Main Engine Cut Off

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,...

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,...

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, Jamiso...

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, Mi...

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, Russ...

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, B...

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,...

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, Da...

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...

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,...

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...

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 r...

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 stuc...

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...

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,...

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 b...

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, Bra...

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, Jor...

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, Do...

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, Jorg...

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...

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...

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...

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, Chri...

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 . Chris Gebhardt on Twitter...