A holiday special! Enjoy this week’s episode of Headlines free. It’s an absolute monster episode—way longer than usual Headlines episodes, I promise—but it’s a great example of what you get when you support the show over at mainenginecutoff.com/support.

• NASA finally—and we really do mean it this time—has a full-time leader - Ars Technica
• Agencywide Town Hall with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 - YouTube
• Trump commits to Moon landing by 2028, followed by a lunar outpost two years later - Ars Technica
• NASA Teams Work MAVEN Spacecraft Signal Loss - NASA Science
• NASA Continues MAVEN Spacecraft Recontact Efforts - NASA Science
• SpaceX Sets $800 Billion Valuation, Confirms 2026 IPO Plans - Bloomberg
• SpaceX $1.5 Trillion Value Target Hinges on Starlink — And Elon - Bloomberg
• SpaceX Said to Notify Employees of Quiet Period Ahead of IPO - Bloomberg
• In a surprise announcement, Tory Bruno is out as CEO of United Launch Alliance - Ars Technica
• Space Development Agency awards $3.5 billion in contracts for missile-tracking satellites - SpaceNews
• Chinese astronauts inspect debris-damaged Shenzhou-20 spacecraft during spacewalk - SpaceNews
• Space Station – Off The Earth, For The Earth
• NASA Astronaut Jonny Kim, Crewmates Return from Space Station - NASA
• After key Russian launch site is damaged, NASA accelerates Dragon supply missions - Ars Technica
• R-7 ICBM/Soyuz rocket launch facilities in Baikonur
• Launch Roundup: China, Russia, Rocket Lab, ULA join SpaceX in flying this week - NASASpaceFlight.com
• Launch Previews: Ariane 6, Falcon 9, Atlas V, and Electron launches highlight busy week - NASASpaceFlight.com
• Launch Roundup: International launches fill manifest during last full week of 2025 - NASASpaceFlight.com
• China launches 4 times in 4 days, boosting megaconstellation and surveillance assets - SpaceNews
• China launches new TJS satellite, commercial Kinetica-1 lofts 9 spacecraft - SpaceNews
• Michael Nicolls on X: “When satellite operators do not share ephemeris for their satellites, dangerously close approaches can occur in space.   A few days ago, 9 satellites were deployed from a launch from the Jiuquan Satellite Launch Center in Northwestern China. As far as we know, no coordination or…”
• China launches experimental cargo spacecraft, opaque tech demo mission and remote sensing satellite - SpaceNews
• Andrew Jones on X: “Turns out there were two male mice launched on the DEAR-5 cargo spacecraft for neuroscience research. Spacecraft is planned to operate in orbit for one year and is not rated for reentry, so it's game over at some point for the rodents. Video is prelaunch.”
• Rocket Lab launches JAXA tech demo satellite - SpaceNews
• Ariane 6 launches Galileo navigation satellites - SpaceNews
• These are the flying discs the government wants you to know about - Ars Technica
• Blue Origin flies first wheelchair user to space - SpaceNews
• Rocket Lab wraps up record launch year - SpaceNews
• Japan’s H3 suffers second-stage anomaly, QZS-5 satellite lost - SpaceNews
• Andrew Jones on X
• China launches new Guowang satellites, Long March 12A launch and landing attempt date set - SpaceNews

Keep an eye on upcoming launches with rocketlaunch.live.

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit the Pentagon and sit down with General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations—the head of the United States Space Force. We talk about the service 6 years into its existence, the state of acquisitions, the threats and space environment today, and what the future may hold for the Space Force when it comes to human spaceflight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Russell, Natasha Tsakos, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, David, Matt, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Joakim, Frank, Pat, Joel, Donald, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Jan, Steve, Fred, Lee, Kris, Heiko, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• United States Space Force
• B. Chance Saltzman > United States Space Force > Display
• Space Force roadmap set to define what the service needs and why - SpaceNews
• US intel officials “concerned” China will soon master reusable launch - Ars Technica
• Asked why we need Golden Dome, the man in charge points to a Hollywood film - Ars Technica
• Space Force rolls out new naming scheme for satellites and space weapons - SpaceNews
• Andrew Jones on X: “Outrageous images of China's Shijian-26, an apparent new-gen Earth observation satellite, from Maxar. SSD of 1.9 cm.”
• Andrew Jones on X: “China's CGST has returned the favour, using its Jilin-1 sats to image a Maxar Worldview Legion 2 satellite.”
• Scott Tilley 🇺🇦 🇨🇦 (@coastal8049) / X

