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Main Engine Cut Off

2 個月前
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（基於 PinQueue 指標）
Main Engine Cut Off
MECO is opinion and analysis of spaceflight, exploration, policy, and strategy, by Anthony Colangelo.
https://mainenginecutoff.com
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 18:28:23 +0000
T+270: K2 Space (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO)

Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO of K2 Space, joins me to talk about their vision for the future of satellites and the wider space industry, what they’ve been up to lately, and what their roadmap to the launch pad looks like from here.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—David, Pat from KC, Joonas, Josh from Impulse Space, Will and Lars from Agile Space, The Astrogators at SEE, Bob, Benjamin, Russell, SmallSpark Space Systems, Theo and Violet, Matt, Ryan, Warren, Brandon, Steve, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Fred, Tyler, Joel, Jan, Stealth Julian, Harrison, Frank, Kris, Donald, Lee Hopkins, Better Every Day Studios, Pat, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/270
Thu, 14 Mar 2024 18:28:23 +0000
T+269: IM-1 and Beyond (with Tim Crain, Co-Founder and CTO of Intuitive Machines)

Tim Crain, Co-Founder and CTO of Intuitive Machines, joins me to talk about their recent IM-1 mission to land Odysseus on the Moon as part of NASA’s CLPS program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Russell, Chris, Josh from Impulse Space, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Warren, Ryan, Matt, Harrison, Lee Hopkins, Bob, Brandon, Stealth Julian, Frank, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Benjamin, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Donald, Theo and Violet, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Jan, Kris, Pat from KC, Fred, David, Tyler, Joel, Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/269
Thu, 7 Mar 2024 17:36:51 +0000
T+268: IM-1, CLPS, NASA Budget (with Eric Berger)

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about Intuitive Machine’s successful landing despite so many issues on the mission, the future of CLPS, and the tough questions facing NASA and its budget.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Lee Hopkins, Better Every Day Studios, Joel, Jan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, Russell, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Ryan, Donald, Brandon, Joonas, Fred, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Frank, Kris, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Benjamin, Steve, Chris, Theo and Violet, David, Pat from KC, Dawn Aerospace, Bob, Harrison, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/268
Fri, 1 Mar 2024 00:07:57 +0000
T+267: Vulcan, New Glenn, Peregrine, Artemis

I catch up with a round up of stories from January: ULA’s first Vulcan launch, Blue Origin’s success with its BE-4 engines and what it means for their year, Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission, JAXA’s SLIM mission, and NASA’s announcement of Artemis delays.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Lee Hopkins, Better Every Day Studios, Joel, Jan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, Russell, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Ryan, Donald, Brandon, Joonas, Fred, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Frank, Kris, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Benjamin, Steve, Chris, Theo and Violet, David, Pat from KC, Dawn Aerospace, Bob, Harrison, and four anonymous—and 828 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/267
Fri, 26 Jan 2024 18:30:49 +0000
T+266: Alex Fielding, CEO and Chairman, Privateer

Alex Fielding, CEO and Chairman of Privateer, joins me to talk about what they’re working on and what drives them as an organization.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Joonas, Tyler, Bob, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Theo and Violet, SmallSpark Space Systems, Matt, Harrison, Benjamin, Kris, Stealth Julian, Donald, David, Fred, Lee Hopkins, Pat from KC, Pat, Frank, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Dawn Aerospace, Jan, Russell, Better Every Day Studios, Steve, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Warren, Ryan, Brandon, and four anonymous—and 828 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/266
Fri, 15 Dec 2023 03:11:07 +0000
T+265: Headlines, featuring Starship IFT-2, Dragonfly, and Ariane 6

A special (free!) airing of this week’s episode of MECO Headlines. Starship IFT-2, Dragonfly, Ariane 6, ISS happenings, launches, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Donald, Pat from KC, David, Theo and Violet, Dawn Aerospace, Steve, SmallSpark Space Systems, Jan, Chris, Bob, Tyler, Stealth Julian, Kris, Russell, Pat, Fred, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Lee, Warren, Harrison, Brandon, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Matt, Ryan, Joel, Frank, Benjamin, and four anonymous—and 835 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/265
Fri, 1 Dec 2023 01:45:35 +0000
T+264: ESA’s Interest in Space Stations, Virgin Galactic Bails on VSS Unity

ESA is looking to start a commercial cargo program while looking further ahead to commercial space stations by signing an agreement with Airbus and Voyager. Virgin Galactic is laying off 20% of its staff and ending VSS Unity flights in just a few months.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Russell, Joonas, Kris, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Jan, Chris, David, Warren, Stealth Julian, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Pat from KC, Frank, Donald, Pat, Fred, Dawn Aerospace, Ryan, Steve, Tyler, Brandon, Harrison, Theo and Violet, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Lee, Benjamin, Bob, Matt, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/264
Mon, 13 Nov 2023 19:06:58 +0000
T+263: Space Policy Roundup (with Marcia Smith)

Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com joins me for a roundup of space policy topics—the House Speaker mayhem, the outlook for budgets over the next year, what to do about the ISS and its related expenses, and a lot more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Frank, Kris, Tyler, Fred, Lee, Pat from KC, Dawn Aerospace, Stealth Julian, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Theo and Violet, Steve, Benjamin, Warren, Pat, Donald, Joel, David, Ryan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Bob, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Jan, SmallSpark Space Systems, Joonas, Brandon, Harrison, Matt, Chris, Russell, and four anonymous—and 838 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/263
Tue, 31 Oct 2023 16:54:07 +0000
T+262: Printing a Meniscus in the BioFabrication Facility (with Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire)

Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire join me to talk about successfully 3D bioprinting the first human knee meniscus on the International Space Station in their BioFabrication Facility, how this work fits into the near and far future of both health and the space market at large, and to discuss a wide-ranging set of related topics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Donald, Lee, Fred, Kris, Benjamin, Pat, Jan, Chris, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Will and Lars from Agile Space, The Astrogators at SEE, Harrison, Joonas, Steve, Theo and Violet, Bob, Joel, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, David, Pat from KC, Ryan, Russell, Stealth Julian, Brandon, Warren, Tyler, Dawn Aerospace, Matt, Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 837 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/262
Fri, 27 Oct 2023 13:10:45 +0000
T+261: Agile Space (with CEO Chris Pearson and Chief Engineer Lars Osborne)

Chris Pearson (CEO) and Lars Osborne (Chief Engineer) of Agile Space join me to talk about what they’re working on, how the company has gotten to where it is today, and what’s in store for the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Pat from KC, Chris, Benjamin, Pat, Jan, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Tyler, Dawn Aerospace, Bob, Fred, Joel, Donald, Frank, Lee, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Matt, Stealth Julian, Russell, Brandon, SmallSpark Space Systems, Kris, Harrison, David, Ryan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Steve, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Warren, and four anonymous—and 835 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/261
Mon, 23 Oct 2023 19:33:03 +0000
T+260: Northrop Grumman Changes Plans, Starlab, Orbital Reef, and Leadership Changes

Northrop Grumman has changed plans—they’ve ended their own space station project, and will contribute to Starlab. At the same time, Blue Origin and Sierra Space are reconsidering their Orbital Reef plans, amidst changing leadership and raising money.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Jan, Frank, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Joonas, David, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, Harrison, Theo and Violet, Kris, Pat, Stealth Julian, Lee, Bob, Ryan, Russell, Steve, Dawn Aerospace, Donald, Joel, Will from Agile, Benjamin, Brandon, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Chris, Tyler, Pat from KC, Warren, Fred, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 833 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/260
Thu, 19 Oct 2023 15:58:25 +0000
T+259: Tom Marotta, The Spaceport Company

Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about what they’re working on, their vision for the future of spaceflight, spaceport operations, the demonstration they did in May, the FAA and its interaction with private companies, reentry licensing, and a whole host of other topics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Steve, Bob, Stealth Julian, David, Harrison, Lee, Jan, Joonas, Ryan, Theo and Violet, Frank, Chris, Pat, Lars and Will from Agile Space, Kris, Donald, SmallSpark Space Systems, Dawn Aerospace, Matt, Pat from KC, Tyler, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Joel, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Fred, Benjamin, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Warren, and four anonymous—and 833 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/259
Tue, 12 Sep 2023 16:21:29 +0000
T+258: The Six, by Loren Grush (Off-Nominal 123 - An Exciting Time)

Jake and Anthony are joined by Loren Grush of Bloomberg to talk about her new book, The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Frank, Chris, Joel, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Steve, David, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Kris, Theo and Violet, Joonas, Lee, Bob, Stealth Julian, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Harrison, Benjamin, Lars and Will from Agile Space, Ryan, Dawn Aerospace, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Tyler, Russell, Pat from KC, Matt, Jan, Donald, and four anonymous—and 842 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/258
Fri, 8 Sep 2023 18:35:29 +0000
T+257: Chandrayaan-3, Luna-25, and the Deep Space Network (with Scott Tilley)

Scott Tilley joins me to talk about ISRO’s success with Chandrayaan-3, Roscosmos’ Luna-25 mission and the mystery behind it, and the state of the Deep Space Network.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Pat, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Joel, Fred, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Steve, Pat from KC, Joonas, Jan, Kris, David, Frank, Russell, Tyler, Lee, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Chris, Ryan, Lars and Will from Agile Space, Dawn Aerospace, Theo and Violet, Harrison, Matt, Bob, Stealth Julian, Donald, and four anonymous—and 842 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/257
Thu, 31 Aug 2023 19:27:27 +0000
T+256: The Kuiper Logjam

Amazon moved their Project Kuiper prototypes from Vulcan to Atlas V. Between that and some recent conversations I’ve had, I thought it would be a good time to check in on Kuiper and to see how they’re progressing towards deployment. I do some math, and it’s not good.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Chris, Donald, Dawn Aerospace, Will, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Benjamin, Steve, Theo and Violet, Pat, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Harrison, Tyler, Jan, Bob, Kris, Lars from Agile Space, Pat from KC, Ryan, Lee, Stealth Julian, Warren, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Fred, Matt, Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, Joel, David, Joonas, and four anonymous—and 830 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/256
Fri, 25 Aug 2023 19:39:17 +0000
T+255: NSSL Phase 3 Addendum

After the most recent show, I found a few nuggets of information in the NSSL Phase 3 documents, plus some more updates came out in a call that the Space Force had with some reporters.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Donald, Lee, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Simon, Pat, Pat from KC, Russell, Matt, Fred, Stealth Julian, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Jan, Dawn Aerospace, Ryan, Theo and Violet, David, Harrison, Joel, Benjamin, Frank, Bob, Chris, Will, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Joonas, Steve, Lars from Agile Space, Warren, and four anonymous—and 835 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/255
Thu, 20 Jul 2023 17:34:52 +0000
T+254: Mars Sample Return, Vulcan, NSSL Phase 3 (with Eric Berger)

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the budgetary threat facing Mars Sample Return, the latest issue with ULA’s Vulcan vehicle, and the ongoing tweaks to the National Security Space Launch Program’s Phase 3 architecture.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Will, Tyler, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Harrison, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, SmallSpark Space Systems, Pat, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Russell, Donald, Matt, Jan, Dawn Aerospace, Steve, Bob, Benjamin, Joel, Joonas, Lee, David, Warren, Frank, Simon, Fred, Chris, The Astrogators at SEE, Pat from KC, and four anonymous—and 833 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/254
Tue, 18 Jul 2023 14:23:22 +0000
T+253: The German and European Launch Industry (with Adrian Beil)

Adrian Beil of NASASpaceFlight.com (and a long-time beloved member of the Off-Nominal Discord) joins me to talk about the state of German and European launch, with new entrants Rocket Factory Augsburgand Isar Aerospace getting close to the launch pad, many others working their way there, and institutional launch struggling amidst delays and geopolitics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Frank, Harrison, Dawn Aerospace, Russell, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Bob, Pat, Benjamin, Kris, Lars from Agile Space, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Stealth Julian, Joel, Fred, Simon, Theo and Violet, David, Pat from KC, The Astrogators at SEE, Tyler, Jan, Joonas, Chris, Steve, Matt, Warren, SmallSpark Space Systems, Donald, Ryan, Lee, and four anonymous—and 831 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/253
Wed, 14 Jun 2023 14:37:29 +0000
T+252: NASA Selects Blue Moon for a Second Lunar Lander, But is Facing a Grim Budget Reality

NASA selected Blue Moon as the second human lunar lander for Artemis—which is awesome!—yet the budget outlook for the next few years is…not good. I think through what NASA can, should, and might do in the face of a grim budget reality.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Pat from KC, Brad, Theo and Violet, Matt, Fred, Robb, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, SmallSpark Space Systems, Moritz, Donald, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Harrison, Chris, Joel, Jan, Russell, Pat, Benjamin, David, Lee, Bob, Joonas, Lars from Agile Space, Stealth Julian, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Ryan—and 842 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/252
Wed, 31 May 2023 20:44:57 +0000
T+251: Finance and Business Strategy (Live from Space Symposium 2023)

