T-Minus Space Daily: AST SpaceMobile is on a Roll Hosted by N2K Networks | Released on February 26, 2025

1. AST SpaceMobile’s Milestone Achievements

The episode kicks off with exciting news for AST SpaceMobile, highlighting a series of successes that underscore the company's burgeoning role in the global space industry.

• Contract Award: AST SpaceMobile has secured a significant contract supporting the U.S. Space Development Agency through a prime contractor, projected to generate $43 million in revenue. This achievement follows their successful testing of the Blue Walker 3 satellite under a previous contract announced in February 2024.

  "AST SpaceMobile has been awarded a contract in support of the U.S. Space Development Agency through a prime contractor with total expected revenue of $43 million." – Maria Varmazas [04:35]

• Bluebird Satellites Launch: The company plans to deploy its next-generation Block 2 Bluebird satellites, which feature the largest commercial phased array antennas ever placed in low Earth orbit. These antennas span 2,400 square feet, setting a new benchmark for advanced connectivity and performance.

  "AST's Block 2 Bluebird satellites feature the largest commercial phased array antennas ever deployed in low Earth orbit. They will span 2,400 square feet, which AST says will set a new standard for advanced connectivity and performance." – Host Maria Varmazas [05:00]

• Live Demonstrations: AST SpaceMobile has also celebrated a week of successful live video call demonstrations, showcasing the practical applications of their cutting-edge technology.

2. SpaceX Falcon 9 Incident Over Europe

A notable incident involving SpaceX is discussed, where a Falcon 9 second stage experienced a minor liquid oxygen leak during the coast phase of the Starlink 114 mission, launched on February 1 from Vandenberg Space Force Base.

• Incident Details: The leak led to higher than expected vehicle body rates, preventing the execution of the deorbit burn and resulting in the stage re-entering Earth's atmosphere over Europe. Debris was subsequently found in Poland.

  "SpaceX says during the coast phase of the Starlink 114 mission, a small liquid oxygen leak developed and that ultimately drove higher than expected vehicle body rates." – Maria Varmazas [05:30]

• Response and Mitigation: SpaceX is actively investigating the root cause and has implemented measures to prevent similar issues in future flights. Additionally, the company is collaborating with the Polish government on debris recovery and cleanup efforts.

  "Teams are actively assessing the root cause of the source of the leak and say that they have already implemented mitigations for future flights." – Maria Varmazas [05:50]

3. AstroScale’s Address J Mission Completion

AstroScale marks a significant achievement with the successful completion of Phase One of the Address J commercial debris removal demonstration for the Japanese Space Agency JAXA.

• Mission Success: Address J successfully observed and conducted two fly-around operations of the rocket upper stage debris, capturing the first-ever footage during an ultra-close approach at just 15 meters.

  "Address J successfully completed all observations of the debris required by the JAXA mission, including two fly around operations." – Maria Varmazas [06:15]

• Implications for Debris Removal: These accomplishments provide critical data for the upcoming Address J2 mission, enhancing capabilities for effective space debris management.

4. Ariane 6’s Upcoming Launch

The episode details the imminent launch of Ariane 6 and its passenger, the CSO3 satellite, scheduled for March 3rd. This mission is particularly noteworthy as it represents Ariane 6's first commercial flight, following its inaugural launch in July the previous year.

• Mission Details: CSO3 will be launched on behalf of the French Defense Procurement and Technology Agency and CNES, serving the French Air and Space Force's Space Command.

  "Ariane 6 and its passenger, the CSO3 satellite, are scheduled to launch on March 3rd. This will be the first commercial flight for Europe's new heavy lift launcher." – Maria Varmazas [06:45]

• Launch Readiness: Despite an initial delay, Arianespace has completed additional ground operations, confirming the new launch date and time: March 3rd at 1:24 PM local time in Kourou, French Guiana.

5. NASA’s Artemis Gateway Power and Propulsion Element Assembly

NASA is progressing with the assembly of the Gateway Lunar Space Station's Power and Propulsion Element (PPE), a critical module that will facilitate the station's journey to and around the Moon.

• Assembly Progress: Technicians are installing key hardware on the PPE’s propulsion bus module, incorporating both electric and chemical propulsion control modules. This element is managed from NASA's Glenn Research Center in Cleveland and built by Maxar Space Systems in California.

  "Technicians are installing key hardware on the element's propulsion bus module following the installation of both electric propulsion and chemical propulsion control modules." – Maria Varmazas [07:10]

• Launch Plans: The PPE will launch alongside Gateway’s Habitation and Logistics Outpost (HALO), preceding NASA's Artemis 4 mission.

