[MUSIC PLAYING] Today is August 4th, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazis, and this is T-minus. [MUSIC PLAYING] T-minus. 20 seconds to L-O-N, T-dred. Open aboard. Right side. [MUSIC PLAYING] [INAUDIBLE] Blue Origins NS-34 mission launched early on Sunday from Van Horn Taxis. Four. NASA SpaceX crew 11 mission arrived at the International Space Station 15 hours after launch. The URVS-Space has set to launch its first commercial space mission, the LEAP-1, on a Falcon 9 rocket in Q3 of this year. Israel's Space Agency and Innovation Authority is setting up a national R&D laboratory to kickstart space-bound technology development. Japan is looking to establish international rules for the removal of human-made objects in space. [MUSIC PLAYING] And today we have the monthly Space Law 101 with Bailey Reichelt from Aegis Space Law. She's going to be joined by Matt Linton from Linton Space Law to discuss securities and fundraising. Stick around for that chat after today's headlines. [MUSIC PLAYING] Happy Monday, everybody. Hope you had a great weekend. Thanks for joining me. And let's dive into today's Intel Briefing now. And we're kicking off today's show with reports from Japan. Japanese officials say that the nation is looking to establish international rules for the removal of human-made objects in space. So let's talk numbers to understand why this is an issue for Japan and other nations. More than 30,000 objects larger than 10 centimeters in diameter are currently on orbit. The number is estimated to rise to over 100 million when including objects larger than one millimeter. And while an object which measures at a mere millimeter might seem insignificant at speeds of 17,500 miles per hour, it can do some serious damage to spacecraft, posing collision risks to satellites and, of course, the International Space Station. So Japan's Cabinet Office in Cooperation with Experts aims to identify legal and procedural issues involved in clearing space debris, such as fragments of rockets and satellites. Challenges include clarifying procedures for obtaining information on debris from its owner, whether it's a company, a state, or another entity. The government aims to use input from an expert panel to lead global discussions on rules for disposing of space debris, timed to coincide with a 2026 meeting of the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space. So yay, Japan. And we're glad that someone is taking the leadership role and sorting out the dirty business of responsibility for space junk. Moving on now, Israel Space Agency and Innovation Authority is setting up a national R&D laboratory to kickstart space-bound technology development. And the lab is backed by around $12 million in funding and will help the full range of Israel's space sector from established firms to startups. The program will further provide eligible firms with benefits starting from around 35% off of market launch costs. And the overall goal of the program is to help boost Israel's role in the global space sector. The lab is also expected to launch at least 15 dedicated Israeli payloads into orbit. Let's head on over to India now. And Druva Space is set to launch its first commercial space station, the Leap 1, on a Falcon 9 rocket in Q3 of this year. And this is a significant milestone in the company's journey from successful tech demonstrations to customer-driven satellite deployments. Druva Space's Leap 1 mission on the P30 satellite platform will fly two distinct missions. One is the Akula-Tex Nexus 01 mission, comprising an advanced artificial intelligence module. And the other is Esper Satellite's OTR-2 mission, featuring a hyperspectral imager. This mission is Druva Space's first commercial deployment, following the successful in-orbit qualification of its P30 satellite bus during the Leap TD mission on ISRO's PSLV C58 poem 3 in January 2024. Things are getting a little crowded on the International Space Station yet again, but it's a happy thing, right? After Friday's launch from Cape Canaveral, the NASA SpaceX crew 11 mission arrived just 15 hours later to the ISS. That's pretty fast. NASA astronauts Zina Cardman and Mike Finke, JAXA astronaut Kimia Yui, and Roscosmos Cosmonaut Oleg Platinov docked at the International Space Station at 2 27 AM Eastern time on Saturday. Their arrival temporarily puts the space station population at 11. The crew disembarked less than two hours after docking to the orbiting lab and then joined the Expedition 73 crew. And speaking of weekend human spaceflight events, Blue Origin's NS-34 mission launched early on Sunday from Van Horn, Texas, carrying another six passengers to the Karman line and back to Earth. And among the spaceflight participants was H.E. Justin Sun, who bid $28 million for the first New Shepard seat in 2021. We hope it was worth every cent. New Shepard has now flown 75 people into space, including five people who have flown twice. And that wraps up today's Intel Briefing. But if you want to read more about any of the stories mentioned in today's headlines, well, NTK's senior producer, Alice Cruz, has more on where you can find that info. Alice? Thanks, Maria. We include links to all the original sources of all the stories mentioned throughout our episodes in the selected reading section of our show notes. We even include extra stories we think are worth reading up on. Today, we've included links to a CGTN article covering the latest on the Shenzu 20 crew operations and a link to an announcement from SIDA Space on new software deployment. And as always, those links can also be found on the episode page on our website at dispace.ntuk.com and just click on today's episode title. 