[MUSIC PLAYING] Today is November 26, 2025. I'm Maria Varmazis, and this is T-minus. [MUSIC PLAYING] T-minus. 22nd to LOS, T-dris. Open aboard. [INAUDIBLE] [MUSIC PLAYING] [INAUDIBLE] [INAUDIBLE] [MUSIC PLAYING] Five. VASTA signed agreements with the Colombian Space Agency and the Maldives Space Research Organization. Four. AST Space Mobile and Intuitive Machines have both announced intentions to expand their manufacturing facilities in Texas. Three. South Korea's Nuri rocket is scheduled to lift off at approximately 1255 AM on Thursday, according to the Korea Aerospace Administration. Two. A Soyuz rocket has been rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin counting down to a Thanksgiving Day lift off. One. A new report out of ETH Zurich sheds light on a spike in cyber activity targeting space-related organizations during the Gaza War. Three more. [MUSIC PLAYING] Lift off. Lift off. [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] [MUSIC PLAYING] Happy Wednesday, everybody. Thank you so much for joining me. Let's dive in. We're starting today with a new report out of ETH Zurich that sheds light on a spike in cyber activity targeting space-related organizations during the Gaza War. Researchers at the Center for Security Studies track the 230 cyber-operations aimed at the space sector over the course of the conflict. And here is the striking part. Only 11 of those incidents happened before October 7. According to the study, once the war began, hacktivist groups, mostly pro-Palestinian groups, either emerged or significantly ramped up activity. And most of what they did was not subtle. The bulk of these operations were DDoS attacks, which are quick bursts of traffic designed to knock websites offline, sometimes lasting only seconds. One of the most frequent targets was the Israel Space Agency, even though it does not operate satellites or maintain deep space infrastructure and has a pretty limited attack surface. But because hacktivist campaigns often recycle huge lists of government-related URLs, the agency became a recurring name on those target lists. The authors of the report say that this is part of a broader picture of what we are seeing in modern conflict. Cyber operations against space sector organizations are now a routine element of geopolitical escalation. And I know we here at T-Minus keep telling you, but it is worth repeating, take cybersecurity seriously, folks. Moving on. A Soyuz rocket has been rolled out to its launch pad at the Baikonur Cosmodrome in Kazakhstan to begin counting down to a Thanksgiving Day lift-off. It will carry three new crew members to the International Space Station. NASA astronaut Chris Williams and Roscosmos Cosmonauts Sergey Kud Sheverkov and Sergey Mikaev are scheduled to lift off aboard the Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft at 4.27 a.m. Eastern Time on Thursday, November 27. They will orbit Earth twice before docking to the RASVET module at 7.38 a.m. the same day, beginning an eight-month space research mission on the orbiting lab. And for those of you wondering where it will dock, the Cygnus XL spacecraft, which is supporting the North of Grimman 23 commercial resupply mission for NASA, was uninstalled from the ISS. It will, however, remain attached to the station via the station's Canadarm 2 robotic arm until Monday, December 1, clearing the way for the arrival of the crewed Roscosmos Soyuz MS-28 spacecraft on Thursday. And believe it or not, that is not the only launch that is aiming for a Thanksgiving Day lift-off. South Korea's Nuri rocket is scheduled to launch at approximately 12.55 a.m. on Thursday, according to the Korea Aerospace Administration. Its mission is to place the next-generation mid-sized satellite number 3 and 12 CubeSats into orbit at an altitude of 373 miles. Among the payloads is a space biology payload called BIOCABINET. And BIOCABINET is a research platform with a BIO3D printer and stem-cell differentiation incubator. I don't know what that means either, but it sounds very cool. It is designed to fabricate artificial heart tissue and evaluate disease responses in space, and will operate for at least 60 days, extending to up to one year. BIOCABINET is expected to generate core data for organ fabrication and cardiovascular research in space, marking South Korea's first acquisition of biological tissue data under environmental variables, such as pressure, temperature, and radiation. And we wish them the absolute best of luck with this mission. AST SpaceMobile and intuitive machines have both announced intentions to expand their manufacturing facilities in Texas. AST also plans to extend its footprint in Florida, with additional facilities planned in both Texas and the Space Coast. AST SpaceMobile has also increased its U.S. workforce by 100 percent in the last six months. It now employs over 1,800 professionals, with the majority based at its west Texas headquarters. Intuitive Machines, for its part, has announced a new facility at Houston Spaceport to scale operations while maintaining a single integrated campus and network. They