The Show

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Stephen Clark of Ars Technica joins me to talk about a ton of stories in the news—Jared Isaacman was back in front of Congress, a few Starliner flights have been cut from the ISS manifest, Starship received environmental approval to proceed at SLC-37, Zhuque-3 almost stuck its first landing attempt, the Soyuz launch pad fell apart at Baikonur, and the Space Force has a new mission naming scheme.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Matt, Fred, Kris, Natasha Tsakos, Josh from Impulse, Better Every Day Studios, Joakim, Joel, Ryan, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Heiko, Jan, Theo and Violet, Donald, Pat, Will and Lars from Agile, Lee, Russell, Joonas, Warren, Steve, Frank, Stealth Julian, David, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Author: Stephen Clark - Ars Technica
• NASA nominee appears before Congress, defends plans to revamp space agency - Ars Technica
• Congress warned that NASA’s current plan for Artemis “cannot work” - Ars Technica
• NASA seeks a “warm backup” option as key decision on lunar rover nears - Ars Technica
• It’s official: Boeing’s next flight of Starliner will be allowed to carry cargo only - Ars Technica
• A spectacular explosion shows China is close to obtaining reusable rockets - Ars Technica
• Before a Soyuz launch Thursday someone forgot to secure a 20-ton service platform - Ars Technica
• Rivals object to SpaceX’s Starship plans in Florida—who’s interfering with whom? - Ars Technica
• SpaceX on X: “We’ve received approval to develop Space Launch Complex-37 for Starship operations at Cape Canaveral Space Force Station. Construction has started. With three launch pads in Florida, Starship will be ready to support America’s national security and Artemis goals as the world’s…”
• Attack, defend, pursue—the Space Force’s new naming scheme foretells new era - Ars Technica

The Show

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Blue Origin is fresh off an incredible few weeks—a successful second launch and first landing of New Glenn, followed by an exciting unveil of upgrades to the vehicle, including an enormous new version, New Glenn 9x4.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Lee, Natasha Tsakos, Fred, Will and Lars from Agile, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Pat, Heiko, Kris, Jan, Better Every Day Studios, Theo and Violet, Matt, Josh from Impulse, Russell, Joel, Warren, Joonas, Joakim, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Donald, David, Frank, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Blue Origin’s New Glenn rocket came back home after taking aim at Mars - Ars Technica
• Jeff Bezos on X: “Good overview of the landing. We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly. We’ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday…”
• New Glenn Update | Blue Origin
• Booster 18 suffers anomaly during proof testing - NASASpaceFlight.com
• Senate Commerce Committee schedules hearing on Isaacman renomination - SpaceNews
• Lawmakers writing NASA’s budget want a cheaper upper stage for the SLS rocket - Ars Technica

The Show

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Simone D’Amico of Stanford and EraDrive, DJ Bush of NVIDIA, and Al Tadros of Redwire join me to talk about autonomy in space, to get into the specific details of what they’re working on and how it comes together, and what it may do for the industry in the next few years.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joonas, Russell, Donald, Stealth Julian, Pat, Fred, David, Lee, Frank, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Joel, Joakim, Matt, Natasha Tsakos, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Kris, Theo and Violet, Heiko, Will and Lars from Agile, Jan, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Episode T+315: Autonomy in Space (with Simone D’Amico, DJ Bush, and Al Tadros) - YouTube
• Simone D'Amico | LinkedIn
• Center for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR)
• Stanford spinoff EraDrive claims $1 million NASA contract - SpaceNews
• DJ Bush | LinkedIn
• How Starcloud Is Bringing Data Centers to Outer Space | NVIDIA Blog
• Al Tadros | LinkedIn
• Redwire Space | Heritage + Innovation
• NASA Starling - Autonomous Tip and Cue in Orbit
• NASA Starling - Distributed Optical Navigation
• NASA Starling - Autonomous Space Domain Awareness
• VISORS - Precise Formation-Flying
• Autonomous Spacecraft 3D Model Reconstruction

