Podcasts by Main Engine Cut Off

T+2: SpaceX’s Red Dragon, Falcon Performance, and the Political Fallout of OA-6 from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.510701

SpaceX officially announced their first Red Dragon mission to Mars, which will pave the way for f...

T+6: Orbital ATK’s Next-Gen Vehicle, Falcon 9 Proving Its Reusability, and ULA’s Tough Future from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.504832

Orbital ATK shared some more details about their next-generation launch vehicle, Space...

T+7: Bezos and Musk at Code Conference, and a Hard Look at Vulcan’s Economics from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.502471

Some interesting tidbits emerged from interviews with Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk...

T+11: SpaceX’s LZ-1 Expansion, Dream Chaser’s UN Ambitions, China and ESA’s Growing Relationship from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.496142

SpaceX printed a public notice in Florida Today on July 3rd outlining plans for LZ-1 expansion. Sierra Nevada Corporat...

T+15: More SLS Roadmap Details, and Landed Falcon 9 Static Fires from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.490337

The roadmap for SLS got a little murkier this week thanks to some additional details in the GAO report regarding its c...

T+20: Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks on NanoRacks’ History, NextSTEP, and Wet Workshops from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.482831

Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks, joined me this week to talk about his incredibly...

T+24: ULA’s RapidLaunch and Commercial Market Competitiveness from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.472928

After a few busy weeks of Blue Origin and SpaceX news, I spend some time talking about ULA’s RapidLaunch pr...

T+28: The Future of NASA and the Moon from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.461142

NASA released an RFI for small scientific payloads bound for the lunar surface, meant to “address strategic kn...

T+31: ULA’s RocketBuilder from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.451473

Tory Bruno took to the stage to announce RocketBuilder, their new way to market and sell At...

T+32: Soyuz-U Failure and Satellite Servicing from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.446935

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 ...

T+34: SpaceX’s COPV Investigation and Return to Flight from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.440715

SpaceX wrapped up their investigation into the Amos-6 explosion, and the news is mixed. I discuss their findings, their path b...

T+38: 2017 NASA Transition Authorization Act Speculation from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.418222

Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com saw a draft of the 2017 NASA Transition Authoriza...

T+39: Opportunities for Private Companies within Government Programs from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.415778

This week, NASA officially announced that NanoRacks will be adding an airlock onto the International Space...

T+41: EM-1 Follow-up, Dragon 2-Falcon Heavy to the Moon from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.411305

This week is all about #hotdrama, with two surprise media briefings: one Listen

T+42: Blue Origin Introduces New Glenn from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.408956

This week, Blue Origin shed some more light on New Glenn—by way of Listen

T+44: SpaceX and the Age of Reusability from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.405457

SpaceX made history this week by launching SES-10 with a previously-flown first stage. I discuss implications of this achievement, the t...

T+46: Eric Berger from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.401750

Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica, joins me to talk Listen

T+49: Dr. Thomas Lang from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.397053

Dr. Thomas Lang, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the UCSF School of Medicine, joins the show to discuss Listen

T+55: ISS and Beyond from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.388948

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...

T+59: Jake Robins from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.382796

Jake Robins of the WeMartians Podcast joins me to discuss the state and future of the Mars exploration progr...

T+62: Chris Gebhardt on SpaceX’s BFR 2017 Update from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.377795

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to discuss Listen

T+67: Special Preview of MECO Headlines, December 1–8, 2017 from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.369898

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 v...

T+74: Stagnation and Opportunity from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.353022

NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot appeared in front of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee to discuss the 201...

T+77: Blue Origin Reconfigures New Glenn from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.344076

Caleb Henry got a great scoop on some changes Blue Origin is ma...

T+78: No Cost-Plus, But No Vision, Either from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.339657

NASA had some interesting comments on the Lunar Gateway at a recent NASA Advisory Council meeting<...

T+81: Resource Prospector Cancellation from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.313338

Last week, we heard news that the Resource Prospector mission has been cancelled...

T+82: Jon Goff, Altius Space Machines from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.310750

Jon Goff of Altius Space Machines joins me to talk about how he got to where he is today and what’s ah...

T+84: The End of NASA Exploration Exclusivity from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.306516

Last week, China opened up their future space station to other nations, and Listen

T+91: August Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.296144

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 episo...

T+92: Marcia Smith from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.292501

Marcia Smith of Space Policy Online joins me to talk about Listen

T+95: September Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.285635

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,...

T+99: October Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.278301

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—K...

T+100: Midterms, and a Thought on Starlink from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.275032

I share some space-focused takeaways from the US midterm elections and a thought that I h...

T+101: Starlink Addendum from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.271863

As I was recording yesterday’s show about Starlink, SpaceX filed an application wi...

T+103: Commercial Lunar Payload Services from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.267302

NASA announced the nine companies that will be competing for Comme...

T+106: Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.260875

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...

T+109: Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.254870

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.

T...

T+113: Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.247409

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 produce...

T+117: Q&A from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.237867

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...

T+118: Rapid Agile Launch Initiative from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.232488

Last week, the US Air Force announced and expounded on the Rapid Agile Launch Initiative. Along with the new...

T+120: Dr. Mike Baine, Axiom Space from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.199565

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 ...

