Main Engine Cut Off

Jared Isaacman of the Polaris Program joins me to talk about the Polaris Dawn mission, his EVA experience, the Hubble Space Telescope situation, how the Polaris Program and SpaceX approach tech development and flight planning, and the Philadelphia Eagles.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Jan, Matt, Fred, Harrison, The Astrogators at SEE, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile, Warren, Steve, Joel, Pat, Better Every Day Studios, Donald, Lee, David, Kris, Frank, Josh from Impulse, Joonas, Ryan, Russell, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, Bob, Theo and Violet, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Jared Isaacman (@rookisaacman) / X
• Polaris Program
• Polaris Dawn
• SpaceX on X: “The @PolarisProgram’s Polaris Dawn crew performed the first-ever spacewalk from Dragon, travelled farther from Earth than anyone since the Apollo program, and used @Starlink to connect with those back on Earth”
• T+233: Jared Isaacman, Polaris Program - Main Engine Cut Off
• Private mission to save Hubble Space Telescope raises concerns, NASA emails show : NPR
• In first sports bet from space, billionaire Jared Isaacson picks Eagles to win Super Bowl LVI | PhillyVoice

The Show

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SpaceX is entering a new era for Starship after the epic Flight 5, with its pinpoint ship reentry and staggeringly beautiful booster catch.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Matt, Will and Lars from Agile, Steve, Harrison, Warren, Frank, Russell, Josh from Impulse, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, Fred, Lee, David, Theo and Violet, Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Jan, Ryan, Pat, Pat from KC, Joel, Kris, Donald, The Astrogators at SEE, Bob, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• SpaceX on X: “Watch Starship's fifth flight test”
• SpaceX on X: “Starship on its fifth flight test. Views powered by @Starlink”
• Starship’s Fifth Flight Test - SpaceX - Launches
• SpaceX Catches a Super Heavy Booster During a Milestone Flight 5 - NASASpaceFlight.com

The Show

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SpaceX and the FAA have been going a few rounds back and forth in public over fines and delays. It’s weird and inscrutable but maybe helpful in the long run in a few ways.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Donald, Pat from KC, Joel, Jan, Lee, Better Every Day Studios, Fred, Theo and Violet, Russell, Pat, Warren, Joonas, David, Stealth Julian, Bob, Harrison, Frank, Josh from Impulse, The Astrogators at SEE, Kris, Ryan, Will and Lars from Agile, Steve, Matt, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

• The war of words between SpaceX and the FAA keeps escalating | Ars Technica
• FAA administrator defends SpaceX licensing actions on safety grounds - SpaceNews
• SpaceX letter criticizes FAA for “systemic challenges” in launch licensing - SpaceNews
• SpaceX on X: “FAA Administrator Whitaker made several incorrect statements today regarding SpaceX. In fact, every statement he made was incorrect. It is deeply concerning that the Administrator does not appear to have accurate information immediately available to him with respect to SpaceX”
• Elon Musk on X: “Amazingly, no Starliner fines for Boeing! The FAA space division is harassing SpaceX about nonsense that doesn’t affect safety while giving a free pass to Boeing even after NASA concluded that their spacecraft was not safe enough to bring back the astronauts. There need to be resignations from the FAA leadership.”
• Elon Musk on X: “Shouldn’t the head of an organization responsible for regulating the safety of airplanes & rockets know something about how they work?”
• Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age | West Houston's Neighborhood Bookshop
• Reentry by Eric Berger - Audiobook - Audible.com
• Reentry: SpaceX, Elon Musk, and the Reusable Rockets that Launched a Second Space Age Kindle Edition

The Show

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• Artwork photo by ESA
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Andy Lapsa, Co-Founder and CEO of Stoke Space, joins me to talk about the company, their vision for the future, their approach to launch, the larger trends that are shaping the market, and how that all might come together in the next few years.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Steve, Fred, Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, Kris, Theo and Violet, Harrison, Matt, Josh from Impulse, Russell, Warren, Pat from KC, Ryan, Jan, Donald, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Bob, Pat, Joel, Will and Lars from Agile, David, The Astrogators at SEE, Lee, Frank, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

• Andy Lapsa (@AndyLapsa) / X
• Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA
• 100% Reusability, with Andy Lapsa (Stoke Space) - Payload
• Stoke Space Completes First Successful Hotfire Test of Full-Flow, Staged-Combustion Engine | Stoke Space / 100% reusable rockets / USA
• Stoke Space ignites its ambitious main engine for the first time | Ars Technica
• How Stoke Space's Unique Rocket Works // Exclusive Tour & Interview - YouTube
• Stoke Space aims to build rapidly reusable rocket with a completely novel design | Ars Technica

The Show

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• Artwork photo by ESA
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Jeff Foust of Space News joins me to talk about Starliner, Fram2, VIPER, Blue Moon, and everything else going on in space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Jan, Warren, Pat from KC, David, Frank, Lee, Joonas, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Harrison, Russell, Joel, Bob, The Astrogators at SEE, Stealth Julian, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Kris, Fred, Theo and Violet, Matt, Donald, Will and Lars from Agile, Ryan, Pat, Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

