[MUSIC] Today is February 14th, 2025. Happy Valentine's Day. I'm Maria Varmazes and this is T-minus. [MUSIC] >> T-minus, 20 seconds to ALOI. >> Open aboard. [MUSIC] >> Bye. >> Starcatcher Industries has been selected by AFWORKS for Superphase One to advance space to space power beaming for vehicles in Leo. >> Four. >> The European Space Agency has awarded a contract to DXC Technology to develop an enterprise AI platform. >> Three. >> ESA has signed a contract with Telus Alenia Space to develop element number two of the high throughput digital and optical network otherwise known as Hydron. Project. >> Two. >> K2 Space has raised $110 million in a Series B funding round. >> One. >> The United States Space Forces Space Systems Command has awarded a launch service contract to Firefly Aerospace for the branch's newest tactically responsive space mission. [MUSIC] >> And it is Valentine's Day today. Hope you didn't forget. So we're sharing the love for launch with our friends at nasaspaceflight.com who will be bringing us the space traffic report, wrapping all the launch news from the week that's just passed and taking a look at what's to come up in the next seven days. [MUSIC] >> Happy Friday everybody. You made it. Let's dive into today's intelligence briefing. The United States Space Forces Space Systems Command has awarded a launch service contract of Firefly Aerospace for $21.81 million for Victus Sol, which is the branch's newest tactically responsive space mission. Victus Sol is an early operational capability to enable the United States to rapidly respond to on orbit needs and provide flexibility to combatant commanders. The Victus Sol launch service contract was completed on the Orbital Services Program 4, indefinite delivery, indefinite quantity contract, managed by the Rocket Systems Launch Program, within SSC's Assured Access to Space Program executive office. The Space Safari office is the lead organization for the USSF's tactically responsive space initiatives and is the end-to-end mission lead for Victus Sol. Jason Kim, CEO of Firefly Aerospace said in the press release that "Firefly has ramped up our Alpha production line to meet that demand and provide flexibility to support the Space Force's urgent needs that keep us ahead of the game." Victus Sol is the third US Space Force mission that Firefly will support with its responsive Alpha launch surface. Firefly Aerospace says they will build on the lessons learned from the Victus Knox and Victus Hayes missions. The company will continue to launch other government and commercial missions while maintaining an Alpha rocket on standby for the Space Force. Then, at an unknown time, the Space Force will give Firefly a notice to launch for space vehicle deployment. Moving on to K2 Space now, and they have raised $110 million in a series B funding round. In the milestone comes as K2 celebrates the opening of its new 180,000 square foot factory in Torrance, California, and the success of its first in-space demonstration, flying a number of critical components developed in-house. Since its inception, K2 Space has raised $180 million in equity and won over $50 million in government and commercial contracts. The company says it intends to use the funding to ramp up mass production of its multi-orbit high-power satellite platform. In their first customer mission, called Gravitas, is scheduled to launch in 2026. The European Space Agency has signed a contract with Teluselina Space to develop element number two of the High-Throughput Digital and Optical Network Project, also known as Hydron. The contract will see the development of a low-Earth orbit satellite collector equipped with advanced end-to-end optical communication capabilities, along with a comprehensive ground segment infrastructure. And the system builds onto the element number one, creatively named, LeoRing, developed by Kepler Communications, announced last year, which will allow Hydron to evolve into a multi-layer system with terminals linking between Leo and geostationary orbit and the Earth. Element number two will extend data availability to enhance user data rates and reduce cost. Speaking of the European Space Agency, they have awarded a contract to DXC Technology to develop an enterprise AI platform called ASKESA. And ESA is looking for the platform to enable the space agency to quickly and securely build and deploy Gen AI agents and other AI power solutions. The new platform will be based on generative AI from French startup Mistral AI and will allow the agency to efficiently access high volumes of documents and data. And it's got us wondering, what would you ask ESA? And Starcatcher Industries has been selected by AFWORKS for a cyber phase one to advance space to space power beaming for low Earth orbit spacecraft enhancement. And the funding will go towards validating Starcatcher's core space to space power beaming tech and enhance them for military readiness. The company is developing the first space energy grid aiming to address the power limitations in space assets. Starcatcher Network is aiming to beam significant levels of broad-spectrum energy, spacecraft in Leo and beyond. And we're going to be