T+125: Andrew Jones from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.192561

Andrew Jones returns to the show to update us on China’s various efforts. We talk Listen

T+128: NASA Shuffles CLPS, Partners on Blue Moon and Starship from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.187545

NASA terminated OrbitBeyond’s CLPS task order, Listen

T+129: Steve Altemus and Dr. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.183340

Steve Altemus, President & CEO, and Dr. Tim Crain, VP of Research & Development, from Intuitive Machines join me to talk about their Nova...

T+135: Jake Robins on Starship from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.168304

Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my co-host on Off-Nominal, joi...

T+150: SpaceX Signs Crew Flight Agreements with Axiom, Space Adventures from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.132797

SpaceX recently signed two agreements: one with Axio...

T+152: SpaceX’s Dragon XL Wins Gateway Logistics Services Contract from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.090095

NASA selected SpaceX and their new Dragon XL vehicle as the first Gateway Logistics Se...

T+153: Boeing to Refly Starliner Uncrewed Test, While SpaceX Crew Plans Firm Up from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.085392

A flurry of Commercial Crew news hit last week: new crew members were announced for SpaceX Crew-1, Jim Briden...

T+157: Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX Win NASA Lunar Lander Contracts from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.077023

NASA announced three contract awards for the Artemis Progam’s Human Landing System—a...

T+159: SpaceX Demo-2 Carries Crew to ISS from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.071355

It happened! American astronauts on American rockets from Ameri...

T+163: Suborbital Crew, Virgin Galactic to ISS from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.062486

NASA recently established the Suborbital Crew office within the Commercial Crew Progra...

T+170: Catching Up on the News from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.048075

I’m back after a few wonderful weeks offline with my ...

T+171: SpaceX, L3Harris Selected by SDA for Missile Warning Satellites from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.045064

The Space Development Agency has selected L3Harris and SpaceX to produce satellites for Listen

T+175: Delays from 2023-12-12T16:55:17.036969

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 Listen

T+182: Rocket Lab Neutron, Relativity Terran R from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.998563

Relativity sorta-announced a bigger launch vehicle, Terran R. A few days late...

T+183: Peter Beck on Neutron, Going Public, and Eating Hats from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.995501

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab, joins me to talk about going public, their new, bigger...

T+191: Phil Bracken, VP of Engineering at Spaceflight from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.982447

Phil Bracken, Vice President of Engineering at Spaceflight, joins me to talk about thei...

T+193: Marcia Smith, SpacePolicyOnline.com from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.978190

Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com joins me for a round up of space policy news, including how the...

T+195: Blue Origin’s Project Jarvis, Suborbital Flights, and Nauka Fallout (with Eric Berger) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.974250

Eric Berger of Ars Technica returns to the show to talk about the recent crewed suborbital ...

T+196: Checking In on Small Launch with Firefly Alpha, Astra LV0006 from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.971218

Last week, Firefly made their first flight attempt of Alpha, and Astra Listen

T+198: Ryan McDevitt, CEO of Benchmark Space Systems from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.965604

Ryan McDevitt, CEO of Benchmark Space Systems joins me to talk all about what Benchmark has been up to lately, what Listen

T+203: Starlab with Marshall Smith, SVP of Space Systems at Nanoracks from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.954975

Marshall Smith, Senior Vice President of Space Systems of Listen

T+210: Ukraine, Russia, and the Space Industry (with Debra Werner) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.943147

Debra Werner of SpaceNews joins me to talk about Russia’s ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the...

T+218: Starliner Flies, Dragon Gets More Flights from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.897389

Boeing completed Starliner’s long-awaited Orbital Flight Test-2 mission to t...

T+221: Psyche Misses Its Launch Window, SIMPLEx Missions Struggle to Find Theirs (with Jake Robins) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.891618

Our good friend Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my cohost on Off-Nominal...

T+228: Artemis I, Act I from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.879902

Artemis I scrubbed its way through its first and Listen

T+241: ULA on the Market from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.859149

Eric Berger has three sources saying United Launch Alliance is bein...

T+244: Dawn Aerospace’s Rocket-Powered Mk-II Aurora Takes Flight (with Stefan Powell, CEO) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.852768

Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace, joins me to talk about their Listen

T+250: LEO and Lunar Commercialization (Live from Space Symposium 2023) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.843022

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...

T+251: Finance and Business Strategy (Live from Space Symposium 2023) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.838999

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, R...

T+258: The Six, by Loren Grush (Off-Nominal 123 - An Exciting Time) from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.792852

Jake and Anthony are joined by Loren Grush of Bloomberg to talk about her new...

T+265: Headlines, featuring Starship IFT-2, Dragonfly, and Ariane 6 from 2023-12-12T16:55:16.770168

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

T+264: ESA’s Interest in Space Stations, Virgin Galactic Bails on VSS Unity from 2023-11-13T19:06:58

ESA is looking to start a commercial cargo program while looking further ahead to commercial space stations by signing ...

T+263: Space Policy Roundup (with Marcia Smith) from 2023-10-31T16:54:07

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 y...

T+262: Printing a Meniscus in the BioFabrication Facility (with Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire) from 2023-10-27T13:10:45

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 Facilit...

T+261: Agile Space (with CEO Chris Pearson and Chief Engineer Lars Osborne) from 2023-10-23T19:33:03

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 ...

