[MUSIC PLAYING] Today is January 14, 2026. I'm Maria Varmazis, and this is T-minus. [MUSIC PLAYING] T-minus. 22nd to LOS, T-dred. Open aboard. [INAUDIBLE] [MUSIC PLAYING] [INAUDIBLE] Five. Crew 11 is due to begin their return journey to Earth from the International Space Station. Four. SkyFi has raised $12.7 million in an over-subscribed series A funding round. Three. iSpace has been selected by JAXA to conduct a study and provide a study on space debris mitigation in lunar orbit and disposal management on the lunar surface. Two. China launched a new batch of internet satellites from the Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch site on the southern island province of Hainan on Tuesday. One. Chinese firms have submitted more than a dozen proposals to the ITU for 200,000 internet satellites. [MUSIC PLAYING] Lift off. [MUSIC PLAYING] It is Wednesday. Hope you're having a good one. We are going to be discussing the new player entering the lunar Helium III extraction market later in today's show. But before we get to that, let's dive into today's intelligence briefing, shall we? [MUSIC PLAYING] On yesterday's show, we talked about SpaceX's plans to expand its Starlink Leo constellation to at least 15,000 satellites with ambitions to double that size if and/or when they can secure that authorization. But they are not the only ones looking to dominate Earth's orbit. Recent filings indicate that Chinese firms are planning to deploy more than 200,000 internet satellites-- yes, 200,000-- with formal submissions submitted to a UN agency shortly after Beijing publicly raised concerns over the congestion caused by Elon Musk's SpaceX constellation-- again, that number-- 200,000. More than a dozen separate proposals from Chinese satellite operators were lodged with the International Telecommunication Union, better known to most of us as the ITU, at the end of 2025. The largest proposals came from initiatives known as CTC-1 and CTC-2, which were each designed for 96,714 satellites. Beijing has not been happy with SpaceX's dominance and have raised concerns about the Starlink network, which is already crowding shared orbital paths and creating potential collision risks. So we shall see how the ITU deals with the requests in the coming months. And speaking of those internet satellites, China launched a new batch of them from Hainan Commercial Spacecraft Launch Site on the southern island province of Hainan on Tuesday. Along large 8A rocket carrying the 18th group of low-orbit internet satellites blasted off at 11.25 PM local time and then sent them into their preset orbit. The rocket, which was developed by the China Academy of Launch and Vehicle Technology, is a liquid-propellant carrier rocket measuring 50 and a half meters long. Let's head on over to Japan now. And iSpace has been awarded a contract by the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, better known as JAXA, to conduct a study and provide a study called Analysis for Space Abree Mitigation in Lunar Orbit and Disposal Management on the Lunar Surface. Japan says that it commissioned the study after Artemis Accord's signatory nations, including Japan, identified the limitation of newly generated, long-lived, harmful debris as a critical challenge for achieving a sustainable cis-lunar economy. While many space-related agencies and organizations, such as the United Nations Committee on the Peaceful Uses of Outer Space and the Interagency Space Debris Coordination Committee, have established space debris reduction guidelines, these guidelines do not necessarily account for activities on and around the moon. JAXA says with the anticipated expansion of development and exploration, future challenges will include addressing appropriate measures for post-mission disposal methods and management of spacecraft. iSpace has been contracted to examine the practical effectiveness from a private sector perspective. The company will take into consideration issues regarding space debris mitigation in lunar orbit and disposal management on the lunar surface that are currently being discussed by signatory nations of the Artemis Accords and led by Japan/JAXA. Leave it to Japan to be concerned about how to dispose of trash. Moving on, SkyFi has raised $12.7 million in an oversubscribed Series A funding round. The satellite imagery and analytics company says it will use the investment to accelerate product development and enhance SkyFi's technology, including its platforms, user interface, and analytical tools. Additionally, the company plans to forge new partnerships with satellite operators to expand its on-demand data offerings and AI-enabled analytic capabilities for leading commercial and government customers worldwide. And a little bit after today's publishing time of 4 p.m. Eastern, Crew 11 will begin their journey back to Earth ahead of schedule. NASA's Mike Finke and Zina Cardman, Kimi Yui of Japan and Kosmonaut Oleg Platinov are all cutting their planned