Live from the Redwire booth at Space Symposium 2023! I discuss the business and finance side of spaceflight, with Caleb Henry (Quilty Space), Peter Beck (Rocket Lab), and Jonathan Baliff (CFO, Redwire).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Pat, Fred, Robb, Steve, Dawn Aerospace, Matt, Theo and Violet, Bob, Benjamin, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Donald, Lee, Pat from KC, Warren, Tyler, David, Jan, Chris, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, SmallSpark Space Systems, Kris, Ryan, Moritz, Russell, Harrison, Lars from Agile Space, Simon, Frank, Brad, Joel, Joonas—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/251
Thu, 4 May 2023 12:00:00 +0000
T+250: LEO and Lunar Commercialization (Live from Space Symposium 2023)

Live from the Redwire booth at Space Symposium 2023! I discuss the commercialization effort of LEO and the Moon with Angela T. Hart (Manager, Commercial Low Earth Orbit Program Office, NASA), Dr. Molly Mulligan (Business Development, Redwire), Jana Spruce (VP of Spacecraft, Firefly), and Kevin Foley (Program Director, Commercial Space Projects, Boeing).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Bob, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Harrison, Russell, Robb, Joel, Benjamin, Donald, Kris, Brad, Tyler, Simon, Jan, Moritz, Ryan, Dawn Aerospace, Pat, Lee, Fred, Matt, David, Warren, Theo and Violet, Lars from Agile Space, Pat from KC, Steve, Joonas, Chris, SmallSpark Space Systems, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/250
Tue, 2 May 2023 13:53:19 +0000
T+249: Space Symposium Round Up Plus Drop-In Guests (Live from Space Symposium 2023)

Live from the Redwire booth at Space Symposium 2023! I discuss news, announcements, and happenings from the conference, then talk with a trio of drop-in guests: Sean Bedford (Director of Business Development, Astrobotic), Mike DeRosa (Co-Founder & CMO, Gravitics), and Jason Hopkins (Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Crescent Space).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—SmallSpark Space Systems, Matt, Donald, Jan, Robb, Bob, Kris, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Warren, Russell, Stealth Julian, Harrison, Lee, Ryan, Frank, Steve, Chris, Benjamin, The Astrogators at SEE, Fred, Tyler, Theo and Violet, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, Joonas, Joel, David, Lars from Agile Space, Brad, Pat from KC, Pat, Moritz—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/249
Sun, 30 Apr 2023 11:49:46 +0000
T+248: Space Policy (Live from Space Symposium 2023)

Live from the Redwire booth at Space Symposium 2023! I discuss current space policy topics with Lori Garver (former Deputy Administrator of NASA), and Karina Drees (President, Commercial Spaceflight Federation).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Steve, SmallSpark Space Systems, Pat from KC, Matt, Chris, Tyler, Bob, Harrison, Ryan, Frank, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, Benjamin, Lee, Pat, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Moritz, Kris, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Stealth Julian, Donald, David, Brad, Warren, Robb, Joonas, Theo and Violet, Lars from Agile Space, Fred, Jan, Joel—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/248
Fri, 28 Apr 2023 11:00:00 +0000
T+247: International Partnerships (Live from Space Symposium 2023)

Live from the Redwire booth at Space Symposium 2023! I talk about the state and future of international partnerships in space with Mike Gold (Chief Growth Officer, Redwire) Masami Onoda (Director of Washington, DC Office, JAXA), and Josh Wolny (Foreign Affairs Officer, US Department of State).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Fred, Joonas, SmallSpark Space Systems, Ryan, Frank, David, Donald, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Matt, Dawn Aerospace, Pat, Simon, Kris, Lee, Steve, Lars from Agile Space, Brad, Stealth Julian, Warren, Bob, Theo and Violet, Harrison, Robb, Jan, Tyler, Joel, Benjamin, Pat from KC, Russell, Chris, The Astrogators at SEE, Moritz—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/247
Wed, 26 Apr 2023 14:03:22 +0000
T+246: Starship’s First Test Flight (with Jake Robins)

Starship finally(?) flew its first test flight! Jake Robins of Off-Nominal joins me to sort through our thoughts on how it went (it was janky), what’s next for Starship, and to try and figure out if SpaceX wasted more steel or time this week.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Pat from KC, Brad, Theo and Violet, Matt, Fred, Robb, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, SmallSpark Space Systems, Moritz, Donald, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Harrison, Chris, Joel, Jan, Russell, Pat, Benjamin, David, Lee, Bob, Joonas, Lars from Agile Space, Stealth Julian, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Ryan—and 843 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/246
Mon, 24 Apr 2023 16:58:26 +0000
T+245: Relativity Redesigns, Pivots to Terran R

After an unsuccessful first flight of Terran 1, Relativity has announced that they’ve moved on to a newly-redesigned Terran R. Overall I think this a good direction, but there are some serious questions to be asked of and headwinds to be managed by Relativity.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Warren, Lars from Agile Space, Donald, Lee, Andrew, Russell, Joel, Ryan, Jan, SmallSpark Space Systems, Bob, Steve, Matt, David, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Tyler, Pat, Moritz, Stealth Julian, Benjamin, Robb, Frank, Dawn Aerospace, Fred, Pat from KC, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Kris, Chris, and four anonymous—and 836 other supporters.

MECO Live at Space Symposium 2023! On April 18 and 19, I’ll be hosting several live shows—my first ever!—at the Redwire booth at the 38th Annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Redwire will be hosting a whole set of events on the stage at their booth, including 5 episodes of MECO and an Off-Nominal at happy hour.

Find me at the Redwire booth (#1374). Come say hi and catch a show!

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/245
Mon, 17 Apr 2023 18:28:15 +0000
T+244: Dawn Aerospace’s Rocket-Powered Mk-II Aurora Takes Flight (with Stefan Powell, CEO)

Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace, joins me to talk about their big news announced today: last week, they completed three rocket-powered flights of their Mk-II Aurora spaceplane in 3 consecutive days. We talk about that achievement, what the company is up to overall, what their vision and plans are for the future, and how they’re approaching the market in a unique way.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Benjamin, Ryan, Joel, Jorge, Andrew, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Russell, Donald, Frank, Joonas, Robb, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Lars from Agile Space, David, Fred, Warren, Pat, Pat from KC, Moritz, Steve, Tyler, Kris, Chris, Bob, Lee, Dawn Aerospace, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 828 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/244
Wed, 5 Apr 2023 18:28:06 +0000
T+243: Live Show Announcement! Plus Virgin Orbit Nears the End, While Relativity Flies Terran 1

I share some big news about MECO and Off-Nominal live at Space Symposium 2023, and then dive into some recent launch stories: Relativity’s first flight of Terran 1, and Virgin Orbit nearing its end.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Benjamin, Ryan, Joel, Jorge, Andrew, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Russell, Donald, Frank, Joonas, Robb, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Lars from Agile Space, David, Fred, Warren, Pat, Pat from KC, Moritz, Steve, Tyler, Kris, Chris, Bob, Lee, Dawn Aerospace, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 831 other supporters.

MECO Live at Space Symposium 2023! On April 18 and 19, I’ll be hosting several live shows—my first ever!—at the Redwire booth at the 38th Annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Redwire will be hosting a whole set of events on the stage at their booth, including 5 episodes of MECO and an Off-Nominal at happy hour.

Find me at the Redwire booth (#1374). Come say hi and catch a show!

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/243
Fri, 31 Mar 2023 18:41:09 +0000
T+242: NASA’s FY2024 Budget Request (with Casey Dreier)

Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about the NASA FY2024 budget request and what it means for Artemis, the ISS, and planetary science.

Correction: At some point in the show, we said DAVINCI is managed out of APL, but it’s actually run out of Goddard. Sorry, Maryland!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Pat, Joonas, Bob, The Astrogators at SEE, Fred, David, Kris, Joel, Dawn Aerospace, Jan, Matt, Robb, Warren, SmallSpark Space Systems, Frank, Ryan, Lars from Agile Space, Donald, Moritz, Simon, Theo and Violet, Benjamin, Chris, Pat from KC, Russell, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Steve, Jorge, Andrew, Lee, Tyler, and four anonymous—and 831 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/242
Thu, 16 Mar 2023 12:00:00 +0000
T+241: ULA on the Market

Eric Berger has three sources saying United Launch Alliance is being shopped around the market right now, so I kick around some thoughts on who may buy ULA, if an offer comes to fruition.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Matt, Russell, Pat, Warren, Lee, Kris, Frank, Joel, Lars from Agile Space, Jorge, Benjamin, Pat from KC, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Moritz, Steve, Joonas, Tyler, Bob, Dawn Aerospace, Robb, Theo and Violet, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Chris, Fred, Simon, Andrew, Jan, Donald, SmallSpark Space Systems, Ryan, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/241
Mon, 6 Mar 2023 20:37:02 +0000
T+240: NSSL Phase 3, and a New Glenn Check In

The Space Force rolled out the draft RFP for Phase 3 of the National Security Space Launch program, and it looks pretty good! Elsewhere, NASA selected New Glenn to launch ESCAPADE in 2024, so I check in on the state of things over at Blue Origin—as always, it’s about the engines.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 44 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, Theo and Violet, Pat from KC and seven anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/240
Tue, 28 Feb 2023 16:43:07 +0000
T+239: Space Policy with Lori Garver

Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator, joins me to talk about a whole host of space policy topics, including Artemis and lunar politics, the legacies of Commercial Cargo and Crew, the status of Commercial LEO Destinations, and also Lance Bass.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, Theo and Violet, and seven anonymous—and 814 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/239
Mon, 13 Feb 2023 14:00:00 +0000
T+238: Rocket Lab Flies from Wallops Island (with Caleb Henry)

Caleb Henry of Quilty Analytics and I took a trip down to Wallops Island to watch Rocket Lab’s first Electron launch from the US. Listen to our conversation on the drive down to Virginia, a bit of me at the press site before launch, and the launch itself in wonderful stereo audio.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, Theo and Violet, and seven anonymous—and 826 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/238
Wed, 25 Jan 2023 19:39:13 +0000
T+237: Virgin Orbit and ABL Suffer Failures

Virgin Orbit’s first launch from the UK ended in failure, putting them in an even more precarious financial position. And on the other side of the North Pole, ABL’s first launch attempt ended in failure right on the launch pad in Alaska.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, Theo and Violet, and seven anonymous—and 817 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/237
Tue, 17 Jan 2023 16:58:12 +0000
T+236: SpaceX Starshield, NSSL Phase 3

SpaceX rolled out Starshield, a new, Starlink-inspired (derived?) offering for national security space systems. And I have some thoughts on the upcoming National Security Space Launch Phase 3 contracting setup.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, and seven anonymous—and 815 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/236
Thu, 15 Dec 2022 18:22:20 +0000
T+235: Artemis I, 2022 Midterms (with Casey Dreier)

Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about Artemis I, where the Artemis program goes from here, and what the 2022 midterm elections mean for space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 44 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Sean & Daniel Hart, Steve, and seven anonymous—and 831 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/235
Tue, 29 Nov 2022 21:31:56 +0000
T+234: Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon of Polaris Dawn

The crew of Polaris Dawn—Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon—join me to talk about the mission and its operations, their preparation and training so far, how their roles on past missions play into their role on this one, what they are learning and bringing back to their day-to-day roles, and what they’re excited about as they get ready to fly next year.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Sean & Daniel Hart, and seven anonymous—and 844 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/234
Fri, 28 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000
T+233: Jared Isaacman, Polaris Program

Jared Isaacman of the Polaris Program joins me to talk about how the program began, how it’s envisioned, how they choose what to take on and solve, how they interact with SpaceX, and why he’s chosen to contribute to spaceflight in this way.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Sean & Daniel Hart, and seven anonymous—and 841 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/233
Tue, 25 Oct 2022 12:00:00 +0000
T+232: A Visit to Astrobotic

Last week, I took a visit to Pittsburgh to visit Astrobotic, who is working on a few different landers and rovers destined for the Moon. I got to sit down with several team members for a series of conversations about what they’re working on, how things are going, and how the company is approaching the next few years in the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, nomadic, and seven anonymous—and 837 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/232
Wed, 12 Oct 2022 11:32:30 +0000
T+231: The Future of Private Astronaut Missions to the ISS

In the wake of Axiom-1, NASA has revised the requirements for future Private Astronaut Missions. It seems to put pressure on the market to focus on a certain customer base, like research and national astronauts, and it definitely changes the math for future flights.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, Tyler, and seven anonymous—and 848 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/231
Fri, 30 Sep 2022 14:56:08 +0000
T+230: Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate

Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, joins me to talk about Aeronautics at NASA. We talk about how the directorate fits into the agency overall, how they develop its strategic direction, how they choose which projects to take on, how they transfer technology to industry, what they’re working on right now, and what they’ll tackle in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 844 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/230
Mon, 19 Sep 2022 05:24:51 +0000
T+229: Space Insurance (with Richard Parker and John Farnsworth)

Richard Parker, Head of Space at Canopius, and John Farnsworth, insurance broker and space advocate, join me to talk about the (seemingly) most mysterious topic in spaceflight: insurance!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 835 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/229
Tue, 13 Sep 2022 11:41:43 +0000
T+228: Artemis I, Act I

