Short Takes – 11-14-26 - Space Geek Edition

Meteorite that landed in Cape Cod was a 'lone wolf' from the outer solar system, scientists find. Space.com article. Pull quote: “While the Cape Cod meteoroid was much smaller than the asteroid that exploded over Chelyabinsk in 2013, which was about 18 meters across and exploded with an energy equivalent to between 400 and 500 kilotons of TNT, being able to trace meteoroids back to their orbits may in future reveal new populations of potentially hazardous impactors.” 

Pentagon mulls placing fleet of military satellites around the Moon. ArsTechnica.com article. Pull quote: “Officials have emphasized the military’s role at the Moon is to protect US interests there as the United States and China ramp up their lunar programs, with a series of robotic missions culminating in crewed lunar landings in the next few years. Some US officials foresee a competition for real estate and resources at the Moon, where there are a finite number of safe landing zones that can access the Moon’s water ice at the south pole.” 

Reflect Orbital raises $73.5 million. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “” When the FCC authorized Eärendil-1, Reflect Orbital was planning to launch that satellite later this year. However, on Oct. 30, the company announced a change in plans. It will instead start with a different test satellite, Eärendil-0, that will test spacecraft control and communications systems and not carry a reflector. The company plans to launch Eärendil-0 on a rideshare mission in April 2027. 

Sierra Space gets FAA reentry license for Dream Chaser. SpaceNews.com article. Pull quote: “The company pivoted last year from its original plans to use Dream Chaser for ISS cargo transportation. NASA and Sierra Space agreed in September 2025 to fund a single “free flight demonstration” in which Dream Chaser would go to orbit but not to the ISS. The contract no longer includes firm orders for cargo missions to the station, but NASA said at the time it retains the option to order such missions.” 

Caltech robot makes history by building a structure in space. ScienceDaily.com article. Pull quote: “The team encountered technical difficulties and scheduling constraints that prevented it from finishing the entire antenna. Nevertheless, the robot successfully assembled an initial section, providing evidence that this construction method can work in orbit. Researchers believe the same basic approach could eventually support much larger frameworks carrying enormous reflective surfaces.” 

Highlights From the Starship Landing. NYTImes.com article. Pull quote: “Experts say SpaceX is farther away from showing that its spacecraft’s heat shield and engines would be rapidly ready to launch again after taking a beating through the atmosphere.” 

Review – Public ICS Disclosures – 11-7-26

This week we have 41 vendor disclosures from ABB (2), ads-tec, Beckhoff,Bender, B&R, Delta, Helmholz, Hitachi (5), Johnson Controls, MB connect, Moxa, Palo Alto Networks (11), Schneider, Siemens (9), WatchGuard, Weidmueller, Welotec, and Westermo. There were also 15 vendor updates from Hitachi Energy, Johnson Controls, Mitsubishi, and Siemens (12), There were eight researcher reports from Awesec, Bitsight, Cydome, and ZDI (5). Finally, we have seven exploits for vulnerabilities in products from Advantech, D-Link, FortiGuard (4), and FreeSWITCH. 

The list of disclosures was published over at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/public-ics-disclosures-11-7-26 - and was emailed to paid subscribers today. Free subscribers will receive copies on Monday. Subscribe today. 

CSB Releases ‘RIPE for Change’ Video

On Thursday, the Chemical Safety Board (CSB) released their latest safety video, “RIPE for Change”. The video supports the 2024 CSB safety study “Remote Isolation of Process Equipment”. The video shows three incidents where there were prolonged fires because the facility could not close piping that continued to allow flammable liquids to spill into the incident area. 

That safety study resulted in three CSB recommendations: 

• API - 2024-01-H-1 - Closed - Acceptable Action,  
• EPA - 2024-01-H-2 - Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response, and 
• OSHA - 2024-01-H-3 - Open - Awaiting Response or Evaluation/Approval of Response. 

OMB Approved BIS Spacecraft EAR IFR – 11-13-26

Yesterday, the OMB’s Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs (OIRA) announced that it had approved an interim final rule (IFR) from the DOC’s Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) on “Export Administration Regulations: Combined Space Reform (CSR)”. This IFR was sent to OIRA on June 15th, 2026. BIS published an earlier IFR on this topic on October 23rd, 2024. 

According to the 2026 Unified Agenda entry for this rulemaking: 

“In this interim final rule (IFR), the Bureau of Industry and Security (BIS) implements and/or finalizes recent changes to controls for spacecraft and related items under the Export Administration Regulations (EAR) included in the October 23, 2024 interim final rule (IFR), Export Administration Regulations: Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls,” and the October 23, 2024 proposed rule [link added], Export Administration Regulations: Revisions to Space-Related Export Controls, Including Addition of License Exception Commercial Space Activities (CSA).  This IFR also addresses the public comments received in response to both rules.  This IFR reduces license requirements on less sensitive items to reflect the close relations with certain allied countries to better facilitate space collaboration and makes refinements and clarifications to existing space-related export controls. These changes will better enable a globally competitive U.S. space industrial base while continuing to protect U.S. national security and foreign policy interests.” 

The publication of this IFR will be announced in the appropriate Short Takes post as part of my limited Space Geek coverage. 

Review – Bills Introduced – 11-12-26

Yesterday, with both the House and Senate finishing their first week back in Washington, there were 31 bills introduced. One of those bills will receive additional coverage in this blog:  

HR 11032 To establish a grant program carried out by the Department of Homeland Security to fund university-based cybersecurity clinics at junior or community colleges, historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs), Hispanic-serving institutions (HSIs), and other minority-serving institutions, and for other purposes. Veasey, Marc A. [Rep.-D-TX-33]    

For more information on these bills, including legislative history for similar bills in the 118th Congress, as well as a mention in passing of a bill to codify the ICE CDL Tipline, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/bills-introduced-11-12-26 - subscription required. 

Review – 5 Advisories and 1 Update Published – 11-12-26

Yesterday, CISA’s NCCIC-ICS published five control system security advisories for products from Siemens. They also updated an advisory for products from Hitachi Energy. 

NOTE: Siemens published their monthly tranche of advisories and updates this week. None of them were covered by CISA yesterday. I will go into them in my weekly Public ICS Disclosures post this weekend. 

Advisories  

Siemens Advisory #1 - This advisory describes two use after free vulnerabilities in the Siemens RUGGEDCOM APE1808 product. These are third-party (PHP) vulnerabilities listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. 

Siemens Advisory #2 - This advisory describes an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Siemens RUGGEDCOM APE1808 product. These are third-party (NodeJS) vulnerabilities listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. 

Siemens Advisory #3 - This advisory describes an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Siemens Industrial Edge Management products. These are third-party (NodeJS) vulnerabilities listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. 

Siemens Advisory #4  

This advisory describes an out-of-bounds write vulnerability in Siemens Desigo, and Gridscale products. These are third-party (NodeJS) vulnerabilities listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. 

Siemens Advisory #5  

This advisory describes two use after free vulnerabilities in the Siemens Building Automation and Energy products. These are third-party (PHP) vulnerabilities listed in CISA’s KEV catalog. 

Updates 

Hitachi Energy Update  

This update provides additional information on the RTU500 advisory that was originally published on June 4th, 2026. The new information includes updating fixed version 12.7.8. 

For more information on these advisories, as well as a listing of publicly available exploits for the covered vulnerabilities, see my article at CFSN Detailed Analysis - https://patrickcoyle.substack.com/p/5-advisories-and-1-update-published-d81 - subscription required.