Advancing Space Launch & AI-Powered Surveillance.

[MUSIC] Today is February 10th, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] SpaceX and Vast are looking for science and research ideas that will enable life in space and on other planets. More. Spider Oak has been selected by the US Air Force Research Laboratory to enhance the space force's ability to integrate commercial satellite networks during emergencies seamlessly. Free. ICE-I and SATIM are partnering on a new product that combines AI and SAR to detect and classify vessels, aircraft, and land vehicles from space. Soon. Rocket Lab launched its 59th electron mission, deploying five satellites to low Earth orbit for French Internet of Things constellation operator, Kinnaeus. One. MDA space has been selected by Global Star as the prime contractor for a next generation low Earth orbit constellation. [MUSIC] And our guest today is Mark Russell, CEO of General Hypersonics. They're working on a new launch system capable of sending small satellites, cargo, and other payloads around Earth or to orbit from land or sea. It's a great chat, so stick around after the headlines. [MUSIC] Happy Monday, everybody. MDA space has signed a contract with Global Star to be the prime contractor for the satellite operator's next generation low Earth orbit constellation with a total contract value of approximately 1.1 billion Canadian dollars. As part of the definitive contract for the full Leo constellation, MDA space will manufacture more than 50 MDA Aurora software defined digital satellites for Global Star. MDA says this contract is a follow on to an initial authorization to proceed the launch of the MDA space with an undisclosed customer previously announced in November 2023. Mike Greenlee, the CEO of MDA space, said in the press release, with the full contract now in place, we are moving full speed ahead on the program. No further details on when the constellation is expected to be delivered or launched were shared in the announcement. Rocket Lab's IOT for a UNM mission lifted off from New Zealand over the weekend, successfully deploying five satellites for the launch internet of things constellation operator, Kineis. The mission was Rocket Lab's first electron launch of 2025, the fourth launch for Kineis to date, and the 59th electron launch overall. Rocket Lab has one more dedicated launch for Kineis scheduled and will then have deployed their entire constellation in less than one year, which is pretty impressive. The Kineis constellation is designed to make it possible to connect and locate any connected object anywhere in the world, which enables data transmission to users in near real time. The Kineis constellation is aiming to support forest fire detection, water resource management, infrastructure and energy network monitoring, transport and logistics tracking, and much more. Rocket Lab says the launch date for the fifth Kineis launch of this series of missions will be announced in the coming weeks. ICE, I and SATIM are partnering on a new product that combines AI and synthetic aperture radar or SAR satellite operations to detect and classify vessels, aircraft and land vehicles from space. The companies will combine ICI satellite imagery with SATIM's AI powered imagery analytic solutions into new products. After an initial pilot phase, the partners plan to release a series of generally available products later this year. Spider Oak has been selected by the US Air Force Research Laboratory to enhance the space forces ability to integrate commercial satellite networks during commercial emergencies seamlessly. The funding for the program is supported by a tactical funding increase contract and aims to develop a secure automated control plane for the commercial augmentation space reserve program, also known as CASER. The CASER program is managed by Space Systems Command's Commercial Space Office. And the program seeks to ensure that the space force has immediate access to commercial satellite capabilities during peacetime and crises, enabling a flexible search capacity to meet increased mission demands when needed. Spider Oak's technology will aim to address a critical need, which is automating and securing the activation and coordination of commercial assets in real time, ensuring seamless collaboration between government and commercial partners. For the first demonstration, Spider Oak is partnered with Planet Labs and Space Systems Command to create a robust proof of concept. The project's success could have far reaching implications, enabling broader adoption of similar frameworks across government and commercial entities. And SpaceX and Vast are looking for exceptional science and research ideas that will enable life in space and on other planets. Approved projects will be able to leverage the Haven One Space Station Lab, Dragon spacecraft, and/or private astronaut missions to the International Space Station. The company's say submitted research proposals will be reviewed and evaluated based on their scientific and technical merit, feasibility, and alignment with mission objectives. And if you are interested, we've added a link in our show notes for more details. And speaking of those show notes, our producer, Alice Cruz, has more details to share. >> Yes, I do. Thanks, Maria. You can always find links to further reading on all the stories Maria mentions in the show in the selected reading section of our show notes. And at space.intuk.com, you just need to click on this episode title. We also include extra stories that don't make the headlines. Today, we have an announcement from Agus Aerospace and Texas A&M who are collaborating on a new flight facility on the ISS and another on a new appointment at Rivada. >> Thank you for that, Alice. 