Artemis I scrubbed its way through its first and second launch attempts, and is now undergoing repairs on the pad, ahead of its next launch attempt. I talk about the initial attempts, general thoughts on where we’re at with this program, where it’s headed in the future, and what public reactions to Artemis I have been.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 826 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/228
Fri, 9 Sep 2022 15:38:15 +0000
T+227: Astrobee, Free-Flying Robots on the ISS (with Jonathan Barlow)

Jonathan Barlow from the NASA Ames Research Center joins me to talk about Astrobee—the free-flying robots on the International Space Station that test new technologies, sensors, and operations, and assist astronauts and mission controllers alike. Jonathan is the Astrobee Lead Engineer and has been with the program since the beginning, so we go way back to its origins and talk in-depth about what the robots are up to today on the ISS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/227
Mon, 22 Aug 2022 14:50:41 +0000
T+226: Northrop Grumman and Firefly Partner on Antares

Northrop Grumman and Firefly announced a partnership to develop a new first stage for Antares—the same first stage that will power Firefly’s larger launch vehicle, Beta. It’s a great partnership for both parties that will surely lead to more interesting things in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, and seven anonymous—and 816 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/226
Thu, 18 Aug 2022 16:21:58 +0000
T+225: Astrogation with Space Exploration Engineering

Mike Loucks and John Carrico of Space Exploration Engineering join me to talk about astrogation, mission planning, missions they’ve worked on, how they interact with teams of all types, and everything else they do at SEE.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, and seven anonymous—and 811 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/225
Tue, 16 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000
T+224: Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station, with Rick Mastracchio (Director Of Business Development)

Rick Mastracchio, former NASA astronaut and current Director Of Business Development at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, joins me to talk about Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station concept that they are working on as part of NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, and seven anonymous—and 807 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/224
Fri, 12 Aug 2022 12:00:00 +0000
T+223: Viper Delayed, Masten Unravels, CLPS Moves On

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is in a tricky spot right now. VIPER has been delayed a year, new task orders are being awarded to new teams like the one led by Draper, and Masten is all but dead.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 810 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/223
Mon, 25 Jul 2022 19:11:51 +0000
T+222: Rogozin Out, Seat Exchange Signed

Some thoughts on where we are now that Dmitry Rogozin has been dismissed as head of Roscosmos, and that NASA and Roscosmos have signed a seat exchange agreement for future flights to the ISS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 805 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/222
Thu, 21 Jul 2022 13:55:16 +0000
T+221: Psyche Misses Its Launch Window, SIMPLEx Missions Struggle to Find Theirs (with Jake Robins)

Our good friend Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my cohost on Off-Nominal, joins me to talk about Psyche missing its launch window, the state of the SIMPLEx program, its troubles with launch slots, and how NASA might approach this in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 813 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/221
Fri, 1 Jul 2022 15:27:33 +0000
T+220: Artemis Architecture (with Eric Berger)

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the Artemis Program’s space suits, expensive launch sites, maybe-cheaper-but-at-least-not-as-delayed launch sites, vehicles, and its manifest over the next decade. Plus, a few bonus topics like Astra, Firefly, and Lori Garver’s new book.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 804 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/220
Fri, 17 Jun 2022 19:31:21 +0000
T+219: Starship Launch Plan Clears FAA Environmental Review, with Mitigations Required

SpaceX’s plans for launching Starship to orbit from Boca Chica cleared an environmental review with the FAA, but more than 75 mitigations are required in order to receive a launch license to carry out flights in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, and seven anonymous—and 799 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/219
Tue, 14 Jun 2022 02:52:17 +0000
T+218: Starliner Flies, Dragon Gets More Flights

Boeing completed Starliner’s long-awaited Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to the ISS, but about a week after landing, NASA announced its intent to buy more Dragon flights from SpaceX.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, and seven anonymous—and 792 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/218
Thu, 9 Jun 2022 17:30:14 +0000
T+217: Artemis Accords, with Mike Gold

Mike Gold, Executive Vice President of Civil Space Business Development and External Affairs at Redwire, joins me to talk about his previous role at NASA, where he served as Associate Administrator for Space Policy and Partnerships, and was the driving influence behind the Artemis Accords.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, and seven anonymous—and 795 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/217
Mon, 16 May 2022 13:00:00 +0000
T+216: Orbital Reef, with Brent Sherwood (SVP of Advanced Development Programs at Blue Origin)

Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin, joins me to talk about Orbital Reef. We talk about the long history leading up to this architecture, the nature of their partnership with Sierra Space and other team members, the parts of the program that are specific to their contract with NASA on the Commercial LEO Destinations project, and dive into how their business strategy might play out in the near future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 788 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/216
Wed, 27 Apr 2022 12:00:00 +0000
T+215: CAPSTONE, with Brad Cheetham, CEO of Advanced Space

Brad Cheetham, co-founder, CEO, and President of Advanced Space joins me to talk about their upcoming CAPSTONE mission. We talk about how the mission came to be, what it’s been like working with NASA and the other partners on the mission, and then dive into the nerdy details of the trajectory it’s flying to the moon, the orbits it will operate in, how its autonomous positioning system works, and how it might be used in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 783 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/215
Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000
T+214: Andrew Maximov, Founder of Precious Payload

Andrew Maximov, founder of Precious Payload, joins me to talk about what he and his team have been working on, what they see as the missing pieces in the industry, and why they think they are building the right set of tools for where things are headed.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 773 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/214
Tue, 19 Apr 2022 13:00:00 +0000
T+213: Amazon’s Project Kuiper Launch Contract Blockbuster

Amazon is purchasing up to 83 launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Alliance—in addition to the 9 Atlas V launches they bought last year—to deploy their Project Kuiper constellation. This is a huge deal that changes the game for heavy lift launch providers, and has major implications for the small launch providers in the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 766 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/213
Thu, 14 Apr 2022 14:53:17 +0000
T+212: NASA’s Budget, Commercial LEO, and the Sustaining Lunar Development Contract

The White House has finally submitted its fiscal year 2023 budget request, which has big implications for NASA’s Commercial LEO program, and their newest announcement, the upcoming Sustaining Lunar Development contract to support the Artemis program’s lunar landings through the 2020s.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 748 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/212
Tue, 29 Mar 2022 16:21:07 +0000
T+211: Political and Industrial Fallout of the War

A follow-up on my last show with Debra Werner about the war in Ukraine and all the fallout from it, both political and industrial. Everything from the NASA budgets for 2022 and 2023, NASA telling astronauts to stop tweeting, the increased importance of European human spaceflight, and how the launch industry might shift in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 738 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/211
Thu, 17 Mar 2022 18:49:41 +0000
T+210: Ukraine, Russia, and the Space Industry (with Debra Werner)

Debra Werner of SpaceNews joins me to talk about Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the ways that it is affecting the space industry, how their last invasion had similar effects, and how the situation solidifies several arguments that have been made over the past decade or more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 730 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/210
Thu, 3 Mar 2022 19:47:42 +0000
T+209: Off-Nominal 50 (with Michael Sheetz and Eric Berger)

A special feature of a very-MECO episode of my other podcast, Off-Nominal, that I did this week with Michael Sheetz of CNBC and Eric Berger of Ars Technica. If you have yet to check out Off-Nominal, find us on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 749 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/209
Fri, 25 Feb 2022 19:35:22 +0000
T+208: The Polaris Program

Jared Isaacman, commander of Inspiration4, announced the Polaris Program—a privately-funded development program to “rapidly advance human spaceflight capabilities” via flights on SpaceX’s Dragon and Starship vehicles. It begins with a mission to the highest Earth orbit ever flown by humans, featuring the first commercial spacewalk, and culminates with the first crewed Starship flight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 738 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/208
Mon, 14 Feb 2022 20:42:27 +0000
T+207: 2022 Preview, Predictions, and Things to Watch (with Eric Berger)

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about what’s on our radar in 2022, to predict when the big new rockets will fly, and to generally catch up on what’s going on in the space industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 741 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/207
Fri, 21 Jan 2022 21:05:08 +0000
T+206: Going Independent

Last week I left my full-time gig at Big Cartel. I’m going independent to do more Main Engine Cut Off and Off-Nominal, and to make these space-focused projects the primary work that I do. I’m also going to be building some apps of my own, and doing a good bit of client work—which could include you! If you’ve got an app or a site or really anything digital to build, hit me up and let’s work together.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 718 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/206
Thu, 23 Dec 2021 12:13:58 +0000
T+205: Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA

Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA, joins me to talk about the history of and lessons learned from the Commercial Cargo and Crew programs, what things went well and not so well in those programs, the difficulty of changing NASA’s approach to human spaceflight, how to deal with varying levels of Congressional funding and buy-in, and how all of that feeds into the new Commercial LEO Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 716 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/205
Thu, 16 Dec 2021 13:30:41 +0000
T+204: ISS Port Management (with Bill Spetch of NASA)

Bill Spetch, Manager of the ISS Vehicle Office at NASA, joins me to discuss the operational considerations of docking and berthing ports on the International Space Station, the recent traffic jams we’ve seen on station, why certain vehicles and systems use one port over the other, how to fit large cargo through docking ports, and what the future of ISS port operations look like in the era of commercial space station expansion.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 712 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/204
Tue, 14 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000
T+203: Starlab with Marshall Smith, SVP of Space Systems at Nanoracks

Marshall Smith, Senior Vice President of Space Systems of Nanoracks, joins me to talk about Starlab, their commercial space station which recently won a contract award from NASA as part of their Commercial LEO Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 706 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/203
Tue, 7 Dec 2021 14:00:00 +0000
T+202: The Geopolitics of ASAT Weapons and Space Debris (with Brian Weeden)

Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation joins me to talk about the technical and political fallout of Russia’s recent anti-satellite weapons demonstration, the history of anti-satellite weapons and testing, the geopolitical situation surrounding the topic, and what the future of space debris tracking and management looks like.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 712 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/202
Tue, 30 Nov 2021 17:47:48 +0000
T+201: Russia’s Reckless and Awful Anti-Satellite Operation

Russia recklessly carried out an anti-satellite operation on a large, defunct satellite in one of the most heavily-used and most important sections of Earth orbit. I share my thoughts on the operation, Russia’s status in the space industry at large, and what the technical and political fallout may be coming out of this.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 703 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/201
Fri, 19 Nov 2021 16:58:25 +0000
T+200: Orbital Reef, Starlab, and the ISS Conundrum

Commercial space station mania! Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, and Redwire announced Orbital Reef, while Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin announced Starlab, all in the run up to the expected awards as part of NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 702 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/200
Thu, 28 Oct 2021 17:33:13 +0000
T+199: A Visit to the NASTAR Center (with Glenn King)

I took a half-hour ride out to the National Aerospace Training and Research (NASTAR) Center to take a tour with Glenn King, (COO, Director of Advanced Pilot & Space Training, and recent Netflix star) about their training, what they’ve been up to lately in this busy season of people going to space, and what the future may hold for spaceflight training. We tour their altitude chamber, spatial disorientation device, and high performance human centrifuge along with its various cockpits.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 691 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/199
Thu, 14 Oct 2021 12:19:00 +0000
T+198: Ryan McDevitt, CEO of Benchmark Space Systems

Ryan McDevitt, CEO of Benchmark Space Systems joins me to talk all about what Benchmark has been up to lately, what mobility-as-a-service means for the industry, and their partnership with Orbit Fab.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 683 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/198
Thu, 7 Oct 2021 16:20:14 +0000
T+197: NASA’s Human Spaceflight Directorate Shakeup

At a town hall this week, NASA announced that the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate will be split in two: the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, led by Jim Free, and the Space Operations Mission Directorate, led by Kathy Lueders. I discuss what this change might mean for the future of NASA’s human spaceflight program, and why I think it’s not something to worry about if you’re a Kathy Lueders stan.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 683 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/197
Thu, 23 Sep 2021 15:02:23 +0000
T+196: Checking In on Small Launch with Firefly Alpha, Astra LV0006

Last week, Firefly made their first flight attempt of Alpha, and Astra launched their latest vehicle, LV0006. Though both ended in failure, it’s a good time to check in on them and other small launchers that will debut soon like, ABL’s RS1 and Relativity’s Terran 1, and how they may all compete with each other.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 662 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/196
Wed, 8 Sep 2021 18:54:36 +0000
T+195: Blue Origin’s Project Jarvis, Suborbital Flights, and Nauka Fallout (with Eric Berger)

Eric Berger of Ars Technica returns to the show to talk about the recent crewed suborbital flights by Virgin Galactic and Blue Origin, Blue Origin’s Project Jarvis and their future work, and what the chaotic arrival of Nauka means for the future of the ISS and international space politics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 618 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/195
Tue, 3 Aug 2021 19:49:55 +0000
T+194: Branson & Bezos Fly To Space