T+260: Northrop Grumman Changes Plans, Starlab, Orbital Reef, and Leadership Changes from 2023-10-19T15:58:25

Northrop Grumman has changed plans—they’ve ended their own space station project, and wil...

T+259: Tom Marotta, The Spaceport Company from 2023-09-12T16:21:29

Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about what they’re working on, their vision f...

T+257: Chandrayaan-3, Luna-25, and the Deep Space Network (with Scott Tilley) from 2023-08-31T19:27:27

Scott Tilley joins me to talk about ISRO’s success with Listen

T+256: The Kuiper Logjam from 2023-08-25T19:39:17

Amazon moved their Project Kuiper prototypes from Vulcan to Atlas V. Between that and some rece...

T+255: NSSL Phase 3 Addendum from 2023-07-20T17:34:52

After the most recent show, I found a few nuggets of information in the...

T+254: Mars Sample Return, Vulcan, NSSL Phase 3 (with Eric Berger) from 2023-07-18T14:23:22

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about Listen

T+253: The German and European Launch Industry (with Adrian Beil) from 2023-06-14T14:37:29

Adrian Beil of NASASpaceFlight.com (and a long-time beloved member of the Listen

T+252: NASA Selects Blue Moon for a Second Lunar Lander, But is Facing a Grim Budget Reality from 2023-05-31T20:44:57

NASA selected Blue Moon as the second human lunar lander for Artemis—Listen

T+249: Space Symposium Round Up Plus Drop-In Guests (Live from Space Symposium 2023) from 2023-04-30T11:49:46

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 Busines...

T+248: Space Policy (Live from Space Symposium 2023) from 2023-04-28T11:00

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 Spacefl...

T+247: International Partnerships (Live from Space Symposium 2023) from 2023-04-26T14:03:22

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 (Directo...

T+246: Starship’s First Test Flight (with Jake Robins) from 2023-04-24T16:58:26

Starship finally(?) flew its first test flight! Jake Robins of Listen

T+245: Relativity Redesigns, Pivots to Terran R from 2023-04-17T18:28:15

After an unsuccessful first flight of Terran 1, Relativity has announced that they’ve moved o...

T+243: Live Show Announcement! Plus Virgin Orbit Nears the End, While Relativity Flies Terran 1 from 2023-03-31T18:41:09

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 Listen

T+242: NASA’s FY2024 Budget Request (with Casey Dreier) from 2023-03-16T12:00

Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about Listen

T+240: NSSL Phase 3, and a New Glenn Check In from 2023-02-28T16:43:07

The Space Force rolled out the draft RFP for Phase 3 of the National Security Space Launch program, and Listen

T+239: Space Policy with Lori Garver from 2023-02-13T14:00

Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator, joins me to talk about a whole host of space policy topics, including Artemis and lunar politics, the leg...

T+238: Rocket Lab Flies from Wallops Island (with Caleb Henry) from 2023-01-25T19:39:13

Caleb Henry of Quilty Analytics and I took a trip down to Wallops Island to Listen

T+237: Virgin Orbit and ABL Suffer Failures from 2023-01-17T16:58:12

Virgin Orbit’s first launch from the UK ended in failure, putting them in Listen

T+236: SpaceX Starshield, NSSL Phase 3 from 2022-12-15T18:22:20

SpaceX rolled out Starshield, a new, Starlink-inspired (derived?) offering for national security space systems. And I have some thoughts on the <...

T+235: Artemis I, 2022 Midterms (with Casey Dreier) from 2022-11-29T21:31:56

Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about Listen

T+234: Scott “Kidd” Poteet, Sarah Gillis, and Anna Menon of Polaris Dawn from 2022-10-28T12:00

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 ...

T+233: Jared Isaacman, Polaris Program from 2022-10-25T12:00

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 ...

T+232: A Visit to Astrobotic from 2022-10-12T11:32:30

Last week, I took a visit to Pittsburgh to visit Astrobotic, who is working on a few diffe...

T+231: The Future of Private Astronaut Missions to the ISS from 2022-09-30T14:56:08

In the wake of Axiom-1, NASA has revised the requirements for future Private Astronaut Missions....

T+230: Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate from 2022-09-19T05:24:51

Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directora...

T+229: Space Insurance (with Richard Parker and John Farnsworth) from 2022-09-13T11:41:43

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

T+227: Astrobee, Free-Flying Robots on the ISS (with Jonathan Barlow) from 2022-08-22T14:50:41

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...

T+226: Northrop Grumman and Firefly Partner on Antares from 2022-08-18T16:21:58

Northrop Grumman and Firefly Listen

T+225: Astrogation with Space Exploration Engineering from 2022-08-16T12:00

Mike Loucks and John Carrico of Space Exploration Engineering jo...

T+224: Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station, with Rick Mastracchio (Director Of Business Development) from 2022-08-12T12:00

Rick Mastracchio, former NASA astronaut and current Director Of Business Development at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, joins me to talk about Northrop Grumman’s Listen

T+223: Viper Delayed, Masten Unravels, CLPS Moves On from 2022-07-25T19:11:51

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is in a tricky spot right now. VIPER Listen

T+222: Rogozin Out, Seat Exchange Signed from 2022-07-21T13:55:16

Some thoughts on where we are now that Dmitry Rogozin has been dismissed as head of Roscosmos, and that NASA and Rosco...