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 later side of what we do here, we are @tminusdaily on Instagram. And that is where we post videos and pictures from events, excursions, and even some behind the scenes treats for you. And links are in the show notes. Hope you will join us there. [MUSIC] And we're bringing you more of our chats from Spacecom 2025 this week. And today we have Mark Russell, and he's the CEO at General Hypersonics. And Mark's working on a new launch system, and I asked him where the idea for his pipeline to space came from. >> After working for Blue Origin, I had this idea actually even before working for Blue Origin that you could launch what we call impulsively, meaning you don't have to carry all the fuel that the rocket has to create a velocity which then puts you into orbit. You could carry a lot less if you exited or left earth with velocity. So not a gun, this thing is called a RAM accelerator. It's a tubular structure that fits underground. It looks like drill pipe. >> Yep. >> And it is a ramjet in the ground. And the sidewalls of this steel tube and the sharp nose projectile flies through compressed air and natural gas. In doing so, it's a Peshawk wave and it rides through this wave in the tube like a surfer riding wave in the ocean. And it exits at velocities that are helpful in getting you off the planet. And then you put a small engine into your second stage and that gets you into orbit. >> That's, the idea makes a lot of sense when you describe it. It feels very intuitive and my brain goes, why have we never tried something like this before? This is so cool. >> Because it's rocket science. >> Yeah, because it's literally rocket science. It's really hard. That's why. >> Yeah, no, there's a group out of the University of Washington in Seattle and I went and visited when I was 19. They had this tubular thing. It was all steel and a bunch of sharp projectiles. Looked nothing like aerospace. Who knew that 20-some years later I'd come back and I funded the lab. >> Yeah, it stayed in there. >> Yeah. >> It just percolated for a bit. >> So a ramjet is the simplest jet engine. You don't need any moving parts except, in our case, the projectile. >> Yeah. >> And that's what's different about it. It makes it super easy to leave all that energy on the ground. You travel through it and this faring then comes out at high speed and then releases a payload into the upper atmosphere which then turns on a second stage engine and we go. But yeah, it's taken years for us to master the technology. >> Can you imagine? >> And yeah, after leaving Blue Ridge, I started actually drilling deep holes for mining exploration. My whole family, third generation miner. So I went back to the family business to figure out all these things I needed to learn in order to start what's now rig launch. >> You had to dig down to go way up. >> You had to go down to go up, that's right. >> That's poetic honestly. >> It's really poetic. >> A big leap for me, honestly. >> I love that. So you were showing me some really cool videos of the development work that you all have been doing. Tell me a bit about what you've been doing to actually bring this to bear. >> Sure, so we started small. We actually built the very smallest version of this was half an inch in diameter. And we called it tabletop ram accelerator. So when working for Jeff Bezos, we always had these thought experiments. What could you do kind of simply? And that was the next thing after your thought experience. How could you prove it? And so the University of Washington got on the contract. They taught us how it would work. And then we started making our own systems. And we went from very small and then we grew it to something that was about four inches in diameter and then grew it up and we got a NASA contract, a small one to do some research. And we went down to Spaceport America with a water well rig. And something is about 20 inches in diameter and about nine feet tall. And that was our first kind of impulsive test out of the ground. And then we've gone back and refined that. There's some really new breakthrough that we had at both the university and in our labs that allowed us to do something pretty amazing with the tech. It simplified everything. I can't tell you all about it. >> Can you tell me anything about that? >> Well, I can't tell you. >> Even a sprinkle of it? >> That heavier projectiles, meaning the ones that need to carry things into space are now very possible with this tech. Early on, they tested very light projectiles and had a lot of parts to it. We simplified it all and now we're testing horizontally every single day in Washington state running these systems horizontally. And this year, we're looking to take that now into the ground again and launch all the way to the Carmen line. >> Wow. >> And do it again. And again and again, it's set a world's record. That's what we're trying to do this year. It's pretty simple to start with. I mean, in the future, it'll be larger systems that carry those bigger pipes. So right now, a simple water well rig. You literally just show up, drill a small, short hole, and now you have this distance. And it's a couple hundred feet long. And you can carry small projectiles, but they would reach the Carmen line on impulsive flight alone. So- >> What would be the, I'm gonna say the reload time. How quickly could you think in theory this could be? Could go pretty quickly, like one after the other? >> So we can launch with our system horizontally every 90 seconds. It is a radical different- >> Wow. >> Lost and timing for what we call hypersonic flight. Now, I'll tell you a little bit about- >> Please, yeah. >> What hypersonic- >> What hypersonic- >> What hypersonic- >> So it means- >> Please, yeah. >> So when I formed this, we actually have two companies. One company's called Hyperscience, and the other company's called Pipeline to Space. >> Yep. >> Which I thought was pretty simple. It's a pipeline that takes you to space. But Hypersciences was all about developing the core technology with the University of Washington in our own labs. Hypersciences got funded by Shell and Exxon and some very large mining companies. Because we found that you could genetically impact rock, drill for geothermal energy very quickly, as well as tunnel bore quickly. So we got very good at this at a scale about the size of a banana, if you will. We were