Richard Branson flew to space aboard SpaceShipTwo on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22, and Jeff Bezos flew to space aboard Blue Origin’s New Shepard 16. I share my thoughts on the flights, the vehicles, and how I’m currently looking at suborbital tourism and why it does or doesn’t matter.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, and seven anonymous—and 628 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/194
Fri, 23 Jul 2021 16:30:17 +0000
T+193: Marcia Smith, SpacePolicyOnline.com

Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com joins me for a round up of space policy news, including how the Biden and Nelson administrations are doing so far, things that are being overlooked or sidelined, the Senate’s NASA Authorization bill, NASA’s Human Landing System contract and the battle for funding, the space tourism learning period, and we finish with a quick look at what China and Russia have been up to lately.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, and seven anonymous—and 613 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/193
Fri, 9 Jul 2021 12:09:31 +0000
T+192: iROSA with Matt LaPointe and Andrew Rush

I’m joined by Matt LaPointe, Technical Director at Redwire’s Deployable Space Systems, and Andrew Rush, COO of Redwire, to talk about the newest upgrade to the International Space Station: the Roll-Out Solar Arrays that are currently being deployed over the course of several spacewalks.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, and seven anonymous—and 617 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/192
Wed, 23 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000
T+191: Phil Bracken, VP of Engineering at Spaceflight

Phil Bracken, Vice President of Engineering at Spaceflight, joins me to talk about their past, current, and upcoming missions, the Sherpa program, and to dive into the technical details of it all.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, and seven anonymous—and 595 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/191
Tue, 8 Jun 2021 12:00:00 +0000
T+190: Brock Howe, Nanoracks Bishop Airlock Program Manager

Brock Howe, the Program Manager for Nanoracks’ Bishop Airlock, joins me to talk about the final build out and launch of Bishop, its installation on ISS, some details of its operations, and its plans for the future on ISS and beyond.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 592 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/190
Mon, 24 May 2021 12:00:00 +0000
T+189: Stephen Forbes, DARPA Blackjack Program Manager

Stephen Forbes, the Program Manager for DARPA’s Blackjack project, joins me to talk about DARPA and its interaction with the rest of the Department of Defense, how they approach space initiatives, where Blackjack came from, where it’s going, what they hope to accomplish with it, and how it fits into the near-future of the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 589 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/189
Mon, 17 May 2021 12:03:40 +0000
T+188: Starship SN15, and the HLS Protests

SpaceX successfully flew and landed Starship SN15 last week, amid protests of their NASA HLS award by Blue Origin and Dynetics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 576 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/188
Tue, 11 May 2021 21:05:15 +0000
T+187: Eric Berger on Artemis, Starship, Amazon’s Atlas V Rides, and the State of Blue Origin

Eric Berger of Ars Technica returns to the show to talk about NASA selecting SpaceX’s Starship for its Artemis landings, Bill Nelson’s nomination hearing, Amazon buying 9 Atlas V launches for Kuiper, and the state of Blue Origin.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 547 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/187
Fri, 23 Apr 2021 18:06:53 +0000
T+186: NASA Selects Starship as Artemis Lander

NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship as its ride for crew to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program. As the Source Selection Statement outlines, Starship was selected as the sole winner because of the constrained lander budget. It’s an aggressive, interesting, and exciting move from NASA, so I have a lot of thoughts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Jack, and seven anonymous—and 543 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/186
Tue, 20 Apr 2021 12:09:03 +0000
T+185: Bill Nelson Nominated as NASA Administrator

President Biden nominated Bill Nelson to be the new NASA Administrator, so I check in on some of my past thoughts on NASA Administrators and Jim Bridenstine, talk about Bill Nelson’s history in space policy, and what the future may hold under a Bill Nelson NASA.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, and seven anonymous—and 523 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/185
Fri, 26 Mar 2021 11:00:00 +0000
T+184: Jake Robins on the 2021 Mars Fleet and Future Exploration

Our good friend Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my cohost on Off-Nominal, joins me to talk about the arrival and early operations of the 2021 Mars fleet—Hope, Tianwen-1, and Perseverance. Then we dig into what the future of Martian exploration looks like, including strategy, communications, sample return, and the upcoming decadal survey.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, and seven anonymous—and 509 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/184
Tue, 16 Mar 2021 07:05:00 +0000
T+183: Peter Beck on Neutron, Going Public, and Eating Hats

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab, joins me to talk about going public, their new, bigger launch vehicle, Neutron, updates to their Electron and Photon offerings, eating hats, and avoiding eating hats in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, and seven anonymous—and 498 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/183
Fri, 5 Mar 2021 12:00:00 +0000
T+182: Rocket Lab Neutron, Relativity Terran R

Relativity sorta-announced a bigger launch vehicle, Terran R. A few days later, Rocket Lab really announced a bigger launch vehicle, Neutron. I hate one announcement, and love the other.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, and seven anonymous—and 483 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/182
Tue, 2 Mar 2021 15:59:29 +0000
T+181: Falcon 9 Fleet, ABL in the UK, Firefly to the Moon

SpaceX broke their turnaround record and is racking up quite the flight history across their Falcon fleet. Lockheed selected ABL for a launch from the Shetland Islands. Firefly shook up their board, is looking for new investment, and won a CLPS contract from NASA.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, the Astrogators at SEE, and seven anonymous—and 471 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/181
Wed, 10 Feb 2021 11:00:00 +0000
T+180: Christian Davenport, The Washington Post, on the SLS Green Run, Axiom Ax-1, Virgin Orbit

Christian Davenport, reporter at The Washington Post, joins me to talk about the aborted SLS Green Run hot fire, the space policy landscape as we enter a new administration, Axiom’s Ax-1 mission and its crew, and Virgin Orbit’s first successful launch to orbit.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, Space Exploration Engineering, and seven anonymous—and 473 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/180
Thu, 28 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000
T+179: Meagan Crawford, SpaceFund

Meagan Crawford, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SpaceFund and host of the Mission Eve podcast, joins the show to talk about the financing side of space. We talk about recent rounds of fundraising, acquisitions, holding companies, and she helps me sort through my thoughts on the whole Special Purpose Acquisition Company trend.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, and seven anonymous—and 466 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/179
Mon, 18 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000
T+178: Andrew Jones, on China’s Chang’e-5, 2021 Plans, and More

Andrew Jones returns to the show for the third time to talk about China’s current missions and future plans, including Chang’e-5, Tianwen-1, the Chinese Space Station, and the international politics surrounding it. And then we dig into the Chinese commercial market a bit—launch companies and remote sensing companies are raising a ton of money, but it’s not yet clear what effect that will have on the global market.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, and seven anonymous—and 460 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/178
Mon, 11 Jan 2021 11:00:00 +0000
T+177: NASA VCLS 2, Relativity, Astra, and Firefly

NASA awarded Venture Class Launch Services contracts to Astra, Firefly, and Relativity. Astra almost made orbit with its most recent test flight of Rocket 3.2. And something is up at Firefly, but I don’t know what yet.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 447 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/177
Mon, 21 Dec 2020 12:00:00 +0000
T+176: The Flight of Starship SN8

Starship SN8 took flight last week on a mostly-successful mission to test its final descent phase. I share some thoughts on the test, the state of Starship development, and what that all means for the near future of Starship.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, and seven anonymous—and 438 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/176
Mon, 14 Dec 2020 15:28:29 +0000
T+175: Delays

A lot of big, long-running projects have faced delays recently, and it seems like as good a time as any to check in and share some related thoughts. I cover a lot in this one: the Orion PDU issue, Ariane 6, Japan’s H3, Dream Chaser, Vulcan, and New Glenn.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, and seven anonymous—and 434 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/175
Sat, 5 Dec 2020 13:00:00 +0000
T+174: SpaceX Crew-1 Kicks Off New Era for ISS

SpaceX Crew-1 successfully launched and docked last week, kicking off a new era of the ISS. It’s a good time to zoom out and look at the ISS program overall, and what it means for the future of space development.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, and seven anonymous—and 430 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/174
Wed, 25 Nov 2020 11:00:00 +0000
T+173: Headlines

With a massive amount of news happening in the week following the election here in the US, it’s a good opportunity to give everyone a listen in on MECO Headlines. I run through all the stories of the week each and every weekend just like this for the supporters of MECO, so if you like what you hear, join the Headlines tier or higher!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, and seven anonymous—and 421 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/173
Sat, 14 Nov 2020 22:43:40 +0000
T+172: Lunar Politics

Last week, IAC 2020 brought a flurry of announcements and statements to digest. It’s a good time to check in on current and future lunar politics, with some statements by the ever-antagonistic Rogozin, seven countries signing onto the Artemis Accords, a handful of lunar development contracts announced, and the US election within sight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 414 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/172
Tue, 20 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000
T+171: SpaceX, L3Harris Selected by SDA for Missile Warning Satellites

The Space Development Agency has selected L3Harris and SpaceX to produce satellites for a missile warning constellation. I break down the details of the SDA project, the technical aspects, and what it means to see SpaceX enter the world of satellite manufacturing and sales.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 402 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/171
Fri, 9 Oct 2020 10:00:00 +0000
T+170: Catching Up on the News

I’m back after a few wonderful weeks offline with my newly-arrived son, Will! I figured I’d jump back in with a rundown of the important and notable bits of news that happened while I was gone.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 402 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/170
Mon, 5 Oct 2020 20:47:04 +0000
T+169: Commercial Small Launcher Updates

There have been a ton of recent updates from commercial small launch companies, like increased payload mass and volume from Rocket Lab, contracts and funding from ABL, solved vibration issues from Virgin Orbit, and a few others. With a handful of vehicles on the verge of their first launch, it’s a good time to take a higher-level look at these competitors.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 399 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/169
Thu, 13 Aug 2020 10:00:12 +0000
T+168: SpaceX and ULA Win NSSL Phase 2

The long-awaited news is finally here! ULA and SpaceX have won the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 launch contracts from the US Department of Defense, which leaves Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Northrop Grumman’s OmegA out in the cold. I talk through what this means for each company and launch vehicle, and where things will go from here on all sides of the issue.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 398 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/168
Mon, 10 Aug 2020 14:24:23 +0000
T+167: Phillip Hargrove, NASA Launch Services Program

Phillip Hargrove, a Launch Vehicle Trajectory Analyst at NASA joins me to talk about NASA’s Launch Services Program. We discuss how LSP interacts with mission teams like Mars 2020 Perseverance, launch providers like United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, and what kind of work they tackle in their unique role tying it all together.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 398 other supporters.

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The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/167
Wed, 29 Jul 2020 10:00:30 +0000
T+166: Laura Klicker and Daniel Gillies, Astrobotic

Two members of the Astrobotic team join me for a conversation: Laura Klicker, Payload Systems Management Lead, and Daniel Gillies, Mission Director for the Griffin/VIPER mission. We talk about Astrobotic’s first Peregrine mission coming up next year, the very exciting VIPER mission to the south pole of the Moon in 2023, payload management across multiple flights, the technical aspects of their various vehicles, and a whole lot more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 397 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/166
Thu, 23 Jul 2020 11:00:29 +0000
T+165: Caleb Henry on the OneWeb Acquisition, Starlink Antennas, C-Band Drama, and More

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to the show to talk about the OneWeb acquisition and related fallout, Starlink antennas, the ongoing C-band drama including the satellite-buying bonanza, and he helps us understand the FCC-GPS-Ligado situation.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 397 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/165
Tue, 21 Jul 2020 22:20:28 +0000
T+164: An Announcement, and a Check-in on International Space Policy and NSSL Phase 2

To start, there’s exciting news! My son is due at the end of August, and so I’ll be taking some time off after he arrives. Before that, I wanted to check in on two storylines.

