Scrubs for New Glenn and SpaDeX.

[MUSIC] Today is January 13th, 2025. I'm Maria Varmausus and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] The Egyptian Space Agency kicks off the African Development Satellite Initiative training program welcoming 21 engineers and specialists from 20 African countries. >> Four. >> NASA selects 15 ideas for its innovative advanced concepts program. >> Three. >> MTSI has been selected for another US Department of Defense contract worth up to $100 million. >> Two. >> India aborts its SPADX mission on its third attempt. >> One. >> Blue Origin's New Glenn scrubbed during its debut launch due to technical issues. [MUSIC] And our guest today is Dr. George Neald, Chair of the Global Spaceport Alliance. We're going to be talking about the GSA's upcoming annual summit, which is being held as part of Space Week in Florida, starting on January 27th. Stay with us to find out more later in the show. [MUSIC] Happy Monday, everyone. We hope you've recovered after staying up late to catch the first launch of Blue Origin's New Glenn. Many people made the trip to Florida and stayed up until the wee hours in hope of catching that first liftoff of Blue's super heavy rocket, only unfortunately to have their hopes dashed by a last minute scrub. So it goes. Arianne Cornell, Blue Origin's Vice President of In Space Systems, told viewers in the company's live stream that they were standing down today's launch attempt to troubleshoot a vehicle subsystem issue that'll take us beyond our launch window. The company hasn't shared what exactly the problems are that engineers are seeking to remedy. She added that Blue Origin was reviewing opportunities for their next launch attempt. And when will that be? No one knows at this point, but with the Cape already busy with other launches planned for later this week, namely the launch of two lunar modules in two days time, kind of a big deal, we're not expecting the New Glenn to try again for at least the next week. Let's hope they figure out the technical issues quickly and get the rocket ready for attempt number two soon. And Blue Origin's New Glenn isn't the only spacecraft dealing with technical issues and delays. The Indian Space Research Organization has been forced to abort its in-space docking mission for a third time. The mission known as SPATICS was launched on December 30th and aims to demonstrate in-space docking using small spacecraft. On Sunday, the spacecraft known as Chaser and Target came as close as three meters to each other. It seemed like the mission was going as planned. However, the satellites were then moved apart to safer distances. ISRO stated that despite stabilizing the drift at zero degrees, a delay in receiving signals from a critical proximity and docking sensor was detected. So as a precautionary measure, ISRO's onboard systems automatically triggered safe mode and moved the satellites to a safe distance to prevent any potential mishaps. ISRO says it's now conducting a detailed assessment to troubleshoot this problem before attempting another docking. Modern Technology Solutions Inc. also known as MTSI has received another Department of Defense contract in addition to the one that we announced last week. This new $99.9 million contract from the U.S. Air Force is for prototyping work and delivery of processes for Space Command and Control. The Department of Defense announced that the Space Systems Command awarded the Sulsource Cost+ Fixed Fee contract as part of the third phase of the Small Business Innovation Research Program. NASA has selected 15 concepts for its Innovative Advanced Concepts Program, also known as NIAC. NIAC supports concepts aiming to transform future missions for the benefit of all. The Combined Award for the 2025 concepts is a maximum of $2.6 million in grants to evaluate technologies that could enable future aerospace missions. The selected concepts include feasibility studies to explore the sun's influence on our solar system, build sustainable lunar habitats from glass, explore Saturn's icy moon, and more. And you can read all about the awardees by following the link in our show notes. And the Egyptian Space Agency kicked off a new training program designed to enhance indigenous satellite building capabilities across Africa. 21 engineers and specialists from 20 African countries are participating in 10 days of training on basic space technology and satellite systems. The program is part of the African Development Satellite Initiative, which was started in 2021. Since then, 71 engineers from 34 African countries have undergone hands-on training in various space technology techniques, including communication systems, software development, and lunar structure design. [Music] And that concludes our Intel briefing for today. Head to the selected reading section of our show notes to find links to further reading on all the stories mentioned. We've also included an announcement from Redwire, who have delivered the fourth set of rollout solar array wings destined for the International Space Station, and a story from Reuters on Jeff Bezos' thoughts on the incoming administration. Hi, T-Minus Crew! If you would like daily updates from us directly in your LinkedIn feed, be sure to follow the official N2K T-minus page over on LinkedIn. And if you're more interested in the lighter side of what we do here, we are @t-minusdaily on