launching things that were iron and concrete into rock at Mach 4. And that means that you could carry all that energy, break the rock really efficiently. >> Wow. >> DARPA tested this in the 1970s with a howitzer. And we found that if we could get funded to build something that was good for Earth first, it would actually teach us everything we needed to know. And it worked. We actually are under contract, we tunnel bore, we drill. And then pipeline to space and Hypersciences got together and created General Hypersonics, which does rig launch. That's how these two companies have come together. Yeah, Hypersonics. >> Yeah, yeah, we have. >> We probably chat a little bit about what that means. >> Yeah, cuz it's something that very hot word in our world. And yeah, I wanted to hear you kind of walk me through that one if you don't mind. >> Yeah, it's now becoming sort of an everyday household term. >> Yeah. >> The US is getting behind in Hypersonics. And generally, supersonic means you're going one or more times the speed of sound. So if you're in a jet aircraft and you're flying along around 30,000 feet, you're very close to Mach 1. You're at about Mach 0.98 or so. Any faster drag rises and then you get a sonic boom below you and around you. However, when you go above the speed of sound substantially, the drag actually drops. You actually have a much easier time getting through. But getting through that barrier, the old sound barrier. Well, hypersonic means you're going five times the speed of sound. So in meters per second, speed of sound is 343 meters per second. So at Mach 5, we're doing 1750 meters per second. It's fast. It's like thousands of miles per hour. And when you go that fast, a lot of amazing things happen. In the industrial side, when you impact things, everything looks like a liquid for a moment. It goes hydroelastic. And that's why you get such efficient rock breaking. And because we started testing this in my grandfather's old mine tunnel, we wanted to be super safe. But we also found out, holy cow, this is like Velcro and Tang. For NASA, we finally found something. We just pay the bills while we learned. So that was kind of a fun way to do it. So hypersonic is bringing all that energy with you. So what Rig Launch does is it has a much bigger system, half meter, meter, and larger, and encapsulate your satellite. And you put it in a tube, and you bring it out at these high velocities. Then you don't have to have this big rocket engine. So we get rid of that big first stage booster. And that velocity carries you right to the edge of space. And then you put that rocket engine on. Does it allow larger payloads for the rocket? And is that what you're sort of imagining long term? You get large, I would say large. I think heavy lift is still going to be the domain of the space taxes and the Blue Origins and the NASA's for a while. But we're talking about being able to put up significant payloads every few minutes. So the aggregate number of kilograms to orbit could actually be quite large with ours. In fact, larger than the heavy lift over time. So think about this. If you wanted to ship a next day envelope, you put it on FedEx or a carrier DHL. You don't put it on a cargo ship. And that's really the problem with big rockets today is it takes months to years of integration and a lot of complex engineering to get that thing, even if you're riding as a rideshare. So all the small satellites are just waiting. There is literally a line out the door for responsive space. And that's what we bring to the equation is not just one rig. We're looking at these waterborne platforms, drill rig platforms, and we have them everywhere around the planet. You can do any orbit, any time. So it's a fulfillment center. - That makes a lot of sense. - That is what we're looking for. - That's it. - Fulfillment center is everywhere to reach orbit. (upbeat music) - We'll be right back. (air whooshing) (air whooshing) Welcome back. Since Valentine's Day last year, ESA's Euclid telescope has been on a mission, a little love letter to the cosmos, if you will. It's been working on creating a 3D map of the known universe as it investigates what parts gravity and dark energy and dark matter have all played in the formation of the aforementioned universe, you know, NBD. Gravitational lensing is one of the many phenomena that Euclid is keeping an eye out for. And that is when light from a distant galaxy gets all squashed and stretched by the supermassive gravity of a galaxy that is closer to us. It makes those smear-like light streaks that you might remember from Hubble or web images. And those gravitational lenses also allow us to see extremely distant objects that we wouldn't normally be able to see. That distortion of space-time is like a handy shortcut for us. And when the lens hits your eye like a big pizza pie, that's an Einstein ring, sorry, Dean Martin. If you happen to look at the right galaxy, at the right alignment, and it happens to be lensing something else, you may just see what looks like a halo instead of a smear or a swoop of a gravitationally-lens distant galaxy. And that ring is called an Einstein ring, both very rare and very scientifically useful. And Euclid has spotted such a ring by looking at galaxy NGC6505, which is a mere 590 million light years from us, practically next door. But the galaxy that, to our view, is forming the ring around NGC6505 is both unnamed and unknown. And it is 4.42 billion light years away. Exciting and beautiful, the best combination. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) And that's it for February 10th, 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 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. N2K's senior producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We're mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Trey Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Eiben. Peter Kilpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazis. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) - T minus. - T minus. (air whooshing) [BLANK_AUDIO]