Professional shit-stirrer Dmitry Rogozin made it pretty clear that Russia is not interested in the Artemis Program, while various countries around the world partner with NASA on it. And we’re only a few weeks out from the NSSL Phase 2 awards and there is some related budgetary considerations being debated, so it’s a good time to circle back on that.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 392 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/164
Fri, 17 Jul 2020 16:53:33 +0000
T+163: Suborbital Crew, Virgin Galactic to ISS

NASA recently established the Suborbital Crew office within the Commercial Crew Program, which will focus on developing a plan to fly personnel on suborbital spaceflights. At the same time, Virgin Galactic signed an agreement with NASA to provide private orbital spaceflights to the ISS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 385 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/163
Fri, 3 Jul 2020 10:00:03 +0000
T+162: Grant Bonin, SVP of Business Development at Spaceflight

Grant Bonin, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Spaceflight joins me to talk about everything they’ve been up to lately, including being acquired, signing deals with SpaceX for rideshares on Starlink missions and on dedicated flights to SSO, signing deals with new launch companies and international providers, and a lot more including manifesting satellites, last-mile services, and about what makes Spaceflight unique.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 385 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/162
Fri, 26 Jun 2020 10:30:10 +0000
T+161: Mark Wiese, Manager of NASA’s Gateway Deep Space Logistics

Mark Wiese, Manager of NASA’s Gateway Deep Space Logistics, joins me to talk about the logistics architecture for Gateway and, specifically, the selection of SpaceX and Dragon XL for missions in the future. He even lets me get really nerdy and responds to some of my complaints and questions from past episodes!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 384 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/161
Mon, 22 Jun 2020 15:45:08 +0000
T+160: Lueders Leads HEO, Northrop Grumman Awarded HALO Contract

Northrop Grumman was awarded $187 million for the Gateway Habitat design, which caps off NASA’s 2020 budget work for Artemis components. Additionally, Kathy Lueders was named head of human spaceflight at NASA, which is huge and fantastic news. We take a look at the Artemis program’s acquisitions so far and the road ahead under Lueders’ leadership.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 377 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/160
Wed, 17 Jun 2020 14:07:40 +0000
T+159: SpaceX Demo-2 Carries Crew to ISS

It happened! American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. Bob and Doug successfully launched, docked to the ISS, and joined Expedition 63. I talk about what this means for SpaceX, NASA, space policy, and where things go from here.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 371 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/159
Fri, 5 Jun 2020 18:30:18 +0000
T+158: Doug Loverro Resigns, and a Bit About the Artemis Accords

The head of human spaceflight at NASA resigned last week, just before the most important crewed launch the agency has seen in a decade. However, it appears as though the resignation is related to the Artemis program and its landers. I give some thoughts on the implications of the departure, and also cover a recent development in international space politics—the Artemis Accords.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 371 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/158
Tue, 26 May 2020 10:00:14 +0000
T+157: Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX Win NASA Lunar Lander Contracts

NASA announced three contract awards for the Artemis Progam’s Human Landing System—a Blue Origin-led team, Dynetics, and SpaceX’s Starship. I talk through some thoughts on each landing system and what the future might hold for NASA, regarding both politics and decisions.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 363 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/157
Tue, 5 May 2020 16:32:00 +0000
T+156: Sean Mahoney, CEO of Masten Space Systems

Sean Mahoney, CEO of Masten Space Systems joins me to talk about everything they’ve been up to lately, from flights of their terrestrial vehicles out in Mojave, NASA’s Lunar CATALYST program, their recent Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order award, and some other projects like DARPA’s XS-1, the Broadsword engine, and XEUS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 361 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/156
Thu, 30 Apr 2020 11:00:08 +0000
T+155: Peter Beck on the Pandemic’s Effect on the Industry and Rocket Lab’s Busy Few Months

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab returns to the show to talk about how the industry is dealing with the pandemic, and to update us on their busy past few months, including their acquisition of Sinclair Interplanetary, flying missions to the Moon and beyond, and their work towards reusability.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 357 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/155
Wed, 22 Apr 2020 11:00:09 +0000
T+154: Tim Ellis, CEO and Cofounder of Relativity

Tim Ellis, CEO and Cofounder of Relativity joins me for an in-depth discussion about Relativity’s status and work towards their first launch. We cover everything from their company vision, funding, new headquarters, wider fairing, customer backlog, potential west coast launch site, and dive into the details of Stargate and Relativity’s materials work.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 354 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/154
Fri, 17 Apr 2020 11:00:06 +0000
T+153: Boeing to Refly Starliner Uncrewed Test, While SpaceX Crew Plans Firm Up

A flurry of Commercial Crew news hit last week: new crew members were announced for SpaceX Crew-1, Jim Bridenstine shed some light on the DM-2 schedule, and Boeing will refly the Starliner uncrewed test flight. I break down each of those and talk through why those stories are more connected than was hinted at by NASA and others.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 352 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/153
Thu, 9 Apr 2020 11:54:21 +0000
T+152: SpaceX’s Dragon XL Wins Gateway Logistics Services Contract

NASA selected SpaceX and their new Dragon XL vehicle as the first Gateway Logistics Services provider. I take some time to think through why SpaceX is interested in this program, what they might want to get out of it, and what we could see Dragon XL doing in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 352 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/152
Thu, 2 Apr 2020 16:21:51 +0000
T+151: Northrop Grumman, Satellite Servicing, and DARPA’s RSGS

After a tumultuous past few years, DARPA has selected a new partner for RSGS. It is none other than Northrop Grumman, who has found early success with their satellite servicing ventures.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 349 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/151
Mon, 23 Mar 2020 17:40:18 +0000
T+150: SpaceX Signs Crew Flight Agreements with Axiom, Space Adventures

SpaceX recently signed two agreements: one with Axiom Space to fly a private mission up to the ISS, and one with Space Adventures for a free-flying tourist flight up to 1,000 kilometers. I discuss these two missions and why agreements like this are key to SpaceX’s long-term strategy.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 347 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/150
Mon, 9 Mar 2020 15:57:52 +0000
T+149: Let’s Talk About Starship with Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut

Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins me to talk all about SpaceX’s Starship, its history thus far, it’s nearly-impossible-to-keep-up-with development in the open, and what we may see in the coming months. We make some timeline predictions, talk about the predicament of Boca Chica, and both randomly stumble into completely unsupported theories.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 345 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/149
Fri, 28 Feb 2020 22:26:24 +0000
T+148: Gerst to SpaceX, and Why Landing is Part of Mission Success

Long-time head of human spaceflight at NASA, Bill Gerstenmaier, has joined SpaceX as a consultant, but everyone is excited for the wrong reasons. And SpaceX missed a booster landing on their most recent Starlink launch, which prompted a new round of debates over whether booster recovery is part of mission success or not.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 335 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/148
Wed, 19 Feb 2020 22:23:42 +0000
T+147: Mike Suffredini, President & CEO of Axiom

Mike Suffredini, President and CEO of Axiom, joins me to talk about their recent announcement: Axiom has been selected by NASA for access to an ISS port. They will build out Axiom Station as an expansion of the ISS, and eventually operate it as a free-flying space station. Before Axiom, Mike was NASA’s ISS Program Manager for a decade.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 328 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/147
Thu, 13 Feb 2020 10:00:12 +0000
T+146: Loren Grush on Commercial Crew, Starlink, NASA Authorization, and More

Loren Grush of The Verge joins me to talk about a whole host of current topics—SpaceX’s in-flight abort test, Starliner’s shaky first test and its fallout, space traffic, Starlink, the NASA Authorization bill, and why ”Space is hard” is the worst mantra.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 329 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/146
Fri, 31 Jan 2020 12:00:05 +0000
T+145: Caleb Henry

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me to talk about the recent happenings in the satellite industry, including new ITU milestones for megaconstellations, SpaceX’s big year for Starlink, OneWeb’s progress, and DirecTV’s battery issue.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 325 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/145
Sat, 25 Jan 2020 13:00:05 +0000
T+144: 2019 Impacts

A look back at 2019 through the lens of “Who actually did something that matters this year?”

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 325 other supporters.

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/144
Tue, 31 Dec 2019 17:09:23 +0000
T+143: Starliner, 2020 US Space Budget

Starliner’s flight test did not go as planned, and the US 2020 budget was passed, which creates Space Force and has big implications for NASA’s work.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 317 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/143
Mon, 23 Dec 2019 17:30:00 +0000
T+142: T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak and AGI

Last week, I took a ride out to the AGI offices and sat down with Josh Poley and T.S. Kelso. We shot a handful of videos for AGI’s YouTube channel, the longest of which was this interview right here.

I talked with T.S. Kelso about the history of CelesTrak.com and satellite tracking on the internet as a whole, as well as a few topics relevant to the modern day: satellite tracking and orbit reporting among operators, conjunction and collision monitoring, and space debris mitigation and management.

Be sure to follow along with AGI’s channel as the rest of the videos go live throughout the week!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 314 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/142
Mon, 16 Dec 2019 14:31:04 +0000
T+141: Dylan Taylor, Voyager Space Holdings

Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, joins me to talk about the new company, how it fits into the industry, his vision for space, and their first acquisition (and past MECO guest!), Altius Space Machines.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 314 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/141
Fri, 13 Dec 2019 10:00:02 +0000
T+140: Launch Protests and Lander Hopefuls

Blue Origin successfully protested the US Air Force’s RFP for the National Security Space Launch program, which will have big implications for the way the current round of contract awards plays out. NASA added five new providers to the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, including SpaceX and Blue Origin, and I’ve got some thoughts about the inclusion of those options in what is quickly becoming my favorite NASA program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 310 other supporters.

Topics

The Show

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/140
Wed, 27 Nov 2019 17:29:19 +0000
T+139: RemoveDEBRIS with Richard Duke

Richard Duke from the Surrey Space Center joins me to talk about their RemoveDEBRIS mission, which launched last year and carried out 4 different tests focused on space debris removal and management.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 308 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/139
Thu, 21 Nov 2019 10:00:04 +0000
T+138: Peter Beck, Founder of Rocket Lab

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab, joins me to talk about what they’ve been up to with Electron and Photon, as well as some of their new offerings like ground station support through KSAT and Photon missions to the Moon.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 296 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/138
Wed, 30 Oct 2019 09:00:31 +0000
T+137: Artemis Politics, United Lander Alliance

Artemis and international politics were on display on the first day of IAC 2019, followed by strange-yet-politically-minded partnerships on the second day.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 295 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/137
Mon, 28 Oct 2019 15:33:21 +0000
T+136: Starship to GTO, SSO from Florida

A few bits of follow-up on Starship to GTO, the Bridenstine-Musk show at SpaceX HQ, and flying to polar orbits from Florida.

Meetup alert! Sunday, October 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. Hang out with me, Jake, and a ton of amazing people of space the night before IAC 2019 kicks off. Details at events.offnominal.space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 284 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/136
Sat, 12 Oct 2019 17:54:39 +0000
T+135: Jake Robins on Starship

Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my co-host on Off-Nominal, joins me for Part 2 of our conversation about SpaceX’s 2019 Starship update. Part 1 can be found over on WeMartians.

Meetup alert! Sunday, October 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. Hang out with me, Jake, and a ton of amazing people of space the night before IAC 2019 kicks off. Details at events.offnominal.space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 276 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/135
Tue, 8 Oct 2019 10:05:02 +0000
T+134: Headlines (with news on Orion, NEOCam, and more)

I’ve got a special preview of MECO Headlines for the main feed this week, with news on Orion, NASA’s FY2020 budget, NEOCam’s legacy, Starship, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 272 other supporters.

Headlines

Show Info

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/134
Fri, 27 Sep 2019 18:06:33 +0000
T+133: Kurt Klaus on CLPS

Kurt Klaus, Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group’s Commercial Advisory Board, joins me to talk about NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and the wider potential for commercial flights to the Moon and beyond.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 271 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/133
Tue, 17 Sep 2019 09:00:02 +0000
T+132: SpaceX SmallSat Updates

SpaceX updated their SmallSat launch offering—dropping the price and increasing the number of flights. It certainly looks like they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the small launch market.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 269 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/132
Thu, 12 Sep 2019 13:03:38 +0000
T+131: Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space

Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space, joins me to talk about their big new NASA contract for Archinaut One and the history, present, and future of in-space manufacturing.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 265 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/131
Sat, 31 Aug 2019 09:00:12 +0000
T+130: SmallSat Launch Roundup

SmallSat was last week which meant a flurry of announcements. This year was launch heavy, so I break down some announcements from SpaceX, Arianespace, and Rocket Lab.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 259 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/130
Wed, 14 Aug 2019 19:52:51 +0000
T+129: Steve Altemus and Dr. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines

Steve Altemus, President & CEO, and Dr. Tim Crain, VP of Research & Development, from Intuitive Machines join me to talk about their Nova-C lander, the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and their task order from NASA for a landing on the Moon in July, 2021.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/129
Mon, 5 Aug 2019 09:00:36 +0000
T+128: NASA Shuffles CLPS, Partners on Blue Moon and Starship

NASA terminated OrbitBeyond’s CLPS task order, opened CLPS up to more providers, and announced exciting partnerships with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and others.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/128
Fri, 2 Aug 2019 14:59:58 +0000
T+127: Gateway Habitat, Starhopper, and ABL Space Systems

I share some thoughts on three important stories from this week: NASA quietly announced their intention to sole source the Gateway habitat to Northrop Grumman, Starhopper made its first flight, and Lockheed Martin invested in ABL Space Systems.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/127
Sun, 28 Jul 2019 14:31:16 +0000
T+126: The NASA Ousters

Two top NASA human exploration leaders—Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Hill—have been ousted from their positions. I break down what this means for NASA and its plans, where things could go from here, and ponder whether these changes really matter.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 244 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/126
Thu, 18 Jul 2019 14:21:07 +0000
T+125: Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones returns to the show to update us on China’s various efforts. We talk Chang’e-4 and Yutu-2, the mysterious Long March 5 delay, and what the future of Chinese launch may look like.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 244 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/125
Wed, 3 Jul 2019 18:47:59 +0000
T+124: Gateway Logistics Services, FY2020 NDAA, and Small GEO Satellites

NASA put out a draft RFP for Gateway Logistic Services, the House Armed Services’ Committee weighs in on the US Air Force launch contracting drama, and a new company building small geostationary satellites has emerged.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 247 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/124
Thu, 20 Jun 2019 09:00:11 +0000
T+123: The Noosphere of Influence