speaking to Starcatcher next month about their network, so make sure you tune in for that chat. [Music] And that concludes our briefing for this day of love. Our producer, Alice Grewth, has extra love for more space stories that didn't make today's top five. Yes, Maria, we have an update to yesterday's KICKA story. Japan's resilience lunar lander is getting ready for its first jaunt around the moon and speaking of iSpace, they've also signed an MOU with King Fad University of Petroleum and Minerals to collaborate on lunar exploration opportunities. Of course, as always, links to all the stories mentioned can be found in our show notes and at space.n2k.com. Just click on this episode title. And Maria, it's been some time since I've made you grown at one of my dad jokes, so I have some Valentine's puns for you. Oh goodness, go ahead. Brace yourselves. Are you made of dark matter because you're irresistible? I must be a comet because I can't help but tell you. Our love is like a black hole, it just keeps pulling me in. Can I be your satellite because I want to revolve? Okay, I think it's enough. 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. Tomorrow we have Jeff Thornberg from Portal Space talking about tactical responsiveness on orbit and on demand. Check it out while you're buying all the candy that goes on sale tomorrow, preparing for your next work trip to Florida like I am. Yes, I'm heading back there next week and hope to see another launch fingers crossed. Or just relaxing after another busy week in the space industry. You don't want to miss it. Oh and one last note, Monday is a federal holiday here in the United States, so we won't be sharing the daily intelligence briefing, but we will have another great chat from Spacecom 2025 running. Our guest will be James Draper, the director of the Cape Canaveral Space Force Museum. Definitely tune in for that chat. [Music] On Fridays we catch up with all the week's launch news thanks to the Space Traffic Report and our friends at NSF. I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF and this is your weekly Space Traffic Report for T-minus Space. We started off the week with a Falcon 9 lifting off from Florida on February 8th at 1918 UTC from Space Launch Complex 40. On board were 21 Starlink satellites headed to low Earth orbit. Eight of them were regular Starlink V-2 mini satellites, while the other 13 were direct to cell satellites. The first stage for this mission, B-1078, was flying for a 17th time and it successfully landed on SpaceX's drone ship, a shortfall of Gravitos. Later that day, we had Rocket Lab's first launch of 2025 with its Electron rocket taking flight on February 8th at 2043 UTC from the company's launch site in New Zealand. Electron was carrying a batch of five KineS satellites into low Earth orbit for this mission. These KineS satellites are part of a constellation of 25 small satellites dedicated to Internet of Things applications, which is why Rocket Lab named this mission IOT for you and me. Rocket Lab is still under contract to launch another batch of KineS satellites on Electron, which should take place later this year. And speaking of batches of satellites and supporting constellations in low Earth orbit, this week we also had three launches on the same day, all delivering batches of satellites in support of constellations in low Earth orbit. The first of these three took place from California with the Falcon 9 lifting off on February 11th at 209 UTC from Space Launch Complex 4 East. The rocket was carrying 23 Starlink V-2 mini satellites into low Earth orbit. As usual, the first stage for this mission, B-1071, was flight proven and was flying for a 23rd time, making it the fifth booster to fly that many times. As a veteran flyer, the booster successfully landed on SpaceX's droneship, of course I still love you. Later that day, we had a new rocket debut from China. The first flight of the Changjiang 8A took place on February 11th at 930 UTC from Launch Complex 2 at the Wenchang Satellite Launch Center. The rocket was carrying a batch of Guowang satellites into low Earth orbit. The Changjiang 8A rocket is an improved version of the standard Changjiang 8 rocket. The rocket shares the same first stage and booster configuration, but the second stage has been widened to match the diameter of the core stage. The second stage has also been redesigned to include a common bulkhead tank design instead of using separate tanks, which gives the rocket's second stage a larger propellant capacity and performance. To compensate for the increased propellant capacity, the second stage is also fitted with upgraded engines with more thrust. All in all, these upgrades increase the rocket's payload capacity by about 40% compared to the standard Changjiang 8. Despite the experimental purpose of the flight, the rocket was carrying the second batch of operational Guowang space internet satellites. Little is known about the size and mass of these satellites, and it's unclear how many of them were carried onboard, but early tracking data from the US Space Force indicates that up to eight satellites may have been onboard the Changjiang 8A during this