T-Minus Space Daily

SolaMed Solutions provides aerospace medical expertise with innovative solutions to elevate human performance in space exploration. We speak to Chief Operating Officer Charles (Chuck) Doarn about his background and what he hopes to bring to the new space industry through Solamed Solutions. You can connect with Solamed Solutions through their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Want to hear your company in the show? You too can reach...

NASA has made the decision to bring Crew-11 home early from the International Space Station (ISS) due to a medical concern. Satellogic has signed a seven-figure contract with an unnamed customer for satellite imagery. Ursa Major has been selected as a partner for Teledyne Brown Engineering's prime contract under US Army Space and Missile Defense Command's Design, Development, Demonstration, and Integration Domain 1 contract, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest<...

NASA says it is considering the possibility of an earlier end to Crew-11’s mission due to a medical situation on board the International Space Station. Karman Space and Defense has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire Seemann Composites and MSC. PowerBank and Smartlink AI’s Genesis-1 satellite is confirmed to be operating an artificial intelligence model directly in orbit, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our...

The House and Senate Appropriations Committees released the text of their joint conference agreement on the FY2026 Commerce-Justice-Science bill with a rejection of the cuts to NASA proposed by the Trump Administration. NASA has selected ARES Technical Services Corporation to provide launch range operations support at the agency’s Wallops Flight Facility in Virginia. Sierra Space has completed the first nine satellite structures, Plane 1 of the 18 total satellites the company is contracted to deliver for the Space Development Agency’s (SDA’s) Tranche 2 Tracking Layer program (T2TL), and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and re...

NASA’s Dynamic Test Stand and the Propulsion and Structural Test Facility, known as the T-Tower at the Marshall Space Flight Center in Huntsville, Alabama, are due to be demolished. The library at Goddard Space Flight Center in Maryland is closing after a number of disruptions and reductions by the Trump administration. NASA has selected industry proposals to advance technologies for the agency’s Habitable Worlds Observatory concept, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. <...

The European Space Agency (ESA) has confirmed that some of its systems have been breached after a hacker offered to sell data allegedly stolen from the organization. L3Harris Technologies has agreed to sell a majority part of its Space Propulsion and Power Systems business to private equity firm AE Industrial Partners. The United States Space Force (USSF) has issued requests for launch provider interest in launch pads at both Cape Canaveral Space Force Base, and Vandenberg Space Force Base, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. <...

Dr. Sian “Leo” Proctor was the keynote speaker at SpaceCom 2025. We caught up with the Inspiration4 astronaut to find out about her journey into space and how it inspires her art here on Earth. You can find out more about Dr. Proctor on her website. T-Minus Space will be at SpaceCom 2026 https://www.spacecomexpo.com/. Email us at space@n2k.com to arrange a time to chat with us. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and...

Wendy Lawrence (Captain, US Navy, Retired) is an engineer, pilot (helicopter), and a former NASA Astronaut. She flew on four space shuttle missions, and is now using her experience to inspire the next generation of the space workforce. She tells us about her work with the Challenger Learning Center and Higher Orbits. You can connect with Wendy on LinkedIn. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Want to hear your company in...

Space has long been considered bi-partisan domain in the US, but is it becoming more political? Our guest is Kevin Kelly. Kevin is a former Senate appropriations staffer who oversaw funding for NASA, the NSF, and 25 other agencies. Now a partner at Actum, he advises some of the most influential players in science and defense. His career has spanned everything from nuclear tech and climate systems to the tools we use to monitor near-Earth threats, and he shares his thesis on why space is becoming more political. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in...

Satellite IoT refers to the integration of satellite networks with Internet of Things (IoT) devices to enable connectivity and data exchange in remote and challenging environments. This allows IoT devices, like sensors and trackers, to communicate directly with satellites, bypassing terrestrial infrastructure. We spoke to Ian Itz, Executive Director of Global IoT Line of Business at Iridium about the service they offer. You can connect with Ian on LinkedIn, and learn more about Iridium on their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure...

