[MUSIC] Today is January 31st, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazis and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] >> T-minus. >> Twenty seconds to L-O-I, T-minus. >> Open aboard. [MUSIC] >> Live. >> Virgin Galactic and Redwire to partner on manufacturing the research payload lockers that will travel aboard Virgin's Delta-class spaceships. >> Four. >> The Federal Communications Commission has granted AST SpaceMobile a special temporary authority for testing its service in the United States. >> Three. >> ISRO marks 100 launches with Wednesday's liftoff of the GSLV F-15 rocket carrying the NBS 02 satellite. >> Two. >> AstroForge selects an M-type asteroid named 2022 OB-5 for its first mining mission. >> One. >> The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center provides members access to an international federated network of test beds and proving grounds. >> We are here. [MUSIC] >> And it is Friday. >> Hooray. >> So that can only mean one thing on T-minus Space Daily. Our partners at nasaspaceflight.com are bringing us the Space Traffic Report. They'll be going over the launches from the last week and looking ahead at what's to come in the next seven days. Stick around after the headlines for more. [MUSIC] The Space Information Sharing and Analysis Center, also known as SpaceISAC, is rolling out a new benefit to its members, access to an international federated network of test beds and proving grounds. For those of you who maybe haven't heard of SpaceISAC, let's give you the Cliff Notes version here. The organization was created to facilitate collaboration across the global space industry to enhance the ability to prepare for and respond to vulnerabilities, incidents, and threats. They disseminate timely and actionable information across member entities and serve as the primary communications channel for the sector with respect to this kind of threat vulnerability information. So why do space companies need that? Well, we hope you already know. But really, it is a crazy world out there. And as more things go to space, the opportunity for those things to be subjects of threats also increases. Anyway, back to the announcement. SpaceISAC will now be facilitating access to the Accelerating Space Capabilities 100, or ASC100, test beds and proving grounds for their public and private sector members. ASC100 has both physical and digital test beds and proving grounds environments that simulate space operating conditions. And these facilities are essential for R&D, validation, and operational deployment of space capabilities. The SpaceISAC is working on this in partnership with the Aerospace Corporation. And by the way, I caught up with Ron Burke, who is the principal director of the Space Enterprise Evolution Directorate at the Aerospace Corporation, and Aaron Miller, who is the executive director at the SpaceISAC, at SpaceCom just this past week to discuss this partnership. Yeah, this is a big new program that SpaceISAC is doing in partnership with the Aerospace Corporation. It's one of several things that we do. What we came to realize is that across Australia, the US, and the UK, and other places around the world with similar interests, there's a lot of testing capability. Commercial and government funded initiatives that allow for us to advance the development of technology. So it's not just the security focus. It's also an operational focus so that we can solve this flight-proven paradox. Because the faster we can get to flight-proven, then the faster we're going to get ahead of our adversaries. And that's what SpaceISAC is about. Broadly, we are about security and national security. So this new program is completely in alignment with our initial intent of the SpaceISAC. And now you'll find services on our member portal that showcase the testbed's improving grounds across the AUKUS partnership. And we will bring you that full conversation next week on this show. Moving on to our next story now, and AstroForge has selected an M-type asteroid named 2022 OB-5 for its first mining mission. 2022 OB-5 was discovered three years ago and likely measures just a few dozen meters across. So why this particular target? Well, it's believed to be richer in metals than most asteroids, and critically, it will come within 404,000 miles of the Earth in January 2026. AstroForge's spacecraft Odin is a rideshare payload due to launch as part of the Intuitive Machines IM-2 mission, no earlier than February 26 of this year, on a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Florida. Odin will separate about 45 minutes after the launch and then fly by its target asteroid 301 days later. The goal is to image the asteroid and then characterize how much metal there is there. AstroForge has also signed a multi-launch deal with Stokespace for future mining missions, though details of that contract have not yet been released. The Indian Space Research Organization, or ISRO, reached a major milestone on Monday, marking the 100th launch by the Space Agency. The launch saw a GSLV F-15 rocket carrying the NBS-02 satellite lift off from ISRO's launch center at Sriharikota, Andhra Pradesh. The launch was hailed as a very significant milestone for India by the newly appointed