mission. Also on February 11th, we had another Starlink launch, this time from Florida. The mission started at 1853 UTC from Space Launch Complex 40 and was carrying another mix of 13 direct-to-cell and eight Starlink V2 mini-satellites into low Earth orbit. The first stage for this mission, B1077, was flying for an 18th time and had successfully landed on SpaceX's droneship just read the instructions. With the Starlink launches performed this week, SpaceX has now launched a total of 7,929 satellites into orbit, of which 899 have re-entered and 6,264 have moved into their operational orbit. Going into next week, we'll have many more Starlink launches, with the first one coming up on February 15th from Florida. The four-hour launch window for that mission is set to open at 5 o'clock UTC. A few days later, we'll have another Falcon 9 from Vandenberg carrying a batch of StarShield satellites for the National Reconnaissance Office as part of the agency's proliferated space architecture. The roughly two-and-a-half-hour window for this mission is set to open on February 17th at 1318 UTC. Later in the week, we'll have another Starlink launch, but this one will be special. The mission, Starlink Group 1012, will be the first to try out the new drone ship landing zone in the middle of the Bahamas. Those in the area will be able to see the re-entering first stage and will likely hear a sonic boom as a result. The roughly four-hour launch window for this mission is set to open on February 18th at 2300 UTC. If schedules hold, shortly after that, an electron will be launching from New Zealand again with the first satellite of Black Sky's third generation of satellites. The mission, called Fasten Your Spacebelts, is currently set to take place within a launch window that opens on February 18th at 2315 UTC. And towards the end of the week, we'll have another Starlink launch from Vandenberg, and this one somewhat special too, as it's the first launch of a new group of Starlink missions, Group 15. The roughly four-hour launch window is set to open on February 20th at midnight UTC. I'm Alicia Siegel for NSF, and that's your weekly Space Traffic Report. Now back to T-Minus Space. [Music] We'll be right back. Welcome back. In case you haven't noticed, N2K is my employer, and that stands for news to knowledge, by the way, and it started out as a cybersecurity company. And we're still a cybersecurity first company, so we love stories when space and cyber collide. So it should come as no surprise that when German white hat hackers decided to intercept text messages sent via the US satellite communication system, Meridium, it was our colleagues at the cyber wire that shared the news with us. And by the way, white hat hackers are ethical hackers who hack with the permission of a company or organization, discover vulnerabilities, and improve security. So put your mind at ease there. I won't lie. My initial reaction to this news was that super cool, but you know, I meant bad because you know, it's important to secure your assets and the space is, well, how do we say politely? A little behind the curve when it comes to protecting against vulnerabilities. And sometimes it takes the good guys to show us what we're doing wrong. So two white hat hackers with the nicknames SEC and Schneider highlighted severe vulnerabilities and services that tens of thousands of users from the US DoD rely on. And yeah, it's easy if you know how, even though the DoD uses a secure gateway to route and encrypt its traffic, the hackers were able to see which devices were connecting via the DoD pathway. And then that allowed them to identify and locate DoD users with an accuracy of about four kilometers using a home assembled eavesdropping kit consisting of a commercially available or radium antenna, a software defined radio receiver and a basic computer like the Intel N100 mobile CPU or just the Raspberry Pi mini computer, all off the shelf stuff. Right. So please let's use this example as a light warning to fellow space enthusiasts to start thinking a little harder about what security is in place at your company and with your assets. And if you're a little unsure where to start, you know, we can actually help with that. Just drop us an email at space@ntuk.com and we'll gladly help steer you in the right direction to increase your knowledge and awareness about the cybersecurity industry and what risks are out there. And also if I may add to an end to the cyber wire, that's another great resource for you. And that's it for T minus for February 14th brought to you by N2K cyber wire for additional resources from today's report. Check out our show notes at space.ntuk.com. We'd love to know what you think of this podcast. Hopefully you love it. Your feedback ensures we deliver the insight 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 also fill out the survey and the show notes or send an email to space@ntuk.com. We're privileged that N2K cyber wire 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 Tre 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. Have a great long weekend and we'll be back on Tuesday. [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