NASA made a series of announcements about their ISS commercialization effort and the first Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions, and Firefly unveiled their Orbital Transfer Vehicle. And there’s a really interesting connection between all three stories.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 243 other supporters.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/123
Mon, 10 Jun 2019 14:22:43 +0000
T+122: National Security SpaceX Lawsuit

NSSL, LSA, OMG! Last week, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the US Air Force over the Launch Service Agreement development contracts. We’re mere months away from bids being due for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch contracts, so I figured now would be a good time to take a step back to explain what these programs are, why they matter, and why SpaceX is filing this lawsuit at this moment in time.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 251 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/122
Tue, 28 May 2019 18:51:57 +0000
T+121: Artemis, Blue Moon, Starship, and Politics

NASA and the White House released a summary of the FY2020 budget amendment this week, alongside the new name: Project Artemis. I talk through some political fallout, what the future may hold, and the chaos elements that are Blue Moon and Starship.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 249 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/121
Fri, 17 May 2019 09:00:03 +0000
T+120: Dr. Mike Baine, Axiom Space

Dr. Mike Baine, Chief Engineer of Axiom Space, joins us to talk through Axiom’s plans for commercial low Earth orbit space stations.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 243 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/120
Tue, 7 May 2019 18:00:00 +0000
T+119: Dr. John Charles

Dr. John Charles spent nearly 33 years at NASA—most recently as Chief Scientist of the Human Research Program—working on human spaceflight through Shuttle, Mir, ISS, and beyond. He lead missions such as STS-95 (John Glenn’s Shuttle flight), STS-107, and the Twins Study with Scott and Mark Kelly. He retired from NASA in February 2018 and is now the Scientist in Resident at Space Center Houston. We talk about his career, the human spaceflight issues he worked and solved in his time at NASA, and the things that need to be solved for the exploration of the Moon, Mars, and beyond.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, and six anonymous—and 238 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/119
Thu, 18 Apr 2019 15:00:00 +0000
T+118: Rapid Agile Launch Initiative

Last week, the US Air Force announced and expounded on the Rapid Agile Launch Initiative. Along with the new initiative, the new era of small launch is finally here, so it’s worth discussing a bit.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Heather, and six anonymous—and 239 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/118
Mon, 8 Apr 2019 09:00:00 +0000
T+117: Q&A

This month we talk EM-1, Moon by 2024, the commercialization of LEO, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, and six anonymous—and 239 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/117
Tue, 2 Apr 2019 09:00:00 +0000
T+116: On the Moon by 2024

The National Space Council met this week and Vice President Pence announced the administration’s intentions to see humans land on the moon by 2024. I break down my thoughts and observations coming out of the meeting.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars and six anonymous—and 235 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/116
Thu, 28 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000
T+115: Caleb Henry

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me live in studio to talk about his trip to Kourou for the first OneWeb launch, more affordable antennas, the current spectrum wars, and more from the world of satellites.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, and six anonymous—and 230 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/115
Mon, 18 Mar 2019 09:00:00 +0000
T+114: EM-1 Hot Drama with Eric Berger

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the latest in SLS Hot Drama: the 2020 budget request and a Bridenstine appearance in the Senate that might just go down in history. This week, NASA has proposed flying the three prime missions of SLS on commercial vehicles, setting the stage for an interesting few months of politics and engineering, and introducing some serious questions about the future of SLS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, and six anonymous—and 229 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/114
Wed, 13 Mar 2019 20:00:00 +0000
T+113: Q&A

This month, we talk the GEO slowdown, the LEO boom, and as always, take on some fun launch vehicle questions.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 223 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/113
Fri, 1 Mar 2019 20:00:00 +0000
T+112: SLC-20, SPD-4, and a Soyuz Soapbox

Firefly Aerospace is taking over Space Launch Complex 20, President Trump signed Space Policy Directive-4, and NASA is looking to buy more Soyuz seats, even though they always say it’s too late to do that.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 220 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/112
Wed, 27 Feb 2019 13:45:00 +0000
T+111: SpaceX, the Established Launch Provider

A tale of politics, protests, and contracts tells the story of how SpaceX is in transition—and maybe has already transitioned—from a scrappy upstart to an established launch provider.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 219 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/111
Thu, 21 Feb 2019 16:50:00 +0000
T+110: Starship, New Glenn, and RS1 Updates

ABL Space Systems announced some changes to RS1, Blue Origin broke ground in Huntsville and signed a new customer, and SpaceX has been making steady progress on Starship.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 218 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/110
Mon, 11 Feb 2019 10:00:00 +0000
T+109: Q&A

We cover a lot of ground in this round of questions, nearly all focused on the future—ISS crew scheduling, ISS facilities, ISRO human spaceflight, science missions, and launch vehicles.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 221 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/109
Sat, 2 Feb 2019 19:00:00 +0000
T+108: Layoffs and Launch Sites

I wanted to spend some time breaking down a few news items from last week that may be leading indicators of trends for 2019: layoffs at Stratolaunch, Tethers Unlimited, and SpaceX, and Relativity signed a lease for Launch Complex 16 at Cape Canaveral.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, and six anonymous—and 216 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/108
Mon, 21 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000
T+107: Chris Gebhardt

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to talk all things SpaceX: Starship and its upcoming hopper tests, DM-1 and the government shutdown, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, and six anonymous—and 213 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/107
Tue, 15 Jan 2019 10:00:00 +0000
T+106: Q&A

This month I tackle questions on future space architectures, companies working in space right now, and finish with a 2018 Top 10 ranking.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, and six anonymous—and 208 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/106
Tue, 1 Jan 2019 21:45:00 +0000
T+105: Jonathan McDowell

Jonathan McDowell joins me to talk about his recent paper proposing 80 kilometers, rather than 100, as a more appropriate boundary of the edge of space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, and six anonymous—and 205 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/105
Sat, 29 Dec 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+104: Jake Robins

Jake Robins of WeMartians joins me to talk InSight, Mars EDL, and Mars 2020.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, and six anonymous—and 203 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/104
Tue, 11 Dec 2018 18:58:00 +0000
T+103: Commercial Lunar Payload Services

NASA announced the nine companies that will be competing for Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions. I share some thoughts on the program overall, and discuss what we know about each company.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, and seven anonymous—and 200 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/103
Tue, 4 Dec 2018 18:40:00 +0000
T+102: November Q&A

This month for Q&A, we try to figure out what the hell is up with DM-1, hit a few questions about launch, and talk through a few space development topics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and seven anonymous—and 201 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/102
Fri, 30 Nov 2018 21:00:00 +0000
T+101: Starlink Addendum

As I was recording yesterday’s show about Starlink, SpaceX filed an application with the FCC for some changes to the Starlink plan. I read through the report and it confirms some of what I talked about yesterday, so thought it was worth an update.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 195 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/101
Fri, 9 Nov 2018 13:07:00 +0000
T+100: Midterms, and a Thought on Starlink

I share some space-focused takeaways from the US midterm elections and a thought that I had about recent Starlink reports.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 194 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/100
Thu, 8 Nov 2018 16:00:00 +0000
T+99: October Q&A

This month, I take on questions about small launch, future space ventures, and the Boeing/SLS saga/drama.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 191 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/99
Thu, 1 Nov 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+98: Gateway Logistics Services

NASA released a request for information this week about cargo services to the Gateway—big news for the future of NASA and the Gateway. I break down the technical and non-technical bits of that announcement, as well as some updates on Space Force and the Soyuz situation.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 189 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/98
Fri, 26 Oct 2018 15:30:00 +0000
T+97: SLS OIG Report, Air Force LSA Awards

I share some thoughts on the two rocket drama stories from last week: a brutal OIG report on Boeing’s work on SLS stages, and the Air Force selected three new launch vehicles to receive development funding.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 186 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/97
Mon, 15 Oct 2018 17:25:00 +0000
T+96: Blue Origin & Harris

Blue Origin and Harris announced an interesting partnership last week that’s worth discussing: Harris will be producing 5-meter fixed mesh reflector antennas that can only fit (for now) inside of New Glenn’s big fairing.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 186 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/96
Wed, 10 Oct 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+95: September Q&A

This month, I take on questions about BE-4 and Vulcan, small launch, BFR, and human spaceflight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 187 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/95
Mon, 1 Oct 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+94: #dearMoon

Some thoughts on the #dearMoon project, SpaceX’s announcement, and the essence of SpaceX’s strategy—bringing us along for the ride.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 186 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/94
Mon, 24 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+93: NASA Goddard and Restore-L

Pat O. and I took a trip down to NASA Goddard to explore all that’s going on there. We talk a bit about our visit, what we saw and learned, and we talk with Brent Robertson, project manager of Restore-L, NASA’s satellite servicing mission.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 185 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/93
Thu, 13 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+92: Marcia Smith

Marcia Smith of Space Policy Online joins me to talk about the recent meetings of the NASA Advisory Council, the status of Commercial Crew, Space Force, and more space policy goodness.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 184 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/92
Tue, 4 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+91: August Q&A

The first official MECO Q&A! I answer questions from listeners about any and all things space—mostly. (PS: Start sending me your questions for September’s Q&A episode!)

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 183 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/91
Sat, 1 Sep 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+90: Andrew Jones

Andrew Jones joins me to talk all things Chinese spaceflight—exploration, policy, industry, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 182 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/90
Thu, 30 Aug 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+89: Lockheed’s Small Sat Strategy, NASA Tipping Points Contracts

Lockheed Martin has been slowly revealing their small sat strategy over the last three years, and it’s shaping up to be quite interesting and potentially very compelling. And NASA announced 10 Tipping Point awards last week, which include some very interesting projects from Blue Origin, ULA, and Astrobotic.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 181 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/89
Mon, 13 Aug 2018 15:21:00 +0000
T+88: CubeRover, Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler

Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler of CubeRover and Astrobotic join me to talk about the project, the rover itself, and the future of robotic exploration on the Moon (and beyond).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 176 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/88
Mon, 30 Jul 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+87: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2

Rocket Lab announced that they’re in the final selection stage of their search for a US launch site. I break down the options they have, and discuss why I think they’ll pick Wallops Island.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and seven anonymous—and 173 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/87
Wed, 18 Jul 2018 16:00:00 +0000
T+86: Falcon Heavy Wins AFSPC-52

Big news this week: SpaceX won an EELV contract for Falcon Heavy. I talk through what this means for the US launch market, how SpaceX and Falcon Heavy are set up to compete for the next few years.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, and seven anonymous—and 175 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/86
Wed, 27 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+85: Support and Criticism for the Lunar Gateway

ESA has all but given its full support to the (newly renamed) Lunar Gateway, and Terry Virts threw some criticism its way during the third meeting of the National Space Council. I break down what those things mean for the future of Lunar Gateway, and discuss why I’m (gasp!) supportive of the program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, and seven anonymous—and 174 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/85
Tue, 19 Jun 2018 16:39:00 +0000
T+84: The End of NASA Exploration Exclusivity

Last week, China opened up their future space station to other nations, and Blue Origin laid some hints about their lunar ambitions. Both of these stories are indicative of what I think the next era of exploration will look like, and it has interesting implications for NASA.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, and seven anonymous—and 166 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/84
Mon, 4 Jun 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+83: Falcon 9 Block 5, RL10 on Centaur V

Two events worth discussing happened while I was on vacation—the first Block 5 Falcon 9 took flight, and ULA selected RL10 for Centaur V.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, and six anonymous—and 164 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/83
Tue, 22 May 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+82: Jon Goff, Altius Space Machines

Jon Goff of Altius Space Machines joins me to talk about how he got to where he is today and what’s ahead for Altius—including satellite servicing with Bulldog, propellant depots, cryo couplers, and wet labs.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, and six anonymous—and 161 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/82
Wed, 9 May 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+81: Resource Prospector Cancellation

Last week, we heard news that the Resource Prospector mission has been cancelled. I spend some time thinking through my initial reactions to the news, and speculate about what the path ahead may hold for lunar development.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, and six anonymous—and 161 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/81
Wed, 2 May 2018 09:46:00 +0000
T+80: DARPA Launch Challenge

The DARPA Launch Challenge has been officially unveiled, so I spent some time breaking down the competition and speculating about who will enter and what DARPA wants out of it.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 30 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, and six anonymous—and 158 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/80
Wed, 25 Apr 2018 15:50:00 +0000
T+79: Orbital ATK’s OmegA, NASA’s Bridenstine

Orbital ATK unveiled the name and additional technical details of their new launch vehicle, OmegA. Jim Bridenstine was finally confirmed as the new NASA Administrator.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 29 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, and six anonymous—and 157 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/79
Sat, 21 Apr 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+78: No Cost-Plus, But No Vision, Either

NASA had some interesting comments on the Lunar Gateway at a recent NASA Advisory Council meeting—the program is eschewing cost-plus contracting, but it’s lacking vision.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, and six anonymous—and 153 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/78
Mon, 9 Apr 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+77: Blue Origin Reconfigures New Glenn

Caleb Henry got a great scoop on some changes Blue Origin is making to New Glenn. I think through why these changes may have been made and what these changes could mean for the near future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 150 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/77
Wed, 4 Apr 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+76: Caleb Henry

