T-Minus Space Daily – “Rockets, Risk & Ramses”

Podcast: T-Minus Space Daily, N2K Networks
Episode Date: February 12, 2026
Host: Maria Varmazes
Guest: Gabe Zimmerman, Director of the Inspace Product Line at Ursa Major

Episode Overview

This episode of T-Minus Space Daily delivers a packed intel briefing on the latest developments spanning strategic partnerships, funding news, and major mission milestones in the space sector. The episode then spotlights a deep-dive interview with Gabe Zimmerman of Ursa Major, focusing on advancements in in-space propulsion, scalable satellite mobility, manufacturing innovation, and the broader move toward modular and refuelable satellite systems.

Key News Highlights

ULA Vulcan Launches USSF 87

• Timestamp: 02:04 – 05:16
• ULA successfully launched a Vulcan rocket carrying the USSF 87 mission for the U.S. Space Force from Cape Canaveral.
• Notably, a solid rocket booster exhibited a “burn through” issue at its nozzle throat. ULA confirmed an early flight anomaly but reported “the booster, upper stage and spacecraft continued to perform on a nominal trajectory.” (Maria Varmazes, 03:10)
• Payload: Geosynchronous Space Situational Awareness Program (GSAP): Designed to enhance US capacity to detect, characterize, and attribute disturbances in geosynchronous space.

Quote: “Not everything went as planned…one of the Vulcan's solid rocket boosters ... appeared to have another burn through issue…”
— Maria Varmazes (03:10)

Orbex Files for Administration

• Timestamp: 05:16 – 06:24
• UK rocket company Orbex is entering administration; will continue trading while exploring options, including potential sale of assets.
• Decision follows failed fundraising and M&A efforts.
• Over 100 employees are affected; best wishes extended to them.

Quote: “The funding required for Orbex to remain a viable business was sought from a variety of public and private investors … which unfortunately ultimately failed.”
— Maria Varmazes (06:06)

ESA Contracts with OHB Italia for Ramses Mission

• Timestamp: 06:24 – 07:24
• ESA signed an €81.2M contract with OHB Italia to develop Ramses (Rapid Apophis Mission for Space Safety).
• Launch planned for 2028 to rendezvous with asteroid Apophis ahead of a close Earth encounter.
• Additional €8.2M contract with TYVAC International for a Ramses Cubesat, Farinella.

Quote: “The mission will provide unique insight into the physical properties and behavior of asteroids and strengthen international collaboration and European capabilities in planetary defense.”
— Maria Varmazes (06:58)

Hypersonica Funding Round

• Timestamp: 07:24 – 07:59
• Anglo-German company Hypersonica raises €23.3M in Series A to develop Europe's first sovereign hypersonic strike capability.
• Funds accelerate roadmap for full-scale testing, meeting NATO demand for deep precision strike.

Planet Labs & AXA DCP Partnership

• Timestamp: 07:59 – 08:36
• Planet Labs partners with AXA DCP to integrate high-frequency satellite data into AXA’s AI-powered risk-management platform.
• Enables improved modeling of natural and manmade disasters—floods, wildfires, hurricanes—for preventative action.

Quote: “Leveraging Planet’s near daily global scan allows AXA DCP to provide its clients with a ground truth layer of environmental intelligence, enabling preventative action against extreme weather events.”
— Maria Varmazes (08:25)

Featured Interview: Gabe Zimmerman, Ursa Major

Segment Start: 09:16
Focus: Ursa Major’s new in-space propulsion product line, scalable manufacturing, modular and refuelable systems.

Gabe Zimmerman: Background & Role

• Mechanical engineer with JPL experience; joined Ursa Major and now leads “Inspace” propulsion product line.
• Emphasis on history-making milestones—hypersonic and missile systems, now pivoted to in-space mobility.

Quote: “Ursa Major as a whole has been just ticking off history-making events … and then really deploying this new in space product line focused on space mobility.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (10:16)

Vision: Next-Generation In-Space Mobility

• Goal: Enable effective, efficient, and reliable movement for satellites post-launch (“How do you get around once you’re in space?”).
• Past year focused on maturing technology, refining manufacturing processes, and incorporating user feedback.
• Target: Deliver value through robust, scalable, and cutting-edge propulsion systems.