Chief V. Narayanan. The rocket launch was the eighth operational flight of India's Geosynchronous Satellite Launch Vehicle. It carried the NBS-02 satellite, which is part of the NAV-IC constellation, which will aid in terrestrial aerial and maritime navigation and precision agriculture. Switching our focus now to the United States and the Federal Communications Commission, or the FCC, has granted AST SpaceMobile a special temporary authority for testing service in the United States. The approval allows AST SpaceMobile's first five commercial bluebird satellites, operating in low-Earth orbit, to connect to unmodified smartphones without the need of any specialized software, device support, or updates. The testing will be performed with partners AT&T and Verizon, supporting voice, full data and video applications, and other native cellular broadband capabilities. And Virgin Galactic has announced that they are partnering with Redwire to manufacture the research payload lockers that will travel aboard their new Delta-class spaceships. The announcement shows the space tourism company's ambitions to significantly upgrade the microgravity research capabilities that are available with Virgin Galactic. Redwire has already developed 20 research facilities for crewed spacecraft, with 10 currently aboard the International Space Station, supporting research and manufacturing missions. The new platform will aim to enhance and simplify the research experience through the customizable Redwire plug-and-play lockers, delivering real-time data throughout the entire spaceflight. These lockers are optimized for both autonomous and human-tended research. They will also allow researchers to transition their suborbital experiments to payloads aboard the ISS at a lower cost and at a lower risk. Virgin's Delta-class spaceships are currently scheduled to roll out in 2026. [Music] And that concludes our Friday briefing. As always, we have links to further reading on all the stories mentioned in our show notes. And today, we've added three additional articles for you to read. One's announcing the next meeting of the Advisory Committee on Excellence in Space, another's on Polaris Dawn's recognition for space exploration, and a third's announcing new appointments at iSpace US. Hey, T-Minus Crew, tune in tomorrow for T-Minus Deep Space. It's our show for extended interviews, special editions, and deep dives, with some of the most influential professionals in the space industry. And tomorrow, we have my second chat with Dr. Sian Proctor, talking about her spaceflight on Inspiration 4 and how it changed her personal mission. Check out this fantastic chat while you're unpacking from commercial space week like I am, or preparing for my next conference as we have hit that time of year, or just simply catching up on sleep like our team is. You don't want to miss it. [Music] [Music] Our partners at NSF are providing us the Weekly Space Traffic Report. I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF, and this is your Weekly Space Traffic Report for T-Minus Space. Starting off the week, we had a Starlink mission on January 27th. Falcon 9 lifted off at 2205 UTC from Space Launch Complex 40 in Florida, of the 21 Starlink V2 mini satellites that were added to the constellation. 13 had direct-to-cell capability. The booster on this mission was B1076, which flew for the 20th time and became the 9th booster to do so. It ended its mission by successfully landing on SpaceX's drone ship, a shortfall of Gravitas. With this mission, SpaceX has now launched a total of 7,821 Starlink satellites. Of these, 827 satellites have re-entered, and 6,243 have moved into their operational orbits. Next, we had a mission launch from India. On January 29th, at 53 minutes past midnight universal time, a geosynchronous satellite launch vehicle, or GSLV, lit its solid core and liquid side booster engines and lifted off from the Satish Devon Space Center. According to ISRO, this was the 100th launch since India established its spaceport on the Sriharikota Island. To get to that number, however, you have to include some of the suborbital experimental missions and disregard the more than 500 suborbital sounding rockets that have launched from the complex. This week's mission carried a regional navigation satellite into geostationary transfer orbit. Once the satellite has reached its operational orbit, it can be used for navigation on mobile phones, just like GPS. But since it's in a geostationary orbit, it'll only be available in the Indian subcontinent. Back in Florida, we had another Falcon 9 launch on January 30th. Falcon 9 lifted off from Launch Complex 39A at 134 UTC with the SpainSat NG1 in its fairing. This satellite will provide secure communication for governments and emergency response teams throughout Europe. The NG in the satellite's name stands for New Generation, and this is the first of two satellites that will replace the current SpainSat and Xtar EUR satellite. The second will be launched no earlier than September of this year. The booster on this mission was B1073, which flew for its final time as it was intentionally expended, wrapping up an impressive career of 21 flights. These missions included, among others, 13 Starlink