six-month mission short by about a month due to a medical concern affecting one of them. Crew 11's Crew Dragon capsule named Endeavour is scheduled to depart the space station on Wednesday at 5.05 p.m. Eastern time. The hatches between Endeavour and the ISS will close about 90 minutes before that at 3.30 p.m. Eastern time, a little after our recording time, if all goes according to plan. And we will bring you updates on that mission on tomorrow's show. We wish everyone the best. (upbeat music) And that wraps up today's top five headlines. Stay with us to find out more about a new lunar robotic mission that's aimed at extracting Helium-3. But before we get to that, N2K senior producer Alice Carruth joins us now with a look at the other stories that are making today's headlines. Alice, what do you have for us? - Happy Wednesday, Maria. We've included two additional links in today's selected reading section. They cover intuitive machines as completed acquisition of Lanteris space systems, which we had previously covered when it was announced in November of last year. And we've included the latest earnings report from Boeing, a reminder that those links can be found in our show notes, which are available on the podcast platform that you listen to us through, or on our website, space.intuk.com, just click on today's episode title. - Hi there. Whether you have been listening to T-minus from the very start, or whether this is your very first episode tuning in, I want to thank you for listening. And if you like what we're doing here at T-minus, your support will help us grow and bring you more of the insights and guest interviews that you enjoy. So if you could take a moment and leave us a five-star rating and start review in whatever podcast app you use, I would appreciate it so much. Tell us about your favorite recent interview that you found really fascinating, like when I just spoke with John Serafini, the CEO of Hawkeye 360, about their latest series E funding round. Stuff like that really does help us grow. And I wouldn't be much of a podcast host. If I didn't drop an obligatory like and subscribe now and then after all, so please do. And thank you. (upbeat music) We'll be right back. Welcome back. For decades, Helium 3 has lived in the someday column of Space Energy. We do talk about it a lot here on T-minus as many organizations that we've talked to have Helium 3 on the moon in its sights as an aspirational goal for one day lunar mining. And you may or may not know, but Helium 3 is a rare isotope on Earth, but it is baked into the moon's soil by billions of years of solar wind. And as again, many of you probably know, Helium 3 is seen as a bit of a holy grail solution for a lot of our Terran energy needs. Helium 3 has long been pitched as a clean fusion fuel with big benefits because it has no primary radioactive waste, it has a high energy output, and it has potential uses that range from power generation, of course, to national security and medical imaging. Now, whether or not fusion is truly ready for prime time right now is still an open question, but the timing of the interest in Helium 3 and fusion is converging. Right now, fusion investment is accelerating, and as we all know, lunar missions are certainly also accelerating. So you put the two together and suddenly the idea of prospecting the moon for energy isn't so far fetched, is it? So it feels almost logical to read an announcement from an established energy and space company that they're gonna go for it. And that company would be Black Moon Energy. And they've put out an announcement that they are ready to go looking for Helium 3 on the moon with plans for a robotic mission to the lunar surface aimed at de-risking future Helium 3 production. And the company is working with both NASA JPL and Caltech on mission systems and instrumentation, with its first mission being a year-long expedition just for gathering decision-grade data, not for hauling material back. That step comes later. No word yet on the timing. That is the key question, isn't it? But with both space and energy sectors very invested in missions like this, and I do mean that literally, with investments estimated from billions to trillions in fusion tech globally, I'm sure we will be hearing more about Helium 3 prospecting timelines very soon. (upbeat music) (upbeat music) And that's T-Minus brought to you by N2K Cyberwire. We'd love to know what you think of our podcast. 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 our rating and review in your 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 preeminent intelligence and law enforcement agencies. N2K helps space and cybersecurity professionals grow, learn and stay informed. As the nexus for discovering 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 Kilpe is our publisher and I'm your host, Maria Varmazis. Thank you for listening. We'll see you tomorrow. (upbeat music) - T minus. (fire crackling) (fire crackling) [BLANK_AUDIO]
