Main Engine Cut Off

A special preview of MECO Headlines, covering Starship Flight 6, ABL’s pivot to missile defense, and much more. Subscribe today to get Headlines regularly!

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

• ABL Space exits commercial launch market, shifts focus to missile defense - SpaceNews
• Dan Piemont on X: “ANNOUNCEMENT Today we’re announcing major changes to our mission at ABL. We are stepping away from the commercial launch market and focusing our efforts on missile defense. Commercial Launch Over the past six years, we developed an orbital rocket with unique traits…”

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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Donald Trump has been reelected President of the United States, and the main character of spaceflight, Elon Musk, is one of his top advisors. Some thoughts on where things may go from here, and a bit of my wishlist.

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

Topics

• NASA faces disruptive presidential transition - SpaceNews
• Elon Musk on X (DOGE statement)
• Eric Berger on X: “To be clear we are far from anything being settled, but based on what I'm hearing it seems at least 50-50 that NASA's Space Launch System rocket will be canceled. Not Block 1B. Not Block 2. All of it. There are other ways to get Orion to the Moon.”

The Show

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

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
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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

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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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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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

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by NASA
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