flights, a CRS-27 cargo mission to the International Space Station, and the first Hakudo-R mission to the moon. Closing out the week, we had a spacewalk on the International Space Station. On January 30th, NASA astronauts Sonny Williams and Butch Willmore put on their EVA suits and opened the hatch on the station's airlock at 1243 UTC. Sonny went out for a ride on the end of the station's robotic Canadarm, which moved her into position so that she could remove a radio antenna from the station's truss. This was Sonny's ninth spacewalk, and it proved to be a special one. She's now the female astronaut with the longest time spent spacewalking at 62 hours and six minutes total, breaking the previous record held by Peggy Whitson by nearly two hours. While Sonny was out there doing work and breaking records, Butch was on a quest of his own. He was tasked with taking samples around some vents on the station's exterior to see if microbes sometimes escape from the station, as well as if they survive and how far they make it into the space environment. The astronauts wrapped up their five-hour and 25-minute spacewalk at 1809 UTC. Going into next week, we'll have a Starlink launch on February 1st. This mission will take off from Vandenberg in California and deliver 22 Starlink satellites into low Earth orbit. The four-hour window for this mission opens at 2248 UTC. We'll also have a launch from Japan this week. On February 2nd, an H3 rocket is set to lift off from the beautiful Tonogashima Space Center to deliver the Michibiki-6 satellite into a geostationary transfer orbit. The satellite is part of the quasi-Xenith satellite system, which provides navigation and positioning services. T-Zero for this mission is expected during a two-hour window opening at 830 UTC. Next up, we'll have another Starlink mission from Florida. Falcon 9 will deliver another batch of direct-to-sale satellites to low Earth orbit. The four-hour launch window opens on February 3rd at 8.54 UTC. Later that day, an electron is set to lift off from Rocket Lab's spaceport in New Zealand at 2043 UTC. The payload for this mission is a batch of five Internet of Things, or IoT, satellites for the French company Kines. It's the fourth and penultimate launch for the constellation of 25, so Rocket Lab is calling the mission "IoT for You and Me." A few hours later, another Falcon 9 is expected to lift off from Florida. This time, the rocket will lift two Earth observation satellites into low Earth orbit from XR's Worldview Legion constellation. The window for this launch opens on February 3rd at 23.32 UTC, and lasts for about an hour. The booster will come back to the Cape for a return to launch site landing, so expect some sonic booms if you're in the area. And wrapping up the week on February 4th, Blue Origin plans to fly its new Shepard rocket. This flight was originally set to fly last week, but Blue scrubbed it after some issues popped up with the booster's avionics. The capsule is loaded with 29 science and technology experiments, and an additional payload is attached to the booster for a total of 30 payloads, many of them provided by NASA. Blue Origin plans to do something special compared to other new Shepard missions, as the capsule will spin at 11 revolutions per minute to simulate lunar gravity. The window for this flight opens on February 4th at 15.30 UTC. I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF, and that's your weekly Space Traffic Report. Now back to T-Misspace. [Music] Welcome to Fun Fact Friday, you're on Stop Shop for the quirky tippets of wisdom. I'm your host, Liz Stokes, here at N2K, Saboyer. Today's Fun Fact is a little different. It's all about saying goodbye to one of our own. Our amazing colleague Brandon is heading off to a new adventure. Fun Fact about Brandon, he's been the go-to person for solving problems, sharing laughs, and keeping things running smoothly. He's truly been a team player and a fantastic colleague. Brandon, thank you for sharing your vision with us. Thank you for always being the voice of expertise and leadership. The T-minus wonk, and thank you for believing in me. Please don't be a stranger, Brandon. I am seriously going to miss you. Brandon, I was really sad to hear you're leaving us, but I'm so happy for you at the same time. I'm excited for the new work you'll be contributing to the world with your company, and I can't wait to see all that you'll do next. I personally appreciated all your encouragement and support of my ideas here at N2K, and Certbite would have not launched had it not been for your support. So thank you for everything. We will miss you. Keep in touch. Brandon, good luck on all your future endeavors. It was a joy to have you here at the company. Best wishes to you, and please keep in contact. Good luck, man. Brandon, you definitely left your mark on the company in the time that you were here, but remember that goodbyes are not forever. They're just a pause in our shared journey. Brandon, I will always remember that you set up your own recording booth in your own home so that you can have better audio quality on our shows, and if that isn't the way to an audio engineer's heart, then, I don't know, try lunch or something. Really gonna miss you, ma'am. Brandon, I