Technical Deep Dive: Components and Manufacturing

• Focus: Monopropellant hydrazine propulsion—building, maturing, and qualifying tanks, thrusters, avionics, and full systems.
• Emphasis on incremental iteration, rapid learning cycles, and discipline in vacuum test environments.
• Supply chain and performance are both critical—cost-effective, rapid delivery is as important as legacy-grade reliability.

Quote: “If you want to actually offer something new and disruptive, you have to make all the pieces of the propulsion system… that's tanks, that's thrusters, that's avionics, and then that's system design.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (11:31)

Manufacturing at Scale

• Challenges: Transitioning from artisanal single builds to scalable, high-rate production.
• Key strategies:
  • Vertical integration: In-house vacuum brazing, CNC laser welding, automation.
  • Parallel manufacturing-process development: Factory is “built for scale” even while still in prototype/maturation phase.
• The objective is to “make 100 or 1,000” units as easily as making 1, supporting the ‘maneuver without regret’ shift in space operations.

Quote: “Some of the hardest stuff is making a lot of something. Making one of something…can be a bit more artistic, it can be a little bit more manual. We really need to have manufacturing processes and digital backbone that lends itself to that scale.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (14:03)

Modular, Refuelable Systems: Future-Proofing

• Ursa Major’s tanks are now built in-house, with elastomeric diaphragms for inherent refuelability.
• Modularity on two levels:
  • Component Level: Drop-in replacements, commercial-off-the-shelf approach for wide compatibility.
  • System Level: Flexibility to switch tank sizes, add thrusters or manifolds without a “clean sheet” redesign.
• Goal is to lead industry shift to modular, upgradable, refuelable satellites—unlocking new operational paradigms in LEO and beyond.

Quote: “We view refueling as kind of a key capability and cornerstone to make sure that we're future proofing or really just keeping up with the times.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (16:58)

Quote: “Let’s make the design problem 10% harder so that the manufacturing problem is 50% easier. That kind of trade-off.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (20:48)

What’s Next for Ursa Major

• Short-term: Product qualification, delivery to customers, first in-orbit deployments anticipated in 2027 (possibly earlier).
• High pace of development across all product lines—hypersonics, solid missile systems, and in-space mobility.
• Scaling mode: “Hyper growth time, a deployment time, and a scale time.”

Quote: “What's next is pushing through qualifications… get products over the line, get products on the shelf, in the hands of our current customers, in the hands of future customers, and then into orbit in 2027, maybe a little earlier.”
— Gabe Zimmerman (21:21)

Science Bonus: NASA’s Hubble Delivers Best Ever View of Egg Nebula

• Timestamp: 23:19 – 25:54
• Hubble images of the Egg Nebula—“a rapidly dying sun-like star wrapped in layers of freshly shed dust and gas”—offer a chance to study stellar death in ‘real time’.
• Maria celebrates the aesthetic and scientific value:

  “They go kaboomy in a beautiful way. And yes, that is a technical term.”
  — Maria Varmazes (24:48)

Notable Quotes & Moments

• On the pace of space innovation:

  “We are trying to angle ourselves to really support that because we think that’s really where the industry is going…that’s what the government is looking for, the end users…and ultimately for national security reasons and also commercial and the benefits of civilians like you and me.”
  — Gabe Zimmerman (15:49)

• On the essential role of manufacturing:

  “If you kind of get all the steps to get to a thruster ironed out, you can effectively scale a lot easier.”
  — Gabe Zimmerman (14:57)

Conclusion

This episode provides a comprehensive look into current events and strategic shifts in the space sector—ranging from new partnerships and ESA’s Ramses mission to the urgent need for manufacturable, flexible, and future-proof in-space propulsion. Through Gabe Zimmerman's insights, listeners gain a rare perspective on how innovation in manufacturing and system design is setting the stage for the next era of space mobility and operational resilience.

For further reading and detailed links, check the episode’s show notes or visit:
space.n2k.com