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 @tminusdaily on Instagram. And that's where we sometimes post videos and pictures from events that we're at or excursions or even sometimes some behind-the-scenes treats. Links are always in our show notes for you. Hope you'll join us there. [MUSIC PLAYING] Let me hand you on over to Bailey Reichelt now for our monthly Space Law 101 update. Hi, welcome back. I'm Bailey Reichelt with Aegis Space Law. And with me, I have a guest host this week, Matthew Linton of Linton Space Law and Strategy. Let me turn it over to Matthew real briefly so he can give you his own background. Thank you, Bailey. It's really wonderful to be here. I appreciate this opportunity. I really serve as an outside general counsel to space AI deep tech companies within that arena. I've got a lot of national security background and experience dual use strategies for companies and how they're trying to scale and grow and fundraise. It's a lot of focus on regulation, policy, contracts, and then kind of good old-fashioned employment law that many companies just have to slog through as they grow. Well, thanks so much for joining, Matthew. Today, we picked the topic of securities and fundraising. One, because Matthew has a great background in that and a lot of really good advice for those of you out there in the industry trying to do fundraising. And because we haven't covered this topic before, but it's super important. It's something everyone has to deal with when they're building a business. So let's just get right into it. When people say they're raising capital, what does that even mean? Can you talk about even the forms of capital? Bet. There's really a wide range. And some of this stuff, obviously, you can do your research on. But I think space companies tend to follow a pretty typical Silicon Valley tech company model. And so you're going to see the earliest efforts made by founders with perhaps some of their own self-funding. Some folks might call this bootstrapping a bit. It depends on how your access to capital might be at that time, that you can do this yourself. But usually, you'll see people jump in, put some of their own money in, and kick things off. They'll move to friends and family and what you would call angel investors. Angel investors are going to be folks that are those early, smaller checks. They're making a big bet. They're buying the vision, buying really the people. They're looking at that and saying, I like these people. I think they can pull this off. And that ideally gets you to what you would call a seed stage or a pre-seed. People use different lingo. The real distinction here between the fundraising you do in those early days and then what comes in the more formal things like you've heard like series A or B is what you would call equity fundraising. And so those early stage investments are going to typically take the form of what's called a safe or a simple agreement for future financing. This is a two-page standard document that is very streamlined. It was established through the Y Combinator folks. Allows you to essentially take an investment and you're promising the future equity. You're not issuing stock as a part of this. It's very much a promise for the future. When you get into that series A, B stage, that's when you're doing what's called an equity round. If you're seeking venture capital money, which is certainly I think critical in the space arena at this point in time, you're going to then be going through the more formal process of diligence with those investors. They're gonna have, they're gonna review all of your corporate documents and it's a much more complex and bigger process. And then it just goes on from there where people I think are probably a little more familiar, right? You're gonna do larger money that comes in. Perhaps you're getting closer toward an exit, a sale or go public. We're seeing great news. Couple of companies going public right now in the space industry. And I really hope that's the beginning of a new trend again. - So we talked about equity and we talked about venture capital. There's a couple other mechanisms that are out there that we sometimes see clients use. Things like just traditional debt, taking out a business loan. There's also grants, usually government or institutional or revenue-based financing. Would you mind telling us a little bit about any of those and what might be the ideal time to choose one of those instruments instead of just traditional equity? - You know, when it comes to things like grants or perhaps government accelerator programs, I think the number one thing is to think about are you giving away any critical IP of your company to that government entity? Hopefully these things are structured in a way that that's not the case. But that's something really people need to be aware of. And two, ultimately what I would say is what are you seeking? It's not just about the money, right? As we know, if I'm founding a space company, obviously you're gonna need some money. But what you're looking for is also, the support that a particular source of money might bring to your company to help you grow. It could be that your venture capital approach is the right approach because you're really looking for investors that have done this before perhaps and can help show you the way. If you've done it yourself before or you have some sense of how you really want to maneuver your company without the need for the kind of help that you can get with the venture side perhaps, you might look at, okay, look, I'll just take some debt on. I'm not going to dilute the company. What does that mean? I'm not gonna give away parts of my company early, right? So you might wanna try to get things moving without giving away a lot of the company. What I would say there again is it's very individual to the company and to the founders and to the people doing the fundraising because I view for the clients I work with that the fundraising piece is just really, it's you're choosing in some ways another founder, especially for those early stage investors. And I really think that people can gain significant money and significant traction if they choose someone that kind of complements their knowledge or their skills. Thinking about all of that, well, one, it's a lot. It's a lot to take in. So thank you for defining some of those terms. I think that was really helpful. So if I'm in the shoes of, let's say I'm in grad school and I wanna start, I don't know, just a rocket company, something that's high capital on the front end, I'm guessing that my