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to talk Satellite 2018, megaconstellations, flat-panel antennas, and the current state of the satellite industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 149 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/76
Tue, 27 Mar 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+75: March Roundup

A few interesting documents have been released: the late-but-final 2018 appropriations, NASA’s lunar cargo lander request for information, and the public summary of the NASA Independent Review Team’s investigation into the CRS-7 mishap. And a few interesting announcements were made: NASA Acting Administration Robert Lightfoot is going to retire, and the Air Force awarded contracts for another round of EELV Phase 1A launches.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 147 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/75
Fri, 23 Mar 2018 09:00:00 +0000
T+74: Stagnation and Opportunity

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot appeared in front of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee to discuss the 2019 NASA budget request, and I’ve got some thoughts on their decisions regarding the SLS Mobile Launcher and how it affects SLS’ flight rate. And then I get off onto a train of thought regarding the stagnation of and opportunity within the policy gridlock we’re stuck in today.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 141 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/74
Fri, 9 Mar 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+73: Commercial Crew Contingency Plans, and the End of ISS

NASA recently began talking about some contingency planning for potential Commercial Crew delays, and the end-of-ISS discussion is heating up.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, and six anonymous—and 135 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/73
Fri, 23 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+72: SpaceX’s Motivation for Falcon Heavy

SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy last week and shook up the space launch world. I spend some time thinking through SpaceX’s motivations for building Falcon Heavy, and what its effects might be on the world around it.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, and six anonymous—and 125 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/72
Tue, 13 Feb 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+71: Commercial Crew, Congress, and the GAO

The Commercial Crew program—NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, and more—went in front of Congress to discuss the current status of the crew launch systems in development. Concurrently, the GAO released a report warning that more delays are likely, and could put NASA in a tough spot. I share some thoughts on the matter and talk through what is likely to happen this year.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 24 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, and five anonymous—and 120 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/71
Tue, 30 Jan 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+70: Polar Launches from Cape Canaveral

The US Air Force has developed a viable corridor for launching to polar and other high-inclination orbits from Cape Canaveral. I spend some time thinking through who may be interested in using that corridor and what its existence could mean for the newer launch vehicles in development.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 24 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, and five anonymous—and 113 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/70
Wed, 17 Jan 2018 10:00:00 +0000
T+69: Robin Seemangal

Robin Seemangal joins me for a free-flowing discussion on the stories we found most important in 2017 and what we’re looking forward to in 2018, including SpaceX’s huge year, Blue Origin’s under-the-radar work to lay foundations for their future, SLS’ rough year, and—what else?—Falcon Heavy.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/69
Wed, 27 Dec 2017 10:00:00 +0000
T+68: Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks

Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks joins me to talk about what they’re working on today, as well as their big plans for the future, including their upcoming airlock and the Ixion project—their ongoing work to turn spent upper stages into useful spacecraft.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/68
Wed, 20 Dec 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+67: Special Preview of MECO Headlines, December 1–8, 2017

A special preview of the MECO Headlines shows: Elon Musk kinda-sorta-maybe announces the Falcon Heavy demo payload, Russia and China carry out successful military launches, NASA announces some very interesting NextSTEP-2 contracts, OA-8E Cygnus departs ISS, and SpaceX’s SLC-40 is back, baby!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 107 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/67
Fri, 8 Dec 2017 11:30:00 +0000
T+66: A Visit to NanoRacks, and Virgin Orbit Books a Department of Defense Launch

I was in Houston last week and I visited NanoRacks for a bit. And Virgin Orbit piqued the interest of the Department of Defense, which has some interesting implications.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 104 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/66
Mon, 27 Nov 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+65: The New GEO Model, Orbital ATK’s Composite Case, Good and Bad SpaceX News

SES gives us a preview of their new GEO strategy (which may be a harbinger of the future), Orbital ATK tests a new composite case to be used for their Next-Generation Launcher and future SLS boosters, NASA approves the use of previously-flown Falcon 9 first stages, and SpaceX sets off some LOX fireworks down in McGregor, Texas.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 96 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/65
Sat, 11 Nov 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+64: BE-4 Fires Up, and Some Thoughts on the Future of Commercial and Military Launch

Blue Origin fired up their BE-4 engine for the first time, which is a big moment. And I share some meandering thoughts on the future of commercial and military launch.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, and five anonymous—and 95 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/64
Sat, 28 Oct 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+63: Centaur V, BFR Updates

Tory Bruno wrote an op-ed in SpaceNews regarding Vulcan and its future, and he announced that ULA will be upgrading Centaur. Elon Musk spent some time on reddit talking about BFR and updating us on some of the details.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 21 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 92 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/63
Wed, 18 Oct 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+62: Chris Gebhardt on SpaceX’s BFR 2017 Update

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to discuss Elon Musk’s presentation last week, in which he provided an update to the BFR.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 82 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/62
Thu, 5 Oct 2017 02:00:00 +0000
T+61: Northrop Grumman Acquires Orbital ATK, Lockheed Martin Unveils New Satellite Family

Northrop Grumman is acquiring Orbital ATK in a $9.2 billion deal. Lockheed Martin unveiled a new family of satellite busses, positioning themselves for the next era of satellite bus production.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 77 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/61
Mon, 25 Sep 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+60: New Glenn’s Fairing, OneWeb’s Factory

Blue Origin announced a size increase to New Glenn’s fairing, and OneWeb has decided to keep their Toulouse factory open for other customers after their initial 10-satellite production run is over. Both decisions bring about some interesting implications for the market at large.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 19 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, and five anonymous—and 69 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/60
Sat, 16 Sep 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+59: Jake Robins

Jake Robins of the WeMartians Podcast joins me to discuss the state and future of the Mars exploration program, lean sample return, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 18 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, and four anonymous—and 69 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/59
Thu, 7 Sep 2017 17:00:00 +0000
T+58: Totality

I spent 2 minutes and 40 seconds in the shadow of the Moon in Gallatin, TN. Totality was an incredibly powerful experience, and I wanted to share what it was like to be there as best I could.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 17 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, and four anonymous—and 66 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/58
Fri, 25 Aug 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+57: Caleb Henry

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me to discuss the slowdown in GEO satellite orders, the latest on the big LEO constellations, and what’s up with the sky falling.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 17 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, and four anonymous—and 65 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/57
Wed, 16 Aug 2017 16:00:00 +0000
T+56: Small Launchers and Advanced Propulsion

Rocket Lab completed their investigation into what went wrong on their first launch, Virgin Orbit’s carrier 747 arrived in Long Beach, and I discuss a few NASA-backed advanced propulsion projects.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 17 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, and four anonymous—and 66 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/56
Fri, 11 Aug 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+55: ISS and Beyond

I spend some time thinking through what the future of the ISS holds, and what may come after it.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 17 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, and four anonymous—and 65 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/55
Fri, 4 Aug 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+54: Eric Berger

Eric Berger returns to the show to talk about Elon Musk and SpaceX’s crusade against cost-plus contracting, the end of Red Dragon, where NASA policy is heading, and what SpaceX may have in store for the Air Force’s next round of development contracts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 16 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, and four anonymous—and 63 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/54
Thu, 27 Jul 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+53: Loren Grush

Loren Grush of The Verge joins me to talk about Falcon Heavy, SpaceX cancelling Dragon 2 propulsive landings, Red Dragon riding off into the sunset, Moon Express, US space policy, and a whole lot more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 16 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, and four anonymous—and 62 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/53
Sat, 22 Jul 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+52: XCOR Winds Down, ULA Wins STP-3

XCOR laid off the rest of its staff and is closing up shop after losing a contract with ULA, which leaves ULA in an interesting spot for Vulcan-ACES. On the ULA side, they won their first Phase 1A contract from the Air Force, and the contract price sheds some light on just how much they’re cutting their costs.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 16 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, and four anonymous—and 56 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/52
Thu, 13 Jul 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+51: The SpaceX Steamroller, Blue Origin Chooses Alabama

SpaceX launched two missions last weekend, flew new titanium grid fins on Falcon 9, and are really picking up the pace. And Blue Origin got cozy with the Alabama Launch Alliance by announcing that they’ll build the BE-4 production facility in Huntsville—if the engine is chosen for Vulcan.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 15 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, and four anonymous—and 55 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/51
Thu, 29 Jun 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+50: Boeing Gets XS-1, SpaceX Gets X-37B

Boeing’s proposal won Phases 2 and 3 of DARPA’s XS-1 program, and I’m pretty bummed about it. And the Air Force announced that SpaceX will launch the fifth X-37B mission in August.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 14 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, and four anonymous—and 52 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/50
Thu, 15 Jun 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+49: Dr. Thomas Lang

Dr. Thomas Lang, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the UCSF School of Medicine, joins the show to discuss human health and physiology in space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 13 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, and four anonymous—and 51 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/49
Mon, 5 Jun 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+48: Rand Simberg

Rand Simberg joins me to talk about his recent trip to the Space Tech Expo, the dawning of the age of in-space manufacturing, the future of SLS and Orion, the National Space Council, and a lot more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 12 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, and four anonymous—and 50 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/48
Sat, 27 May 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+47: Uncrewed EM-1 Delayed to 2019

Last week was rough for the Space Launch System. An issue with weld tooling was discovered, with some serious consequences, and then a LOX tank dome was dropped and damaged beyond repair. To top it off, NASA announced that EM-1 will fly without crew, and is delayed until 2019.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 12 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, and four anonymous—and 46 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/47
Tue, 16 May 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+46: Eric Berger

Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica, joins me to talk SLS/Orion, New Space vs. Old Space, space policy in the Trump administration, and why the fight might not be settled until 2020.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 10 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, and four anonymous—and 46 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/46
Tue, 2 May 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares

As the award date approaches for the 2018 Air Force launch vehicle development contracts, we keep hearing from Congress about how they would like to see it go. And I discuss the future of Antares and the Next-Generation Launch Vehicle in light of the continuing flights of Cygnus on Atlas V.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 9 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, and four anonymous—and 42 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/45
Thu, 20 Apr 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+44: SpaceX and the Age of Reusability

SpaceX made history this week by launching SES-10 with a previously-flown first stage. I discuss implications of this achievement, the things we learned from Elon Musk in the post-flight press briefing, and the doubters, as always.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 8 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, and three anonymous—and 41 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/44
Sat, 1 Apr 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+43: March Lightning Round

The last two weeks have been filled with a bunch of smaller stories—SpaceX’s GPS III bid win and upcoming SES-10 launch, ULA’s decision on Vulcan’s engines and Congress’ potential meddling, and the ISS beyond 2024.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 6 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, and two anonymous—and 39 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/43
Sat, 25 Mar 2017 07:00:00 +0000
T+42: Blue Origin Introduces New Glenn

This week, Blue Origin shed some more light on New Glenn—by way of an animation, launch agreements, and a talk by Jeff Bezos at Satellite 2017—and the first fully-assembled BE-4 shipped to their test site in Texas for a hot firing. I discuss the new details we learned and how New Glenn will fit into the industry in the 2020s.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 6 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, and two anonymous—and 36 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/42
Thu, 9 Mar 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+41: EM-1 Follow-up, Dragon 2-Falcon Heavy to the Moon

This week is all about #hotdrama, with two surprise media briefings: one from NASA on a potential crewed EM-1, and one from SpaceX on a privately-crewed journey around the Moon—riding on a Dragon 2 and Falcon Heavy—at the end of 2018. I discuss the implications of both, and go on a rant about SpaceX and “focus.”