The Astronaut Scholarship Foundation (ASF) was created in 1984 by six Mercury 7 astronauts. Since then astronauts from the Mercury, Gemini, Apollo, Skylab and Space Shuttle programs have pursued the mission to encourage university students pursuing scientific excellence. The prestigious Astronaut Scholarship is known nationwide for being among the largest merit-based monetary scholarships awarded to undergraduate STEM juniors and seniors. ASF has a life-long relationship with each Astronaut Scholar and provides them with mentors, professional and personal development and networking with astronauts. Former NASA Astronaut Christopher Ferguson joins us to talk about the power of mentorship along with his mentee Vikas...

When spacecraft are sent to space, they currently have to carry the fuel to power them for their entire mission. Once the energy runs out, the mission ends. Star Catcher is developing orbital infrastructure that they say will transform how satellites are powered. Learn more with  President and CEO Andrew Rush. You can connect with Andrew on LinkedIn, and learn more about Star Catcher on their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. </p...

The Ax-4 mission will “realize the return” to human spaceflight for India, Poland, and Hungary, with each nation’s first government-sponsored flight in more than 40 years. While Ax-4 marks these countries' second human spaceflight mission in history, it will be the first time all three nations will execute a mission on board the International Space Station (ISS).  We speak to Axiom’s Chief Scientist Dr. Lucie Low to find out more about the science experiments that will be joining the crew on the mission. You can connect with Lucie on LinkedIn, and find out more about Ax-4 on Axiom’...

Lunar Outpost was founded on the belief that resources from the moon can be used for the betterment of humankind. The space mobility company has recently unveiled its new Eagle Space Truck and has plans for new vehicles to traverse the lunar surface. Find out more from  Lunar Outpost Cofounder and Chief Strategy Officer, Forrest Meyen. You can connect with Forrest on LinkedIn, and learn more about Lunar Outpost on their website. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn a...

Lunar Helium-3 Mining (LH3M) is at the forefront of the green energy revolution and the quantum computing era, tapping into the Moon’s rarest and most strategic resource, Helium-3. Beyond enabling nuclear fusion, the cleanest and most efficient energy source, helium-3 is critical for cooling quantum computers, which will revolutionize information processing and may provide unmatched strategic informational supremacy. We found out more from LH3M CEO and Chief Engineer Chris Salvino. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and In...

Find out the thoughts of host Maria Varmazis and producers Alice Carruth, Jennifer Eiben, and Elizabeth Stokes on what the highlights in space were in 2025, and what they’re looking forward to in 2026. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. Share your feedback. What do you think about T-Minus Space Daily? Please take a few minutes to share your thoughts with us by completing our brief listener survey. Thank you for helping us...

US-based national security company CACI International has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire ARKA Group. FAA documents detail aviation risks from SpaceX Starship explosion. A spate of recent global launches show uneven outcomes. And, more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Our guest today is Greg Gillinger, SVP for Strategy & Development, Integrity ISR. Selected Reading CACI Enters Into Definitive Agreement to Acquire ARKA G...

Rocket Lab awarded an $816 million prime contract by the U.S. Space Force. The Space Development Agency made multiple awards to build 72 Tracking Layer satellites for Tranche 3. NATO’s suspicions about a new ASAT weapon from Russia. And, more.  Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Dave Bittner, host of The CyberWire, and cybersecurity executive Brandon Karpf, join us for the monthly space and cyber segment about As Space Becomes Warfare Domain, Cyb...

From radiation-hardened hardware to edge computing in deep space, AI is moving off the ground and into one of the harshest environments imaginable. Ralph Grundler is the Director of Space Business Development and Space R&D at Aitech Systems. He shares his decades of experience from  building computers that don’t just survive space—they think there. We’ll explore how AI-rated systems are flying today, what they enable for Earth and deep-space missions, and why space may be the ultimate proving ground for autonomous computing You can connect with Ralph on LinkedIn, and learn more about Aitech...

US President Donald Trump has signed an Executive Order (EO) titled Ensuring American Space Superiority. Rheinmetall is partnering with ICEYE to fulfil a 1.7-billion-euro or $2 billion order from the German Armed Forces. HawkEye 360 has completed the acquisition of Innovative Signal Analysis supported by equity and debt financings totaling $150 million, and more. Remember to leave us a 5-star rating and review in your favorite podcast app. Be sure to follow T-Minus on LinkedIn and Instagram. T-Minus Guest Sawyer Rosenstein brings us the NASASpaceflight Space Traffic Report. <...