best option is gonna be probably equity unless I'm really wealthy or I have some really wealthy close friend groups. Would you say that's accurate? I think so. I think there's one other angle but it would tend to come a little later, which is finding sources of what might be strategic investment for entities that perhaps could be aligned with a larger prime contractor. Many of them have venture arms now. And depending on their own investment thesis, may or may not get involved at the earlier stages. But so that can be valuable also in different ways, but most likely I think people are going to end up needing to just sell some equity in that company to be able to raise the money that we need for the space industry because it's just incredibly capital intensive to build. Whether it's the hardware or the software side, talk to anybody right now that's trying to consume a lot of AI credits and how expensive it is. And you also realize, space companies, as they scale and grow and the amount of AI they will consume in itself becomes quite costly. Oh man, I already know how much AI I'm consuming and I just run a law firm. So talking about that equity, when you're starting out and you are looking at some sort of equity based fundraising, is there any advice you could give to a founder that would be applicable in picking the right investors, the right groups to work with your company? 'Cause I know not all investors are equal, right? Some are better than others, some are a better fit for the company. And while a lot of our clients will go out there and they're pitching and they just want, it feels like sometimes any attention they can get, not all attention is the right attention in my opinion. Can you give us any advice on that? It's really great question. And it relates directly to the law as well, because choosing the right investor could end up with legal implications that are not desired, or excuse me, choosing the wrong investor. And so if you choose the wrong investor, it's a bit like choosing the wrong founder or choosing the wrong early team members. Why? Because again, these folks, they're likely gonna have a role on your board. They, especially if they're a larger check, they will be actively involved in the business potentially. And you're gonna want someone who you can work with. It's not just taking the money. And so, there's a lot of really great investors now that are very savvy in the space industry. And I would look at that subject matter expertise if either they're firm that they have or their group that they're pulling together. I would be very hesitant to counsel companies to accept capital from investors who are not particularly, doing more than dabbling perhaps in the space industry or the AI or deep tech industries, right? And they're just looking to kind of spread some things around. I'd be looking for some of the really wants to partner for the longterm because that's the other thing which I'll stop with is the space industry is gonna be a longterm bet. There's no, not gonna be a quick return necessarily in most circumstances. And so, you're gonna be looking for somebody that's gonna go the distance, is gonna be willing to go through some failures because name a space company that hasn't failed spectacularly multiple times, they don't exist. And failure is part of the way in which we innovate in this industry. And so, I think knowing how you're going to get through some of those down times or harder times as well with that investor is going to be critical. - Yeah, really good advice. And I think summing all that up, what I heard was investors are often part of your team. So you need to pick your team wisely, have a strategy. - I agree. - Thanks Matt. And hopefully if anyone has any more comments on fundraising and they want us to go do a deeper dive on anything, they can drop those comments to us, send them to NTK. - We will be right back. Welcome back. Today we're noting the passing of the torch of the best title ever. And the competition isn't even close. That is the post of Astronomer Royal. And as you might guess, it is a UK based position. And yes, it's a real job. Whose job nowadays is to be an advisor to the king. An all matters astronomical. One wonders what stellar questions keep King Charles up at night. Anyway, and the post of Astronomer Royal has actually been around since 1675. And it has historically always been held by men until this week when the previous appointee, Lord Rhys retired from the job. And now the title of Astronomer Royal has been given by the King of England to Professor Michelle Doherty. She is the very first woman to have this role on the job's 350 plus years of existence. It is an honorary title for astronomy professionals who definitely have the bona fides. In the case of Professor Doherty, she is also executive chair of the science and technology facilities council, the president elect of the Institute of Physics and a professor of space physics at Imperial College London. A very worthy honor to a very worthy honoree indeed. Congratulations, Professor Doherty, Astronomer Royal. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) And that's T-minus brought to you by N2K Cyberwire. We would love to know what you think of our podcast. Your feedback ensures 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 the podcast app. Please also fill out the survey and the show notes or send an email to space@n2k.com. We're proud 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 the eminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies. N2K helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovery and connection we bring you, the people, the technology and the ideas shaping the future of secure innovation. Learn how at N2K.com. N2K's senior producer is Alice Carruth. Our producer is Liz Stokes. We are mixed by Elliot Peltzman and Tre Hester with original music by Elliot Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Iben. Peter Kilpe is our publisher and I am your host, Maria Varmazis. Thanks for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) - T minus. (upbeat music) (thunder rumbling) [BLANK_AUDIO]