T+220: Artemis Architecture (with Eric Berger) from 2022-06-17T19:31:21

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the Artemis Program’s Listen

T+219: Starship Launch Plan Clears FAA Environmental Review, with Mitigations Required from 2022-06-14T02:52:17

SpaceX’s plans for launching Starship to orbit from Boca Chica cleared an en...

T+217: Artemis Accords, with Mike Gold from 2022-05-16T13:00

Listen

T+216: Orbital Reef, with Brent Sherwood (SVP of Advanced Development Programs at Blue Origin) from 2022-04-27T12:00

Brent Sherwood, Senior Vice President of Advanced Development Programs for Blue Origin, joins me to talk about Or...

T+215: CAPSTONE, with Brad Cheetham, CEO of Advanced Space from 2022-04-25T13:00

Brad Cheetham, co-founder, CEO, and President of Advanced Space joins me to talk about their upcoming Listen

T+214: Andrew Maximov, Founder of Precious Payload from 2022-04-19T13:00

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 t...

T+213: Amazon’s Project Kuiper Launch Contract Blockbuster from 2022-04-14T14:53:17

Amazon is purchasing up to 83 launches from Arianespace, Blue Origin and United Launch Allia...

T+212: NASA’s Budget, Commercial LEO, and the Sustaining Lunar Development Contract from 2022-03-29T16:21:07

The White House has finally submitted its fiscal year 2023 budget request, whi...

T+211: Political and Industrial Fallout of the War from 2022-03-17T18:49:41

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. Everythi...

T+209: Off-Nominal 50 (with Michael Sheetz and Eric Berger) from 2022-02-25T19:35:22

A special feature of a very-MECO episode of my other podcast, Off-Nominal, that I did this week with Michael Sheet...

T+208: The Polaris Program from 2022-02-14T20:42:27

Jared Isaacman, commander of Inspiration4, announced the Polaris Pro...

T+207: 2022 Preview, Predictions, and Things to Watch (with Eric Berger) from 2022-01-21T21:05:08

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about what’s on our radar in 2022, to predict ...

T+206: Going Independent from 2021-12-23T12:13:58

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, ...

T+205: Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA from 2021-12-16T13:30:41

Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA, ...

T+204: ISS Port Management (with Bill Spetch of NASA) from 2021-12-14T14:00

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 Listen

T+202: The Geopolitics of ASAT Weapons and Space Debris (with Brian Weeden) from 2021-11-30T17:47:48

Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation joins me to talk about the technical and political fallout of Russia’...

T+201: Russia’s Reckless and Awful Anti-Satellite Operation from 2021-11-19T16:58:25

Russia recklessly carried out an anti-satellite operation on a large, defunct satellite in one of the most heavily-use...

T+200: Orbital Reef, Starlab, and the ISS Conundrum from 2021-10-28T17:33:13

Commercial space station mania! Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, and Redwire announced Orbital Reef, while Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin Listen

T+199: A Visit to the NASTAR Center (with Glenn King) from 2021-10-14T12:19

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...

T+197: NASA’s Human Spaceflight Directorate Shakeup from 2021-09-23T15:02:23

At a town hall this week, NASA announced that the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate Listen

T+194: Branson&Bezos Fly To Space from 2021-07-23T16:30:17

Richard Branson flew to space aboard SpaceShipTwo on Virgin Galactic’s Unity 22, and Jeff Bezos flew to space aboard Listen

T+192: iROSA with Matt LaPointe and Andrew Rush from 2021-06-23T12:00

I’m joined by Matt LaPointe, Technical Director at Redwire’s Deployable Space ...

T+190: Brock Howe, Nanoracks Bishop Airlock Program Manager from 2021-05-24T12:00

Brock Howe, the Program Manager for Nanoracks’ Bishop Airlock Listen

T+189: Stephen Forbes, DARPA Blackjack Program Manager from 2021-05-17T12:03:40

Stephen Forbes, the Program Manager for DARPA’s Blackjack project, joins me to talk about DARPA and its interaction with the rest of the Dep...

T+188: Starship SN15, and the HLS Protests from 2021-05-11T21:05:15

SpaceX successfully flew and landed Starship SN15 last week, amid protests of their N...

T+187: Eric Berger on Artemis, Starship, Amazon’s Atlas V Rides, and the State of Blue Origin from 2021-04-23T18:06:53

Eric Berger of Ars Technica returns to the show to talk about Listen

T+186: NASA Selects Starship as Artemis Lander from 2021-04-20T12:09:03

NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship as its ride for crew to the lunar surfa...

T+185: Bill Nelson Nominated as NASA Administrator from 2021-03-26T11:00

President Biden Listen

T+184: Jake Robins on the 2021 Mars Fleet and Future Exploration from 2021-03-16T07:05

Our good friend Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my cohost on Off-Nominal...

T+181: Falcon 9 Fleet, ABL in the UK, Firefly to the Moon from 2021-02-10T11:00

SpaceX broke their turnaround record and is racking up...

T+180: Christian Davenport, The Washington Post, on the SLS Green Run, Axiom Ax-1, Virgin Orbit from 2021-01-28T11:00

Christian Davenport, reporter at The Washington Post, joins me to talk ab...