The Show

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Thinking through the chaos that has ensued over the NASA Administrator role, the Artemis 3 lander acceleration movement, the SpaceX Starship HLS update, and a bit on how we actually got here.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Donald, Stealth Julian, Jan, Theo and Violet, The Astrogators at SEE, Joakim, Steve, Matt, Fred, Lee, Joel, Kris, Ryan, David, Josh from Impulse, Warren, Heiko, Pat, Russell, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Will and Lars from Agile, Natasha Tsakos, Frank, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• SpaceX - Updates
• SpaceX teases simplified Starship as alarms sound over Moon landing delays - Ars Technica
• Why did NASA’s chief just shake up the agency’s plans to land on the Moon? - Ars Technica
• Elon Musk just declared war on NASA’s acting administrator, apparently - Ars Technica
• How America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up - Ars Technica
• China completes landing and takeoff test for crewed moon lander - SpaceNews
• China completes second hot-fire test for new moon rocket, including engine restarts - SpaceNews
• Trump pulls Isaacman nomination for space. Source: “NASA is f***ed.” - Ars Technica

The Show

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• Artwork photo by NASA
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Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me (in studio!) to talk about Starlink V3, Starlink satellite relay, Kuiper’s rollout, the Airbus-Thales-Leonardo merger, and the future of Iridium.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Heiko, Joonas, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Joakim, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Natasha Tsakos, David, Steve, Josh from Impulse, Will and Lars from Agile, Better Every Day Studios, Jan, Fred, Warren, Kris, Pat, Donald, Matt, Frank, Stealth Julian, Ryan, Theo and Violet, Lee, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Caleb Henry (@ChenrySpace) / X
• The OneWeb Book | Caleb Henry | Substack
• Quilty Space
• Satellite operators will soon join airlines in using Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi - Ars Technica
• Starlink mini lasers to link Muon Space satellites for near real-time connectivity - SpaceNews
• Project Kuiper plots broadband services in five countries by end of March - SpaceNews
• Airbus, Leonardo and Thales agree to combine space businesses - SpaceNews
• Project Bromo: An Escape Hatch, Not a Fortress
• Iridium pulls $1 billion 2030 service revenue goal amid SpaceX’s D2D push - SpaceNews

The Show

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Miles O’Brien, science correspondent for PBS News and CNN space analyst, joins me to talk about Starship Flight 11, the current space policy landscape including the ongoing government shutdown, the possible return of Jared Isaacman, and what to do about all the competing budget priorities at NASA.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joakim, David, Heiko, Ryan, Jan, Kris, Frank, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Russell, Joonas, Joel, Matt, Will and Lars from Agile, Natasha Tsakos, Donald, Lee, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, Theo and Violet, Pat, Fred, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Miles O'Brien Productions - Miles O'Brien
• Miles Ahead | Miles O'Brien | Substack
• SpaceX finally got exactly what it needed from Starship V2 - Ars Technica
• More layoffs at JPL - SpaceNews
• Trump, Billionaire Isaacman Said to Meet About Top NASA Job - Bloomberg
• Former NASA nominee Jared Isaacman in talks to become agency's chief | Reuters

The Show

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Phil McAlister, former Director of NASA’s Commercial Space Division, joins me to talk about the Commercial LEO Destinations program, the budgetary issues facing NASA and its human spaceflight programs, and to share his perspective on the last (and next) few years in these areas.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joel, Pat, Will and Lars from Agile, Joakim, Jan, Warren, David, Fred, Better Every Day Studios, Josh from Impulse, Ryan, Natasha Tsakos, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, Donald, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Kris, Frank, Steve, Heiko, Lee, Matt, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Phil McAlister | LinkedIn
• The Dreaded Gap | LinkedIn
• You Can’t Reach the Stars While Chained to Low-Earth Orbit | LinkedIn
• No Changes Allowed | LinkedIn
• Vast backs new NASA commercial space station strategy - SpaceNews
• T+205: Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA - Main Engine Cut Off

The Show

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NASA selected Blue Origin to (maybe) deliver the once-cancelled VIPER rover, modified Sierra Space’s ISS resupply contract which likely puts the nail in the coffin of Dream Chaser, and released the draft of its new commercial space station strategy. All different stories with one message: prove it. But maybe not in a good way.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Jan, Kris, Lee, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, Better Every Day Studios, Josh from Impulse, Joakim, Bob, Donald, Creative Taxi, Frank, Pat, Joonas, Fred, Heiko, Warren, Matt, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Ryan, Russell, Stealth Julian, Steve, Natasha Tsakos, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• NASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASA
• VIPER Might Have A New Ride to the Moon on Blue Origin – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• Blue Origin only bidder for new VIPER lander award - SpaceNews
• NASA, Sierra Space Modify Commercial Resupply Services Contract - NASA
• Sierra’s Dream Chaser is starting to resemble a nightmare - Ars Technica
• NASA releases details on revised next phase of commercial space station development - SpaceNews
• Vast backs new NASA commercial space station strategy - SpaceNews

The Show

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