Instagram. And that's where we post videos and pictures from events, excursions, and even some behind-the-scenes treats. Links are in the show notes. Hope you'll join us there. [Music] We are just two weeks away from the start of Commercial Space Week in Florida. On January 27th, the week will kick off with the Global Space Port Alliances Annual Space Port Summit. And I spoke to GSA Chairman Dr. George Neald about what we can expect for the summit and the other events coming up that week. This is actually part of what is referred to as Commercial Space Week now, which starts on Monday, January 27th with the GSA Space Port Summit. And then the next day is Space Mobility, which is focused on the United States Space Force and its needs for military space activities. And then the next two days are Spacecom, which is more generally focused on civil and commercial space activities. So the first day is what we're talking about today, and that's the GSA Space Port Summit. And that's a chance for the space port community to get together in person and share progress and ambitions and challenges and lessons learned. We've got a number of excellent speakers and several panel sessions that I think will be very much of interest both to the space port community and to the broader audience as well. Can you give me a sense of what themes are going to be really prevalent this year? I mean, space ports have been very busy. They've been a huge topic of conversation for many years, but especially the past few years when we're talking about capacity and the incredible growth of commercial space especially. I imagine those might come up, but I imagine there's also many more themes that are going to be discussed. So all of those and more, but the primary theme this year in particular, is about how one can think about and work towards building an economic powerhouse, if you will, at or around your space port. We know that space is really important. There's so much happening right now in space, whether it's launching astronauts or satellites or scientific instruments and so forth. But at least today, everything that happens in space starts at a space port. And so it's important to focus on what's going on. Where are they located? Where is their new activity? And again, some of the challenges and opportunities and ideas that people have come up with to make the whole mission very successful. Yeah, I imagine the paradigm a lot of people have about what space ports can offer and what they can look like and the kinds of jobs they can create has shifted quite a bit in recent years. I agree with that. I think in the past, there has been this feeling that a space port was primarily about launching rockets into space. And that makes a lot of sense, certainly. But it is much more than that. And as we look at the projections for a large and continuously growing global space economy, I think it's important to recognize that a lot of that economic growth is probably going to be taking place at space ports. And why is that? Because space ports are not just about having a place where you can launch rockets from. Instead, we can envision aerospace manufacturing, testing, technology development and research, workforce development. And in the not too distant future, things like point-to-point transportation through space. And all of those can have huge benefits for space ports. That's fantastic. I always say it. I really look forward to that day. I really think a lot of us are just hotly anticipating when that day will come. So this is the 10th summit that's going to be happening. I can't help but ask on your reflections of 10 years of this summit occurring, what changes you have seen, 10 years is both not a lot of time and a lot of time, depending on one's point of view. I'm just curious your reflections on that time. We've seen a tremendous amount of growth and understanding about the importance of space ports and what they are and where they are located. So many people are familiar with Cape Canaveral and the Kennedy Space Center, maybe Vandenberg Space Force Base in California, and locations that are operated by other countries. But there are a number of space ports now that are in operation or are being planned for and developed all over the world. And in terms of the global space port lines in particular, just from last year till now, we've seen a growth of more than 20% in the member organizations. And so I think there's an increasing recognition of the role that space ports can play. And the benefits that can result from interacting one with another instead of trying to do it all on your own. Certainly, and global being in the name of the organization, I feel here at T-minus, we're reporting almost every other week about news of a new space port somewhere in the world with some kind of fantastic new idea or something in their paradigm that is just a little different. And there's someone's trying something a little new. And it's really interesting to hear how everyone's adapting to their own environment and the needs of their local or national market. It's really quite fascinating. And I think people who aren't paying close attention to what space ports are doing are missing out on something really neat to put it mildly. I'm curious for maybe our global, our international partners outside of the United States. What are you hearing? What are you seeing from them