T+179: Meagan Crawford, SpaceFund from 2021-01-18T11:00

Meagan Crawford, Co-Founder and Managing Partner of SpaceFund and host of the Listen

T+178: Andrew Jones, on China’s Chang’e-5, 2021 Plans, and More from 2021-01-11T11:00

Andrew Jones returns to the show for the third time to talk about China’s current missions and future plans, including Listen

T+177: NASA VCLS 2, Relativity, Astra, and Firefly from 2020-12-21T12:00

NASA awarded Venture Class Launch Services contracts to Astra, Firefly, and Re...

T+176: The Flight of Starship SN8 from 2020-12-14T15:28:29

Starship SN8 took flight last week on a mostly-successful mission to test its final descent phase. I share Listen

T+174: SpaceX Crew-1 Kicks Off New Era for ISS from 2020-11-25T11:00

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 ove...

T+173: Headlines from 2020-11-14T22:43:40

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 Listen

T+172: Lunar Politics from 2020-10-20T10:00

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 Listen

T+169: Commercial Small Launcher Updates from 2020-08-13T10:00:12

There have been a ton of recent updates from commercial small launch companies, like Listen

T+168: SpaceX and ULA Win NSSL Phase 2 from 2020-08-10T14:24:23

The long-awaited news is finally here! ULA and SpaceX have won the N...

T+167: Phillip Hargrove, NASA Launch Services Program from 2020-07-29T10:00:30

Phillip Hargrove, a Launch Vehicle Trajectory Analyst at NASA joins me to talk about NASA’s Listen

T+166: Laura Klicker and Daniel Gillies, Astrobotic from 2020-07-23T11:00:29

Two members of the Astrobotic team join me for a conversation: Laura Klicker, Payload Systems Management Lead, and Daniel Gillies, Mission Director for ...

T+165: Caleb Henry on the OneWeb Acquisition, Starlink Antennas, C-Band Drama, and More from 2020-07-21T22:20:28

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to the show to talk about Listen

T+164: An Announcement, and a Check-in on International Space Policy and NSSL Phase 2 from 2020-07-17T16:53:33

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...

T+162: Grant Bonin, SVP of Business Development at Spaceflight from 2020-06-26T10:30:10

Grant Bonin, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Listen

T+161: Mark Wiese, Manager of NASA’s Gateway Deep Space Logistics from 2020-06-22T15:45:08

Mark Wiese, Manager of NASA’s Listen

T+160: Lueders Leads HEO, Northrop Grumman Awarded HALO Contract from 2020-06-17T14:07:40

Northrop Grumman was awarded $187 million for the Gateway Habitat design, whi...

T+158: Doug Loverro Resigns, and a Bit About the Artemis Accords from 2020-05-26T10:00:14

The head of human spaceflight at NASA resigned last week, just before the most important crewed launch the ...

T+156: Sean Mahoney, CEO of Masten Space Systems from 2020-04-30T11:00:08

Sean Mahoney, CEO of Masten Space Systems joins me to talk about everything they’ve been up to lately, from flights of their Listen

T+155: Peter Beck on the Pandemic’s Effect on the Industry and Rocket Lab’s Busy Few Months from 2020-04-22T11:00:09

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab retu...

T+154: Tim Ellis, CEO and Cofounder of Relativity from 2020-04-17T11:00:06

Tim Ellis, CEO and Cofounder of Relativity joins me for an in-depth discussion about Relativity’s sta...

T+151: Northrop Grumman, Satellite Servicing, and DARPA’s RSGS from 2020-03-23T17:40:18

After a tumultuous past few years, DARPA has Listen

T+149: Let’s Talk About Starship with Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut from 2020-02-28T22:26:24

Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins me to talk all about SpaceX’s Listen

T+148: Gerst to SpaceX, and Why Landing is Part of Mission Success from 2020-02-19T22:23:42

Long-time head of human spaceflight at NASA, Bill Gerstenmaier, has joined SpaceX as a consu...

T+147: Mike Suffredini, President&CEO of Axiom from 2020-02-13T10:00:12

Mike Suffredini, President and CEO of Axiom, joins me to talk about their recent announcement...

T+146: Loren Grush on Commercial Crew, Starlink, NASA Authorization, and More from 2020-01-31T12:00:05

Loren Grush of The Verge joins me to talk about a whole host of current topics—SpaceX’s <...

T+145: Caleb Henry from 2020-01-25T13:00:05

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me to talk about the recent happenings in the satellite industr...

T+144: 2019 Impacts from 2019-12-31T17:09:23

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...

T+143: Starliner, 2020 US Space Budget from 2019-12-23T17:30

Starliner’s flight test did not go as planned, and Listen

T+142: T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak and AGI from 2019-12-16T14:31:04

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 vide...

T+141: Dylan Taylor, Voyager Space Holdings from 2019-12-13T10:00:02

Dylan Taylor, Chairman and CEO of Voyager Space Holdings, joins me to talk a...

T+140: Launch Protests and Lander Hopefuls from 2019-11-27T17:29:19

Blue Origin successfully protested the US Air Force’s RF...