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 5 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, and one anonymous—and 34 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/41
Thu, 2 Mar 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+40: The Potentially Infamous EM-1 Memo

Robert Lightfoot, the Acting NASA Administrator, sent a memo to the agency on the possibility of putting a crew on EM-1. I discuss the potential fallout from this idea and where the SLS/Orion program may be heading in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 5 executive producers—Pat O, Matt, Jorge, Brad, and one anonymous—and 31 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/40
Sat, 18 Feb 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+39: Opportunities for Private Companies within Government Programs

This week, NASA officially announced that NanoRacks will be adding an airlock onto the International Space Station to add capabilities and capacity to their already-up-and-running business. That announcement, along with some early insight into NASA policy in 2017, got me thinking about commercial opportunities within government programs, beyond Commercial Cargo and Crew.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 4 executive producers—Pat O, Matt Giraitis, Jorge Perez, and one anonymous—and 28 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/39
Thu, 9 Feb 2017 15:15:00 +0000
T+38: 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act Speculation

Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com saw a draft of the 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act, and it contains some very interesting changes from the 2016 version that bounced around Congress last year. I discuss what some of these changes may mean in the light of Commercial Crew delays, NASA RFIs regarding SLS and Orion, and continued Russian reliability issues.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 4 executive producers—Pat O, Matt Giraitis, Jorge Perez, and one anonymous—and 28 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/38
Thu, 2 Feb 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+37: Government Subsidies, Private Capability, and the 2010 National Space Policy

Four members of the House of Representatives sent letters to DARPA and the Pentagon this week to file a complaint about a program in conflict with the 2010 National Space Policy. It’s a situation reminiscent of the debate over commercial use of retired ICBMs as low-cost launch vehicles, except this time, Orbital ATK is on the other side. I discuss the current issues and how their resolution may affect future policy decisions.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 4 executive producers—Pat O, Matt Giraitis, Jorge Perez, and one anonymous—and 28 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/37
Fri, 27 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+36: Falcon 9 Flies with New Fueling Procedures, and the NASA-Boeing-Soyuz Saga

SpaceX is off to a strong start in 2017 with a very successful launch of Iridium-1 and a promising next few weeks. I also discuss the very interesting story developing between NASA, Boeing, and Russia regarding Soyuz flights to the ISS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—Pat O, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 26 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/36
Thu, 19 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+35: NASA Policy Grab Bag

While we don’t yet have hard details on which direction NASA programs are headed during the Trump administration, we have started to get some hints. The leadership of the Congressional subcommittees that NASA depends on will be largely unchanged, and Boeing and SpaceX were each promised 4 more Commercial Crew flights. I also talk a little bit about how the Air Force One and F-35 situations apply to NASA programs.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—@spacepat_o, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 26 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/35
Thu, 12 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+34: SpaceX’s COPV Investigation and Return to Flight

SpaceX wrapped up their investigation into the Amos-6 explosion, and the news is mixed. I discuss their findings, their path back to flight, and some other 2016-2017 odds and ends.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—@spacepat_o, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 25 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/34
Thu, 5 Jan 2017 08:00:00 +0000
T+33: SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Delay, Fueling Process Approved, and the Inmarsat-Falcon Heavy Situation

Inmarsat, under regulatory pressure to get flying, decided to take a mid-2017 launch slot on Ariane 5, moving away from Falcon Heavy. Everyone thinks it’s a big deal, but for the wrong reason. And SpaceX’s Commercial Crew flights have been delayed, but we did find out that NASA’s Safety Technical Review Board approved their plan to load crew before fueling. That is a big deal.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—@spacepat_o, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 25 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/33
Thu, 15 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000
T+32: Soyuz-U Failure and Satellite Servicing

A Progress launch failed on its way to the ISS, so I discuss how this may affect the politics of the ISS and NASA going forward. And then I get into some thoughts on satellite servicing in general, and specifically surrounding Restore-L and Orbital ATK’s Mission Extension Vehicle.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—@spacepat_o, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 25 other supporters on Patreon.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/32
Thu, 8 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000
T+31: ULA’s RocketBuilder

Tory Bruno took to the stage to announce RocketBuilder, their new way to market and sell Atlas V launch services. I discuss my initial thoughts about it and what the announcement means for ULA going forward in the commercial market.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/31
Thu, 1 Dec 2016 08:00:00 +0000
T+30: SpaceX Nearing Falcon 9 Return-to-Flight

All signs point to SpaceX nearing a return-to-flight mission for Falcon 9. I discuss what to watch for in the months ahead, and read some email.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/30
Wed, 23 Nov 2016 08:00:00 +0000
T+29: Commercializing the NASA Exploration Roadmap

Following up on last show’s topic, there are signs that NASA may be moving away from Orion in the future. I discuss how I see NASA modernizing their exploration roadmap, politically, in the next administration.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/29
Wed, 16 Nov 2016 08:00:00 +0000
T+28: The Future of NASA and the Moon

NASA released an RFI for small scientific payloads bound for the lunar surface, meant to “address strategic knowledge gaps” associated with human missions to the Moon. I talk about how this could indicate a shift of the SLS/Orion roadmap, and how NASA may be focusing on lunar surface missions in order to build more political capital for the program of record.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/28
Wed, 2 Nov 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+27: Financial vs. Political Capital and Mission Sustainability

In light of the recent Schiaparelli lander failure, I discuss the differences between missions supported by financial and political capital, and how those differences will play out in the next era of space exploration.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/27
Wed, 26 Oct 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+26: OA-5, Antares, and Orbital ATK’s Road Ahead

I took a trip down to Wallops Island, Virginia this week for the launch of OA-5—the return to flight for Antares, sending Cygnus up to the ISS on a resupply mission. I recorded this episode on the long drive home afterwards, and talked about what Antares’ return means for Orbital ATK and what their future may hold—both good and bad.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/26
Wed, 19 Oct 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+25: Falcon 9 Updates and the 10% Discount

Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX, spoke at two events and dropped some tidbits about the Falcon 9 investigation, future versions of the vehicle, and what kind of discount they would offer for “flight-proven” stages. I break down the new info, and discuss their reusability discount.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/25
Wed, 12 Oct 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+24: ULA’s RapidLaunch and Commercial Market Competitiveness

After a few busy weeks of Blue Origin and SpaceX news, I spend some time talking about ULA’s RapidLaunch program and how they are working to get competitive within the commercial market.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/24
Wed, 5 Oct 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+23: SpaceX Mars Architecture Initial Reactions

Elon Musk took the stage at the IAC this week and unveiled SpaceX’s architecture for their planetary exploration and colonization plans. Jake from WeMartians and I discuss our initial reactions to and takeaways from the event.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/23
Wed, 28 Sep 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+22: SpaceX Mars Architecture Announcement Preamble

SpaceX is set to make an announcement next week at the IAC 2016 regarding their Mars colonization architecture. I talk about what we know, what I expect to see, and what I hope is included in their plans.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/22
Wed, 21 Sep 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+21: Blue Origin Previews New Glenn

Blue Origin surprised us all by previewing their massive next rocket, New Glenn. I discuss the few details we know, how New Glenn could fit into the market, what questions need to be answered, and many other things to consider in the wake of the announcement. I also touch on some plans I’ve got to cover SpaceX’s upcoming Mars announcement in tandem with Jake from WeMartians.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/21
Wed, 14 Sep 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+20: Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks on NanoRacks’ History, NextSTEP, and Wet Workshops

Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks, joined me this week to talk about his incredibly interesting career in spaceflight, the past and future of NanoRacks, their NextSTEP proposal, and a handful of other topics.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/20
Wed, 7 Sep 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+19: SpaceX’s Manifest, Flight-Proven Hardware, Blue Origin Updates, and Antares’ Engines

SpaceX has a busy manifest as they close out 2016, including SES-10 which will fly with a “flight-proven” first stage. A few bits of info have come out regarding Blue Origin’s future plans—including flying diverse payloads on New Shepard, and construction of their factory in Florda. Antares’ return-to-flight launch date is still a mystery, and I have a theory about its future engines.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/19
Wed, 31 Aug 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+18: Robert Zubrin on Mars Exploration and Colonization Internationally, within NASA, and at SpaceX

Dr. Robert Zubrin, President of The Mars Society, creator of Mars Direct, and author of The Case for Mars is on the show this week to discuss Mars exploration and colonization internationally, within NASA, and at SpaceX.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/18
Wed, 24 Aug 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+17: NextSTEP Habitat Prototypes, and the Zombie Centaur

NASA selected six companies, as part of the NextSTEP program, to develop ground prototypes of deep space habitats, and the Centaur could live on as a wet workshop. Orbital ATK pushed OA-5 to late September. SpaceX landed yet another stage on the ASDS, and have up to 9 more launches planned for 2016.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/17
Wed, 17 Aug 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+16: Moon Express Licensing, and NASA’s Disdain for Artificial Gravity

Moon Express gained government approval for their upcoming mission to win the Google Lunar X Prize. And I go on a rant about artificial gravity and how NASA shrugs it off as unnecessary.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/16
Wed, 10 Aug 2016 07:00:00 +0000
T+15: More SLS Roadmap Details, and Landed Falcon 9 Static Fires

The roadmap for SLS got a little murkier this week thanks to some additional details in the GAO report regarding its cost and schedule. SpaceX test fired a landed core three times in three days last week, paving the way for reuse of the CRS-8 core.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/15
Wed, 3 Aug 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+14: The Post-EM-1 Roadmap for SLS, and Potential Uses for SpaceX’s BFR

Before Mars and exploration-centric talk, I talk about Orbital ATK’s agreement for exclusive use of LMP-103S. Then I take a hard look at the post-EM-1 roadmap for SLS, and theorize some potential uses for SpaceX’s giant Mars-bound rocket—lovingly referred to as the Big F…alcon… Rocket (BFR).

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/14
Wed, 27 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+13: SpaceX’s CRS-9 Success, Senate Hearing Recap, and US-Russian Plans for the Moon

SpaceX had a great night launching the CRS-9 mission, and it’s all good signs for their future. The Senate hearing, as I predicted, was focused on maintaining the status quo. US and Russian engineers and scientists have some ideas on the future of international space policy.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/13
Wed, 20 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+12: The Competition of Reusability Between Falcon 9, Vulcan, and Ariane 6

Ted Cruz called a hearing on NASA’s space exploration policy in the next president’s administration. The president of France’s CNES discussed some policy statements, and I went on a rant about his thoughts on Ariane 6 and its competition.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/12
Wed, 13 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+11: SpaceX’s LZ-1 Expansion, Dream Chaser’s UN Ambitions, China and ESA’s Growing Relationship

SpaceX printed a public notice in Florida Today on July 3rd outlining plans for LZ-1 expansion. Sierra Nevada Corporation and the United Nations signed a Memorandum of Understanding regarding future use of Dream Chaser by UN member countries. China solidified partnerships with The Netherlands and Poland, continuing the growth of the China-ESA relationship.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/11
Wed, 6 Jul 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+10: Logan Kamperschroer on the Current State and Near Future of Storable Propellants

This week I talked to Logan Kamperschroer, a Graduate Research Assistant at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. Logan’s research focuses on hypergolic rocket fuels—specifically the push to move away from the toxic storable propellants (hydrazine and its derivatives) to “greener” alternatives. We talked about the current state of storable propellants, and where things are going in the near future.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/10
Wed, 29 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+9: ExoMars 2016 and 2020, Chinese Partnerships and Policy

The ExoMars 2020 rover received a funding boost and a reassessed schedule, the 2016 orbiter/lander set its sights on Mars, NASA and ESA coordinated a practice communication session, and China opens up to the international space community.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/9
Wed, 22 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+8: Masten’s Xodiac and XaeroB, Blue Origin’s Next Flight of New Shepard

Masten Space Systems released a video of test flights of their two latest vehicles. Blue Origin was awarded a NASA Flight Opportunities contract, is planning the 4th flight of New Shepard, and began clearing land for their factory just outside Kennedy Space Center.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/8
Wed, 15 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+7: Bezos and Musk at Code Conference, and a Hard Look at Vulcan’s Economics

Some interesting tidbits emerged from interviews with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk at Code Conference. And a hard look at the economics of United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/7
Wed, 8 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+6: Orbital ATK’s Next-Gen Vehicle, Falcon 9 Proving Its Reusability, and ULA’s Tough Future

Orbital ATK shared some more details about their next-generation launch vehicle, SpaceX is working out their certification process for reflown stages, and how these events affect the industry and other competitors in the near future.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/6
Wed, 1 Jun 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+5: Space Stations Around the Moon and Mars, ExoMars 2016, and China’s Momentum in Space

Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin unveiled proposals for space stations around the Moon by 2020, and Mars by 2028. ExoMars 2016 completed a functionality analysis test ahead of its October arrival at Mars. China revealed plans for its third space station, and is set to launch a new rocket, with a new spacecraft, from a new launch site in June.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/5
Wed, 25 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+4: Boeing’s CST-100, SpaceX’s Dragon 2, and a Scorched Falcon 9

Boeing announced a 6 month delay in the schedule for their CST-100 crew vehicle. SpaceX’s Dragon 2 is in the lead to be the first Commercial Crew vehicle to fly. The most recently-returned Falcon 9 took a ton of damage on its way back to the drone ship and won’t fly again, but will provide a ton of data for SpaceX to use to make improvements to future Falcon 9 stages.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/4
Wed, 18 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+3: Falcon 9 GTO Mission Drone Ship Landing, Orbital ATK’s Current and Future Launch Vehicles

SpaceX landed another Falcon 9 first stage on their drone ship—this time on a GTO launch, which is a major milestone on their way to full reusability and Falcon Heavy flights. Orbital ATK’s Antares launch vehicle is set for an early July return to flight, and they’re in the planning stages of a new heavy-launch vehicle.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/3
Wed, 11 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+2: SpaceX’s Red Dragon, Falcon Performance, and the Political Fallout of OA-6

SpaceX officially announced their first Red Dragon mission to Mars, which will pave the way for future missions. They also posted new performance metrics for Falcon 9 and Heavy, which position the launch vehicles very differently in the market. And a brief discussion of the potential political fallout over the OA-6 launch anomaly.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/2
Wed, 4 May 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs

An analysis of NASA’s human spaceflight programs, Orion and the Space Launch System. How we got here, where we’re going, and how things could shake out with an eventful November in US politics coming up.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/1
Wed, 27 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000
T-0: The Near Future of US-Based Competitors

An analysis of the intricate dance between United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and Blue Origin as we enter the next era of spaceflight.

https://mainenginecutoff.com/podcast/0
Wed, 20 Apr 2016 10:00:00 +0000
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