6. Launch Night for Intuitive Machines’ IM2 Mission

Transitioning to launch news, N2K’s senior producer Alice Carruth reports on the upcoming launch of Intuitive Machines’ second lunar mission (IM2).

• Mission Schedule: The IM2 mission is set to lift off at 7:17 PM Eastern Time on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center. Additional details and related stories are available in the show notes.

  "It's launch night for Intuitive Machines' second mission to the moon. IM2 is due to lift off at 7:17 PM Eastern time on a Falcon 9 rocket from Kennedy Space Center." – Alice Carruth [06:54]

7. Exclusive Interview with Rahul Raghani, Chief Systems Engineer at Arcasis

A significant portion of the episode features an insightful interview with Rahul Raghani, Chief Systems Engineer at Arcasis, a startup focused on developing a robotic platform for hosted payloads in low Earth orbit.

• Company Background: Arcasis, based in Southern California and founded around five years ago, aims to revolutionize how experiments and payloads are hosted in space. Raghani shares his journey from meeting the company's founder during his graduate studies at USC to his role in advancing the company's mission.

  "We're working on a platform for hosted payloads. Think of it like a little motel in space where anyone can send their experiment up and host it on our platform." – Rahul Raghani [09:58]

• Innovative Solutions: The platform allows researchers and organizations to deploy experiments without the hefty investment of building an entire satellite, potentially lowering costs from $3-5 million to more manageable figures based on the experiment's duration.

  "If they only need to do a three-month experiment, they only pay for three months. They don't need to buy a whole satellite that costs $3 to $5 million." – Rahul Raghani [10:19]

• Future Vision: Arcasis envisions a transformative impact on scientific research in orbit, aligning with the growing In-Space Manufacturing (ISAM) ecosystem. The company plans to launch a small demo mission in mid-2026, followed by a full platform launch a year later capable of hosting up to 60 payloads simultaneously.

  "We're going to launch a small demo mission in 2026, mid-2026. And then about a year after that, we'll launch our full platform that can host up to 60 payloads at a time." – Rahul Raghani [12:20]

• Strategic Design: The platform is ingeniously designed to fit within a SpaceX Falcon 9 fairing, ensuring immediate launch capabilities without waiting for the upcoming Starship launches.

  "It's big, but it fits in a SpaceX Falcon 9 fairing. You don't even need to wait for Starship." – Rahul Raghani [12:37]

• Industry Impact: Raghani underscores the pivotal role of ISAM, predicting a tenfold increase in space operations and manipulation within the next decade, positioning Arcasis at the forefront of this frontier.

  "ISAM is the next growing frontier in space. I expect to see a tenfold increase in the next decade on doing operations in space and being able to manipulate things in space." – Rahul Raghani [13:08]

8. Highlights from the 2025 American Astronomical Society Meeting

Wrapping up the episode, Maria Varmazas delves into groundbreaking astronomical findings presented at the 2025 American Astronomical Society Meeting.

• Disintegrating Exoplanets: Two teams, one from Penn State using the James Webb Space Telescope (JWST) and another from MIT utilizing the Transiting Exoplanet Survey Satellite (TESS), unveiled studies on K2-22b and its counterpart orbiting Star BD054868. These exoplanets are undergoing extreme tidal forces, leading to their disintegration.

  "These planets are literally spilling their guts into space for us." – Nick, PhD student at Penn State [14:00]

• K2-22b: This Neptune-sized planet orbits its star every 9.1 hours, sustaining surface temperatures around 2100 Kelvin, causing its rocky surface to vaporize and form a dust tail reminiscent of a comet.

• Star BD054868’s Planet: Similar phenomena are observed with a Moon-sized planet orbiting every 30.5 hours, generating two massive dust tails that obscure 1% of the star's light and are estimated to vaporize roughly one moon's worth of dust every million years, giving the planet an estimated lifespan of about one million years.

  "With JWST we finally have the means to study their composition and see what planets orbiting other stars are really made of." – Nick, Penn State [14:15]

Conclusion

The episode of T-Minus Space Daily on February 26, 2025, provides a comprehensive overview of pivotal developments in the space sector, from AST SpaceMobile's impressive contract win and SpaceX's Falcon 9 incident to AstroScale's debris removal success and NASA's Artemis Gateway assembly. The in-depth interview with Rahul Raghani of Arcasis offers a glimpse into the future of hosted payloads and in-space manufacturing, while recent astronomical discoveries add to the ever-expanding knowledge of our universe. For space enthusiasts and professionals alike, this episode encapsulates the dynamic and rapidly evolving landscape of space exploration and technology.

For more detailed information and additional stories covered in this episode, visit space.n2k.com and check the podcast show notes.