T+139: RemoveDEBRIS with Richard Duke from 2019-11-21T10:00:04

Richard Duke from the Surrey Space Center joins me to talk about their Listen

T+138: Peter Beck, Founder of Rocket Lab from 2019-10-30T09:00:31

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab, joins me to talk about Listen

T+137: Artemis Politics, United Lander Alliance from 2019-10-28T15:33:21

Artemis and international politics were on display on the first day of IAC 2019, followed by Listen

T+136: Starship to GTO, SSO from Florida from 2019-10-12T17:54:39

A few bits of follow-up on Starship to GTO, the Bridenst...

T+134: Headlines (with news on Orion, NEOCam, and more) from 2019-09-27T18:06:33

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...

T+133: Kurt Klaus on CLPS from 2019-09-17T09:00:02

Kurt Klaus, Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group’s Commercial Advisory Board, jo...

T+132: SpaceX SmallSat Updates from 2019-09-12T13:03:38

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...

T+131: Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space from 2019-08-31T09:00:12

Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space, joins me to talk about their big Listen

T+130: SmallSat Launch Roundup from 2019-08-14T19:52:51

SmallSat was last week which meant a flurry of announcements. This year was launch heavy, so I break down some announcements from Listen

T+127: Gateway Habitat, Starhopper, and ABL Space Systems from 2019-07-28T14:31:16

I share some thoughts on three important stories from this week: NASA quietly announced their i...

T+126: The NASA Ousters from 2019-07-18T14:21:07

Two top NASA human exploration leaders—Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Hill—hav...

T+124: Gateway Logistics Services, FY2020 NDAA, and Small GEO Satellites from 2019-06-20T09:00:11

NASA put out a draft RFP for Gateway Logistic Services, the House Armed Services’ Committee Listen

T+123: The Noosphere of Influence from 2019-06-10T14:22:43

NASA made a series of announcements about their ISS commercialization ...

T+122: National Security SpaceX Lawsuit from 2019-05-28T18:51:57

NSSL, LSA, OMG! Last week, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the US Air Force over the Launch Service Agr...

T+121: Artemis, Blue Moon, Starship, and Politics from 2019-05-17T09:00:03

NASA and the White House released a summary of the FY2020 budget amendment this week,...

T+119: Dr. John Charles from 2019-04-18T15:00

Dr. John Charles spent nearly 33 years at NASA—most recently as Chief Scientist of the Human Research Program—working on human spaceflig...

T+116: On the Moon by 2024 from 2019-03-28T09:00

The National Space Council met this week and Vice President Pence Listen

T+115: Caleb Henry from 2019-03-18T09:00

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me live in studio to talk about his trip to Kourou for Listen

T+114: EM-1 Hot Drama with Eric Berger from 2019-03-13T20:00

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the latest in SLS Hot Drama: Listen

T+112: SLC-20, SPD-4, and a Soyuz Soapbox from 2019-02-27T13:45

Firefly Aerospace is taking over Space Launch Complex 20, President Trump si...

T+111: SpaceX, the Established Launch Provider from 2019-02-21T16:50

A tale of politics, protests, a...

T+110: Starship, New Glenn, and RS1 Updates from 2019-02-11T10:00

ABL Space Systems announced some changes to RS1, Blue Origin Listen

T+108: Layoffs and Launch Sites from 2019-01-21T10:00

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 Listen

T+107: Chris Gebhardt from 2019-01-15T10:00

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to talk all things SpaceX: Listen

T+105: Jonathan McDowell from 2018-12-29T10:00

Jonathan McDowell joins me to talk about his recent paper proposing 80 k...

T+104: Jake Robins from 2018-12-11T18:58

Jake Robins of WeMartians joins me to talk InSight, <...

T+102: November Q&A from 2018-11-30T21:00

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 ...

T+98: Gateway Logistics Services from 2018-10-26T15:30

NASA released a request for information this week about cargo services to the Gateway—big ne...

T+97: SLS OIG Report, Air Force LSA Awards from 2018-10-15T17:25

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 ...

T+96: Blue Origin&Harris from 2018-10-10T09:00

Blue Origin and Harris announced an interesting partnership last week that’s w...

T+94: #dearMoon from 2018-09-24T09:00

Some thoughts on the #dearMoon project, SpaceX’s announcement, and the essence of SpaceX’s strateg...

T+93: NASA Goddard and Restore-L from 2018-09-13T09:00

Pat O. and I took a trip down to NASA Goddard to explore all that’s going on there. We talk a bit about ou...

T+90: Andrew Jones from 2018-08-30T09:00

Andrew Jones joins me to talk all things Chinese spaceflight—exploratio...

T+89: Lockheed’s Small Sat Strategy, NASA Tipping Points Contracts from 2018-08-13T15:21

Lockheed Martin has been slowly revealing their small sat strategy over the last three years, and it’s sha...

T+88: CubeRover, Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler from 2018-07-30T09:00

Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler of CubeRover and Astrobotic join me to talk about the project, the rover it...

T+87: Rocket Lab Launch Complex 2 from 2018-07-18T16:00

Rocket Lab announced that they’re in the final selection stage of their search ...

T+86: Falcon Heavy Wins AFSPC-52 from 2018-06-27T09:00

Big news this week: SpaceX won an EELV contract for Falcon Heavy. I talk through what this means for the US la...