plan to provide expanded production areas and modular space, creating an efficient turnkey facility. The new site will focus on satellite production, bringing design, manufacturing, and testing all in-house. And VAST, the developer of the Halo Space Station, has signed agreements with the Colombian Space Agency and the Maldives Space Research Organization. Memorandum of understanding with the Agencia Especial de Colombia, also known as AEC, aims to explore cooperation in science, technology, education, and human spaceflight. Through the MOU, AEC will partner with VAST to explore scientific research and halo development by Colombian universities and research centers, as well as educational and outreach programs, all to connect Colombia's emerging aerospace and technology sectors with the international supply chain supporting orbital infrastructure. With the Maldives Space Research Organization, also known as the MSRO, VAST aims to explore opportunities that engage the Republic of Maldives Space Industry. VAST and the MSRO will collaborate on human spaceflight opportunities, science, research, and education. [Music] And that, my friends, wraps up today's Intel Briefing. And we have an update on the Nancy Grace Roman Telescope coming up, but before that, our executive director of Sound and Vision, the one and only Elliot Peltzman, joins me now with a look at the other stories making the headlines today. Elliot, what do you have for us? Hey, Maria. We have included links to three additional articles today in the selected reading section of our show notes. They cover SPIRE Global's Microwave Sounders testing, Black Sky's latest Gen 3 satellite images, and Amentum's quarterly financial report. Thank you, Elliot, and a note for you, dear T-minus crew. As many of you are probably aware, it is Thanksgiving Day tomorrow here in the United States. That would be Thursday, November 27th. We will be taking a break from our daily programming to enjoy a long weekend with our families and friends. We'll be sharing some deep space episodes with you in the meantime, and we'll be back to our normal programming on Monday, December 1st. [Music] We'll be right back. [Music] Welcome back. The Nancy Grace Roman Space Telescope is quite literally one giant step closer to reshaping our view of the universe. NASA just wrapped another major round of testing on Roman's Wide Field Instrument, which is the powerhouse camera that will let us snap images 200 times larger than Hubble's in a single shot. So, I want you to think of the Wide Galaxy Panoramas, Dark Matter Maps, and Exoplanet Searches all happening at a mind-boggling speed. Engineers say that the instrument is performing beautifully in vacuum and thermal testing, which means Roman is right on track for its mid-2027 launch. And yes, we are already picturing the posters we are going to want for our home office walls. I have cleared the space already. But I should note that Roman isn't just about pretty many pictures. The mission's coronagraph, which is its high-contrast imaging technology, is now entering a new series of integration tests that are aimed at proving that it can block starlight with unprecedented precision. And if you're wondering why that matters, because, well, if this technology works as expected, Roman may actually become the first space telescope to directly image smaller Earth-like exoplanets around nearby stars. So, in this case, a coronagraph is essentially like sunglasses for stargazing, but of course you got to make it NASA-grade. And for all of us who are keeping a keen eye on the evolution of deep space imaging and space-based sensing, this is a major leap in instrumentation that could enable new commercial and scientific use cases downstream. And here's one specifically for the Science Crowd. Roman will generate so much data, roughly 20 petabytes over its mission, that NASA is already refining how ground systems and space-to-Earth networks are going to handle that fire hose of information. The telescope is, of course, not just a science mission. As is so often the case with boundary pushing missions like these, it's a test bed for scaling future data infrastructure. So, everybody buckle up. Between the hardware milestones and the network innovations that it's going to push forward, Nancy Grace Roman is shaping up to be one of the most consequential missions of the decade, and I, for one, cannot wait for launch. And that's T-minus, brought to you by N2K Cyberwire. 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 this show, please share a rating and review in your podcast app. Please also fill out the survey in the show notes or send us 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 preeminent 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 Elliott Peltzman and Tre Hester, with original music by Elliott Peltzman. Our executive producer is Jennifer Eiben. Peter Kilpie is our publisher, and I am your host, Marie Varmazis. Thank you so much for listening. We are grateful for you, dear listeners. Have a wonderful Thanksgiving. [Music] P-minus. [Music] [Music] [BLANK_AUDIO]