maybe as a trend in the past few years in terms of the growth that's happening abroad? That's an interesting thing to talk about. Just as in the United States, we're seeing this recognition that space is not just for governments anymore. And so it's a transition really from governments and government space agencies doing everything that happens in space to opening that up. And we're seeing communities, states, regions, countries who want to be involved with space in some way, but they're not sure how to do it. They don't have billions of dollars to be able to replicate the Kennedy Space Center in other places. And that's okay because what we're seeing now is things like reusable launch vehicles, much smaller spacecraft, and therefore smaller launch vehicles. And the recognition that not all space ports are alike. You can focus on one aspect and whether that is sounding rockets or space tourism or launching satellites, scientific research, other kinds of things, it doesn't have to be everything in one location. So we're seeing vertical launch sites with the launch pad and the gantries and so forth, but also horizontal launch sites, which basically can be an airport with a runway and hangars and other facilities. And those are becoming feasible as locations for space activities. It's a fascinating space to watch, honestly. I'm going to be asking this of pretty much everyone I know because this is going to be my first time going to space peak. So I'm quite excited. I'm very curious what you are most looking forward to during what I'm sure is an incredibly busy time, meeting lots of people, having lots of catch ups and conversations, any tips, what you're looking forward to, any advice, that kind of a thing. I think many of us in aerospace especially have recognized after COVID the value of face-to-face interaction. And so it's one thing to read about something in a journal or a magazine or even have a video call or a briefing on something. And it's quite another to actually meet face-to-face and get great feedback and ask private questions and to see the enthusiasm among all these different people, many of which you might not have known before or even recognize that they were involved in the same field that we are. Yeah. Well, that's something I'm also looking forward to is all seeing a lot of those faces that I've maybe only heard or seen on video calls, then seeing them in person for the first time in a while, if not ever, and just getting that enthusiasm and really taking it all in. So Dr. George Neald, as always, it was a pleasure speaking with you. I want to make sure if there's anything you wanted to leave our audience with about the upcoming event or anything like that, that I give you the last word, any parting thoughts. Well, thank you. Just a few things to mention. Again, we do have some excellent speakers, including Kelvin Coleman, who is the associate administrator of the FAA's Office of Commercial Space Transportation, who will be giving one of the presentations there. We'll have reports from many of our advisory groups that are working on a variety of different subjects. And we're talking about two new initiatives, one with the Hague Institute for Global Justice that has to do with signing the Washington Compact, which some folks may have heard about, somewhat similar to the Artemis Accords in some ways, but not for governments or others, and then a new initiative with International Space University. And those will both be discussed at the gathering. So those are a couple of teasers, and it should be a really great gathering. I look forward to seeing you there. [MUSIC] We'll be right back. Welcome back. We do love just a bit of planetary science on this show and the discovery of new insights into planets in our solar system and in the greater universe is always exciting. And a new study on Venus' atmospheric evolution certainly piqued our interest. And this new study, published in Science Advances, examines a critical transition in Venus' tectonic activity, revealing how this shift fundamentally reshaped its atmosphere. Dr. Matt Weller compiled the research using sophisticated computational models, and he was able to demonstrate that periodic lithosphere disruptions combined with massive volcanic outgassing over millions of years may have transformed Venus from a planet with Earth-like characteristics into the extreme greenhouse world that we observe today. Dr. Weller found that massive volcanic outgassing and surface resurfacing events triggered by shifts in mantle convection contributed to the majority of Venus' current dense atmosphere, some 90 times that of Earth's, in relatively short time scales. Over billions of years, these processes created a runaway greenhouse condition that we can see today. The research aims to not only deepen our understanding of Venus, but also highlights the potential for dramatic climate and tectonic changes on other rocky planets. Let's hope that doesn't include Earth, huh? [Music] That's it for T-minus for January 13th, 2025, 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 our rating and review in your podcast app. Please also 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 Carruth. Our associate producer is Liz Stokes. We're 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 Varmausis. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. , T-minus. [BLANK_AUDIO]