T+85: Support and Criticism for the Lunar Gateway from 2018-06-19T16:39

ESA has all but given its full support...

T+83: Falcon 9 Block 5, RL10 on Centaur V from 2018-05-22T09:00

Two events worth discussing happened while I was on vacation—the first Block 5 Falcon 9 took flight, and ULA Listen

T+80: DARPA Launch Challenge from 2018-04-25T15:50

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

T+79: Orbital ATK’s OmegA, NASA’s Bridenstine from 2018-04-21T09:00

Orbital ATK unveiled the name and additional technical details of their new launch vehicle, OmegA. Jim Bride...

T+76: Caleb Henry from 2018-03-27T09:00

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to talk Satellite 2018, ...

T+75: March Roundup from 2018-03-23T09:00

A few interesting documents have been released: the late-but-final 2018 appropria...

T+73: Commercial Crew Contingency Plans, and the End of ISS from 2018-02-23T10:00

NASA recently began talking about some contingency planning for ...

T+72: SpaceX’s Motivation for Falcon Heavy from 2018-02-13T10:00

SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy last week and shook up the space launch world. I spend some time thinking through SpaceX’s motivations for ...

T+71: Commercial Crew, Congress, and the GAO from 2018-01-30T10:00

The Commercial Crew program—NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, and more—went in front of Congress to discuss the current status of the crew launch sy...

T+70: Polar Launches from Cape Canaveral from 2018-01-17T10:00

The US Air Force has developed a viable corridor f...

T+69: Robin Seemangal from 2017-12-27T10:00

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, inclu...

T+68: Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks from 2017-12-20T08:00

Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks joins me to talk about what they’re working on today, as...

T+66: A Visit to NanoRacks, and Virgin Orbit Books a Department of Defense Launch from 2017-11-27T08:00

I was in Houston last week and I visited NanoRacks for a bit. And Virgin Orbit Listen

T+65: The New GEO Model, Orbital ATK’s Composite Case, Good and Bad SpaceX News from 2017-11-11T08:00

SES gives us a preview of their new GEO strategy (which may be a harbinger of the future), Orbital ATK Listen

T+64: BE-4 Fires Up, and Some Thoughts on the Future of Commercial and Military Launch from 2017-10-28T07:00

Blue Origin fired up their BE-4 engine for the first time, which is Listen

T+63: Centaur V, BFR Updates from 2017-10-18T07:00

Tory Bruno wrote an op-ed in SpaceNews regarding Vulcan and its future, and he ann...

T+61: Northrop Grumman Acquires Orbital ATK, Lockheed Martin Unveils New Satellite Family from 2017-09-25T07:00

Northrop Grumman is acquiring Orbital ATK in a $9.2 billion deal. Lockheed Martin Listen

T+60: New Glenn’s Fairing, OneWeb’s Factory from 2017-09-16T07:00

Blue Origin announced a size increase to New Glenn’s fairing, and OneWeb has decided Listen

T+58: Totality from 2017-08-25T07:00

I spent 2 minutes and 40 seconds in the shadow of the Moon in Gallatin, TN. Totality was an incredibly powerful e...

T+57: Caleb Henry from 2017-08-16T16:00

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me to discuss Listen

T+56: Small Launchers and Advanced Propulsion from 2017-08-11T07:00

Rocket Lab completed their investigation into what went wrong on their first launch, Virgin Orbit’s ca...

T+54: Eric Berger from 2017-07-27T07:00

Eric Berger returns to the show to talk about Elon Musk and Listen

T+53: Loren Grush from 2017-07-22T07:00

Loren Grush of The Verge joins me to talk about Falcon Heavy, SpaceX Listen

T+52: XCOR Winds Down, ULA Wins STP-3 from 2017-07-13T07:00

XCOR laid off the rest of its staff and is closing up shop after l...

T+51: The SpaceX Steamroller, Blue Origin Chooses Alabama from 2017-06-29T07:00

SpaceX launched two missions last weekend, flew new titanium grid fins on Falcon 9, and are really picking up the pace...

T+50: Boeing Gets XS-1, SpaceX Gets X-37B from 2017-06-15T07:00

Boeing’s proposal won Phases 2 and 3 of DARPA’s XS-1 program, and Listen

T+48: Rand Simberg from 2017-05-27T07:00

Rand Simberg joins me to talk about his recent trip to the Space Tech Expo, the dawning of the age of i...

T+47: Uncrewed EM-1 Delayed to 2019 from 2017-05-16T07:00

Last week was rough for the Space Launch System. An issue with weld tooling was discovered, with s...

T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares from 2017-04-20T07:00

As the award date approaches for the 2018 Air Force launch vehicle development contracts, we keep...

T+43: March Lightning Round from 2017-03-25T07:00

The last two weeks have been filled with a bunch of smaller stories—SpaceX’s GPS III bid win and Listen

T+40: The Potentially Infamous EM-1 Memo from 2017-02-18T08:00

Robert Lightfoot, the Acting NASA Administrator, sent a memo to the agency on the possibility of putting a crew on EM-1. I discuss th...

T+37: Government Subsidies, Private Capability, and the 2010 National Space Policy from 2017-01-27T08:00

Four members of the House of Representatives sent letters to DARPA and the Pentagon this week...