Topics

• Jeff Foust (@jeff_foust) / X
• Jeff Foust, Author at SpaceNews
• NASA pushes Starliner return decision to late August - SpaceNews
• Crypto entrepreneur buys Crew Dragon flight - SpaceNews
• fram2: First Human Spaceflight To Earth’s Polar Regions
• NASA requests details on potential VIPER partnerships - SpaceNews
• NASA payload to fly on first Blue Origin lunar lander mission - SpaceNews
• Lockheed Martin to acquire Terran Orbital - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by ESA
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Mark Albrecht joins me to talk about the state and future of space policy in a very dynamic Presidential election year. He shares some stories from the past, talks about his experience in presidential transitions and on the National Space Council, and ruminates on what we may see in November and beyond.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Stealth Julian, Joel, Lee, Kris, David, Ryan, Theo and Violet, Donald, Jan, Harrison, Will and Lars from Agile, Josh from Impulse, Matt, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Bob, Russell, Frank, Pat from KC, Joonas, Pat, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Better Every Day Studios, Warren, Fred, and four anonymous—and 816 other supporters.

Topics

• Mark Albrecht (@MarkAlbrecht68) / X
• Falling Back To Earth: A First Hand Account Of The Great Space Race And The End Of The Cold War: Albrecht, Mark: 9780615447094: Amazon.com: Books
• Episode 99 - Open-Box Protons - Off-Nominal
• Episode 160 - Cut That Shit Out (with Lori Garver and Loren Grush) - Off-Nominal

The Show

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• Artwork photo by ESA
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Andrew Rush returns to the show to talk about his new venture, Star Catcher. They are working to build an energy grid in space, beaming energy directly to existing solar panels on satellites in LEO.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Steve, Kris, Theo and Violet, Warren, Ryan, Josh from Impulse, Better Every Day Studios, Lee, Jan, Harrison, Fred, Matt, Donald, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Pat, The Astrogators at SEE, Stealth Julian, Joonas, Russell, David, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile, Bob, Joel, Frank, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

Topics

• Andrew Rush (@RushSpace) / X
• Star Catcher
• Star Catcher (@StarCatcherInd) / X
• @starcatcherind • Instagram photos and videos
• Star Catcher | LinkedIn

The Show

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• Artwork photo by NASA
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NASA announced their intent to cancel VIPER, the rover that was due to go to the Moon on Astrobotic’s Griffin lander, after severe schedule and cost growth. SpaceX had a rare failure of Falcon 9 that has led to a (seemingly short) grounding of the vehicle.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Frank, Donald, Fred, Bob, Steve, Matt, Will and Lars from Agile, Lee, Pat from KC, Better Every Day Studios, The Astrogators at SEE, Joonas, Warren, Jan, Russell, Pat, Josh from Impulse, Joel, David, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Kris, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Harrison, and four anonymous—and 816 other supporters.

Topics

• NASA Ends VIPER Project, Continues Moon Exploration - NASA
• NASA cancels VIPER lunar rover - SpaceNews
• NASA Cancels VIPER Lunar Rover – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Chris Bergin - NSF on X: “Here are two minutes of the SpaceX launch stream where the ice build-up began.”
• Starlink 9-3 - SpaceX - Launches

The Show

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• Artwork photo by NASA
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A few weeks ago, we talked about Redwire’s SabreSat spacecraft, and today we’re talking about their Europe-based Phantom spacecraft. We talk about the spacecraft platform itself, how the different parts of Redwire work together, VLEO and its use cases, and how to fly satellites through little bits of atmosphere.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Russell, Joonas, Stealth Julian, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Benjamin, Tyler, Harrison, Lee, Steve, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, David, Bob, Ryan, Donald, Pat, Kris, Josh from Impulse Space, Better Every Day Studios, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

• Phantom -Redwire Space
• Redwire Announces Development of New European-Built Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) Spacecraft Platform called Phantom | Redwire Space
• Eyes in the sky: The increasing importance of very low Earth orbit (VLEO) for national security - SpaceNews
• ESA funds Skimsat demonstrator study for VLEO - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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Firefly added launch sites in Virginia and Sweden for its Alpha vehicle. NASA has selected SpaceX to build the ISS US Deorbit Vehicle, closed out their task orders to Collins for ISS spacesuits, and decided to keep Starliner at the ISS for a few more weeks.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Russell, Joonas, Stealth Julian, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Benjamin, Tyler, Harrison, Lee, Steve, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, David, Bob, Ryan, Donald, Pat, Kris, Josh from Impulse Space, Better Every Day Studios, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

• Firefly Aerospace Adds Alpha Launch Capability on Wallops Island, Virginia
• SSC and Firefly Aerospace to Launch Satellites from Esrange in Sweden
• NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle - NASA
• Eric Berger on X: “Bill Spetch, operations integration manager for NASA’s International Space Station Program, confirms that the US Deorbit Vehicle will be based on "Dragon heritage" hardware. It will involve modifications of the trunk.”
• NASA’s International Space Station Deorbit Analysis Summary White Paper
• NASA’s commercial spacesuit program just hit a major snag | Ars Technica
• NASA Collins xEVAS Update  – Space Station
• Starliner to remain on ISS for more thruster tests - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works