversary. And that's it for T-minus for July 15th, 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. If you like the show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please fill out the survey in the show notes or send an email to space@n2k.com. We're privileged 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 Kilpe is our publisher. And I'm your host, Maria Vormazes. Thank you for listening. We will see you tomorrow. [Music] T-minus. 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