have never worked with somebody who made me want to do so much more than I've ever wanted to do in such a short period of time. I appreciate all of your insight, your book recommendations, and support from the last couple of months. I truly would not be where I am today without it. Thank you. Hey, Brandon. It has been such a great experience working with you and learning from you these past few years. Thank you so much for your encouragement and mentorship. It really won't be the same without you, but I am so excited for you as you start your company. Please keep us all posted on your success. I can't begin to thank you for all the guidance and support you've given me. It's truly been an honor working for you, and while I give you grief about it, I'm generally thrilled for your next venture. I know you'll conquer this role just like you always do. Best of luck, Catherine. Hey, Brandon. Working with you over the past couple years has just been such an incredible, amazing experience, and I'm so excited to see all the things you go on to accomplish and achieve over the next several years. I'll be rooting for you the entire time. Brandon, working with you for a year was not nearly enough time, but since beggars can't be choosers, take what I got. Thank you so much for everything. I hope you have a great one. Bye. Brandon, it has been an absolute pleasure to work with you. I wish you nothing but the best going forward in your new venture, and hope that it is every bit the success that I know that you can make it. Take care. Hey, Brandon. Thank you so much for everything you've done for our team. You're such a great leader. We really appreciate it. I promise I won't break anything and go Navy. Hey, Brandon. It's Peter. I always knew the day would come when you take that big leap and start a new venture. I have no doubt it'll be a huge success. I'm so excited for you. And of course, I'm truly grateful for all the ways you've impacted our company and every single member of the team. You're part of our DNA now. That means you'll always be part of this team. Best of luck to you. Well, Brandon, what can I say? It's been an epic adventure. Thank you for picking me up at Spacecom in 2022 and making me part of the Team Miner Space team. I will forever be grateful for our time that we worked together. Brandon, your dedication and energy have made a lasting impact, and we're so grateful for everything you've done. While we're sad to see you go, we're also excited for what's next for you. From all of us here, thank you for being such a big part of our team. We'll miss you. But we know you'll be amazing in this next new chapter. See you soon. We'll be right back. Welcome back. We do love to dive into space history on this show, and nothing gives us that full nostalgia experience, like thinking about the early human spaceflight program, which of course did not involve humans early on, but instead saw many furry friends take our place in the name of science. Today, January 31st marks the 64th anniversary of Ham the chimpanzee's spaceflight. He was known as number 65 before he safely returned to Earth. It was only after he survived the mission that he was named after an acronym for the laboratory that prepared him for his historic mission. And this is where Alice gets excited because it's right in her backyard. The Holloman Aerospace Medical Center, located at Holloman Air Force Base in, where else but New Mexico. There were originally 40 chimpanzee flight candidates at Holloman. After evaluation, the number of candidates was reduced to 18, and then to six, including Ham. And then on January 31st, 1961, Ham was secured in a Project Mercury mission designated MR2, and launched from Cape Canaveral, Florida on a suborbital flight. They won't go into the methods that they used to monitor his spaceflight, or detail why he experienced 17 Gs of acceleration, but we will celebrate that he made it, and the lessons learned have shaped human space travel. Ham retired from spaceflight and lived out his days at the National Zoo in Washington, DC, until he passed away in 1983. Ham was buried near Holloman Air Force Base at the New Mexico Space Museum in Alamogordo. Thank you for your service to humanity, Ham. You really were a great ape. And if you're like us and a fan of space history, we will be bringing you a chat with James Draper, who is the curator of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum in the coming weeks here on T-minus, which does mention Ham's mission, among others, so make sure to join us for that chat. And that is it for T-minus for January 31st, 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 that we deliver the insights that keep you a step ahead in the rapidly changing space industry. If you like our show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Also, 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 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. For the last time, our executive editor is Brandon Karpf. And we are seeing a fond farewell to our president, Simone Petrella. Peter Kilpey is our publisher, and I am your host, Maria Varmazis. Thanks for listening. Thank you, Brandon and Simone for everything. Have a great weekend. [MUSIC] T-minus. [MUSIC]
