Useful Idiots: American 'TikTok Refugees' play into CCP's hands. A new lunar race is on. We still only have 1x heavy launch provider.
Space Technologies
Good morning,
We’re going to take a short detour from space to just mention how dumb we can be sometimes. As the Supreme Court looks increasingly likely to uphold the ban on TikTok, users of the app are looking for alternative sources of brain-numbing entertainment. Somehow, large numbers of these users have discovered yet another Chinese social media app Xiaohongshu (Eng: ‘Little Red Book’ and sometimes stylized as REDNote). Currently the app sits at the top of both the Apple App Store and Google Play.
Now, our astute readers (that’s you) will notice that the title of the app carries a clear reference to a collection of Mao Zedong’s quotes compiled and distributed as propaganda both within China and globally. But that’s not enough to condemn a company. But, REDNote carries a security threat, which has led to the Taiwanese Ministry of Digital Affairs to ban the app from any public official’s devices.
The first—and likely for most the greatest—concern is that the app collects and stores all personal data including text, photos, videos, audio, comments, likes and favorites on the app. According to the app’s user service agreement and privacy policy, this data will be transferred over to the Chinese government at their request. So, the same concern that has led to the banning of TikTok persists with REDNote. The image below outlines ‘undesirable information’, for which the app can ban users or report them to the CCP.
Now, we maintain that REDNote presents an even greater, far more insidious threat—one that TikTok also presents. These apps are the modern equivalent of Hollywood during the Cold War, creating soft power through attraction, persuasion, and agenda-setting. China historic uses of soft power have not been tremendously successful. Yet, it has increased its efforts to wield that sort of soft power, attracting foreigners to Chinese culture, arts, and philosophy. And this most recent migration from one threat app to another, demonstrates that the soft power is working, at least in the United States.
So, useful idiots and useful innocents have simply moved from the frying pan to the fire.
We must continue to assess the risk posed by these sorts of foreign-controlled apps and proactively move to discourage their use. Don’t be one of those useful idiots, even if you think you’re immune to propaganda.
Alright, let’s blast off into the news around Space Technology!
News Headlines:
Over 700,000 ‘TikTok refugees’ flock to China’s REDNote app—named for Mao’s Little Red Book—in two days (RT)
Sources: China wants Musk to buy TikTok U.S. instead of seeing a ban (AT)
President-Elect Trump wants to create ‘External Revenue Service’ to collect tariffs (AP)
Outgoing FBI director warns that China and its cyber program are ‘defining threat of our generation’ (CBS)
Taiwan spy agency says PRC working with gangs, shell companies for espionage against the island (AP)
Biden in late push to boost Indo-Pacific ties sends three pacts to congress (AP)
South Korean authorities detain impeached President Yoon after weeks-long stand-off (AP)
Satellites:
Launches:
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Space News:
The next leg of the new moon race is about to kick off — and it could be the most exciting yet (CNN)
Departing Air Force chief: U.S. must transform Space Force to counter China (SN)
Space Force’s secretive X-37B space plane passes 1 year in orbit (SP)
Although ‘insane’ to try to land New Glenn, Bezos says it’s important to try (AT)
Bezos sees no threat from Musk-Trump ties in space race (RT)
SpaceX rocket debris delays flights (TC)
Small satellite architectures get new boosts from SDA, NRO (ASF)
Some advocate to pull $140B Sentinel ICBM program off of Air Force budget books but that ‘doesn’t create new money’ according to Air Force Secretary (ASF)
York Space achieves first-ever LEO-LEO laser link between vendors for Proliferated Warfighter Space Architecture (PRN)
Space Force to receive updated Space Weather Analysis and Forecast System tool from Peraton to investigate on-orbit anomalies (SN)
Varda’s second mission launches with Air Force payload (SN)
Slingshot tracks electronic interference targeting GPS signals under $1.9M SBIR contract from SpaceWERX (SN)
Starfighters Space advances path to space launch with partnerships (PRN)
Space consulting firm Novaspace predicts space economy will be worth $1T in fewer than 10 years (VS)
Foreign Space News
China’s Yutu-2 rover likely immobile on the moon after historic lunar far side mission (SN)
China plans to build enormous solar array in space, could collect more energy in a year than ‘all the oil on Earth’ (LS)
China test fires 5 rocket engines in a single day (SP)
China sea launch sends 10 navigation enhancement satellites into orbit (SN)
JAXA deploys world’s first wooden satellite from ISS to demonstrate cleaner spacecraft tech (SP)
In a significant blow to European space network, Italy eyes Musk's Starlink for secret government communications (DN)
North Korea launches multiple short range ballistic missiles (AlJ)
Starlab Space—a US-led joint venture between Voyager Space, Airbus, Mitsubishi Corporation, and MDA Space aiming to build commercial space stations—announced a new subsidiary in Germany (PRN)
Deal Flow:
VC
Loft Orbital raised a $170M Series C round led by Tikehau Capital and Axial Partners to develop space infrastructure and satellite platforms (SN)
Japanese company Interstellar Technologies raised a $44M Series F round led by Toyota-subsidiary Woven to develop a reusable, orbital class launch vehicle (FM)
India-based on-orbit servicing company OrbitAID raised $1.5M in pre-seed funding led by Unicorn India Ventures (FSME)
In-space propulsion designer and manufacturer Phase Four announced its first close of its Series C, securing 60% of the target raise, led by Artemis Group Capital (PU)
Opportunities
Space Foundation to host a Space Business Bootcamp in March (SN)
NASA is seeking partners for a number of future opportunities (SAM)
Editor’s Picks
Space entrepreneur Kam Ghaffarian—building a commercial space station— argues that the Trump admin should leverage private space stations to counter China
Elizabeth Economy and Melanie Hart argue that America’s economic strategy towards China—largely reliant on tariffs—is incomplete.
Lighter Side:
Keep Building,
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