T+36: Falcon 9 Flies with New Fueling Procedures, and the NASA-Boeing-Soyuz Saga from 2017-01-19T08:00

SpaceX is off to a strong start in 2017 with a very successful launch of Iridium-1 and Listen

T+35: NASA Policy Grab Bag from 2017-01-12T08:00

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 subcommit...

T+33: SpaceX’s Commercial Crew Delay, Fueling Process Approved, and the Inmarsat-Falcon Heavy Situation from 2016-12-15T08:00

Inmarsat, under regulatory pressure to get flying, decided to take a mid-2017 launch slot on Ariane 5, moving a...

T+30: SpaceX Nearing Falcon 9 Return-to-Flight from 2016-11-23T08:00

All signs point to SpaceX nearing a return-to-flight mission for Falc...

T+29: Commercializing the NASA Exploration Roadmap from 2016-11-16T08:00

Following up on last show’s topic, there are signs that NASA Listen

T+27: Financial vs. Political Capital and Mission Sustainability from 2016-10-26T07:00

In light of the recent Schiaparelli lander failure, I discuss the differences between missions supported by ...

T+26: OA-5, Antares, and Orbital ATK’s Road Ahead from 2016-10-19T07:00

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 t...

T+25: Falcon 9 Updates and the 10% Discount from 2016-10-12T07:00

Gwynne Shotwell, President of SpaceX, spoke at two events and dropped some tidbits about the Fal...

T+23: SpaceX Mars Architecture Initial Reactions from 2016-09-28T07:00

Elon Musk took the stage at the IAC this week and unveiled SpaceX’s architecture for their planetary ex...

T+22: SpaceX Mars Architecture Announcement Preamble from 2016-09-21T07:00

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 ...

T+21: Blue Origin Previews New Glenn from 2016-09-14T07:00

Blue Origin surprised us all by previewing their massive next rocket, New Glenn. I discuss the few details ...

T+19: SpaceX’s Manifest, Flight-Proven Hardware, Blue Origin Updates, and Antares’ Engines from 2016-08-31T07:00

SpaceX has a busy manifest as they close out 2016, including SES-10 Listen

T+18: Robert Zubrin on Mars Exploration and Colonization Internationally, within NASA, and at SpaceX from 2016-08-24T07:00

Dr. Robert Zubrin, President of The Mars Society, creator of Mars Direct, and author of Listen

T+17: NextSTEP Habitat Prototypes, and the Zombie Centaur from 2016-08-17T07:00

NASA selected six companies, as part of the NextSTEP program, to develop ground prototypes of deep space habitats Listen

T+16: Moon Express Licensing, and NASA’s Disdain for Artificial Gravity from 2016-08-10T07:00

Moon Express gained government approval for their upcoming mission to win the Google Lunar ...

T+14: The Post-EM-1 Roadmap for SLS, and Potential Uses for SpaceX’s BFR from 2016-07-27T10:00

Before Mars and exploration-centric talk, I talk about Orbital ATK’s agreement for exclusive use of LMP-103S. Th...

T+13: SpaceX’s CRS-9 Success, Senate Hearing Recap, and US-Russian Plans for the Moon from 2016-07-20T10:00

SpaceX had a great night launching the CRS-9 mission, and it’s all good signs for their future. The Senate hearing, as I predi...

T+12: The Competition of Reusability Between Falcon 9, Vulcan, and Ariane 6 from 2016-07-13T10:00

Ted Cruz called a hearing on NASA’s space exploration policy in the next president’s administration...

T+10: Logan Kamperschroer on the Current State and Near Future of Storable Propellants from 2016-06-29T10:00

This week I talked to Logan Kamperschroer, a Graduate Research Assistant at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue Unive...

T+9: ExoMars 2016 and 2020, Chinese Partnerships and Policy from 2016-06-22T10:00

The ExoMars 2020 rover received a funding boost and a reassessed schedule, the 2016 orbiter/lander Listen

T+8: Masten’s Xodiac and XaeroB, Blue Origin’s Next Flight of New Shepard from 2016-06-15T10:00

Masten Space Systems released a video of test flights of their two latest vehicles. Blue Origin was Listen

T+5: Space Stations Around the Moon and Mars, ExoMars 2016, and China’s Momentum in Space from 2016-05-25T10:00

Orbital ATK and Lockheed Martin unveiled proposals for space stations around the Moon by 2020 Listen

T+4: Boeing’s CST-100, SpaceX’s Dragon 2, and a Scorched Falcon 9 from 2016-05-18T10:00

Boeing announced a 6 month delay in the schedule for their CST-100 crew vehicle. SpaceX’s Dragon 2 is in the...

T+3: Falcon 9 GTO Mission Drone Ship Landing, Orbital ATK’s Current and Future Launch Vehicles from 2016-05-11T10:00

SpaceX landed another Falcon 9 first stage on their drone ship—this time on a GTO launch, which is a major milesto...

T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs from 2016-04-27T10:00

An analysis of NASA’s human spaceflight programs, Orion and the Listen

T-0: The Near Future of US-Based Competitors from 2016-04-20T10:00

An analysis of the intricate dance between United Launch Alliance, SpaceX, and Blu...