Main Engine Cut Off

NASA selected Blue Moon as the second human lunar lander for Artemis—which is awesome!—yet the budget outlook for the next few years is…not good. I think through what NASA can, should, and might do in the face of a grim budget reality.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Pat from KC, Brad, Theo and Violet, Matt, Fred, Robb, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, SmallSpark Space Systems, Moritz, Donald, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Harrison, Chris, Joel, Jan, Russell, Pat, Benjamin, David, Lee, Bob, Joonas, Lars from Agile Space, Stealth Julian, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Ryan—and 842 other supporters.

Topics

• NASA Selects Blue Origin as Second Artemis Lunar Lander Provider | NASA
• NASA awards Blue Origin $3.4 billion Artemis moon lander contract – Spaceflight Now
• NASA selects Blue Origin to develop second Artemis lunar lander - SpaceNews
• NASA’s Artemis program may face a budget crunch as costs continue to rise | Ars Technica
• A new report finds NASA has spent an obscene amount of money on SLS propulsion | Ars Technica
• At long last, the glorious future we were promised in space is on the way | Ars Technica
• NASA’s Selection of the Blue Moon Lander for Artemis V | Selenian Boondocks

The Show

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• Music by Max Justus
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• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

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, Redwire).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Pat, Fred, Robb, Steve, Dawn Aerospace, Matt, Theo and Violet, Bob, Benjamin, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Donald, Lee, Pat from KC, Warren, Tyler, David, Jan, Chris, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, SmallSpark Space Systems, Kris, Ryan, Moritz, Russell, Harrison, Lars from Agile Space, Simon, Frank, Brad, Joel, Joonas—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

• Finance and Business Strategy - YouTube
• Caleb Henry (@ChenrySpace) / Twitter
• Quilty Space (@QuiltySpace) / Twitter
• Peter Beck (@Peter_J_Beck) / Twitter

The Show

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

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. Molly Mulligan (Business Development, Redwire), Jana Spruce (VP of Spacecraft, Firefly), and Kevin Foley (Program Director, Commercial Space Projects, Boeing).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Bob, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Harrison, Russell, Robb, Joel, Benjamin, Donald, Kris, Brad, Tyler, Simon, Jan, Moritz, Ryan, Dawn Aerospace, Pat, Lee, Fred, Matt, David, Warren, Theo and Violet, Lars from Agile Space, Pat from KC, Steve, Joonas, Chris, SmallSpark Space Systems, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

• Commercialization of LEO and Lunar - YouTube

The Show

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

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 Business Development, Astrobotic), Mike DeRosa (Co-Founder & CMO, Gravitics), and Jason Hopkins (Vice President of Strategy and Business Development, Crescent Space).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—SmallSpark Space Systems, Matt, Donald, Jan, Robb, Bob, Kris, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Warren, Russell, Stealth Julian, Harrison, Lee, Ryan, Frank, Steve, Chris, Benjamin, The Astrogators at SEE, Fred, Tyler, Theo and Violet, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, Joonas, Joel, David, Lars from Agile Space, Brad, Pat from KC, Pat, Moritz—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

• A Classic Main Engine Cut Off - YouTube
• Rocket Lab Introduces Suborbital Testbed Rocket, Selected for Hypersonic Test Flights | Rocket Lab
• Rocket Lab to refly Electron engine - SpaceNews
• Leidos working with NASCAR on Artemis lunar rover - SpaceNews
• Astrolab to send rover to the moon on SpaceX’s Starship - SpaceNews
• Terrestrial Landers | Masten Space Systems
• Gravitics
• Crescent Space | Home

The Show

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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by John Kraus for Relativity
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

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 Spaceflight Federation).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Steve, SmallSpark Space Systems, Pat from KC, Matt, Chris, Tyler, Bob, Harrison, Ryan, Frank, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, Benjamin, Lee, Pat, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Moritz, Kris, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Stealth Julian, Donald, David, Brad, Warren, Robb, Joonas, Theo and Violet, Lars from Agile Space, Fred, Jan, Joel—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

• Space Policy - YouTube
• Lori Garver
• Lori Garver (@Lori_Garver) / Twitter
• Escaping Gravity: My Quest to Transform NASA and Launch a New Space Age: Garver, Lori, Isaacson, Walter - Amazon.com: Books
• Escaping Gravity by Lori Garver | Audiobook | Audible.com
• Karina Drees (@karina_drees) / Twitter
• Commercial Spaceflight Federation (@csf_spaceflight) / Twitter
• Commercial Spaceflight Federation

The Show

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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by John Kraus for Relativity
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

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 (Director of Washington, DC Office, JAXA), and Josh Wolny (Foreign Affairs Officer, US Department of State).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Fred, Joonas, SmallSpark Space Systems, Ryan, Frank, David, Donald, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Matt, Dawn Aerospace, Pat, Simon, Kris, Lee, Steve, Lars from Agile Space, Brad, Stealth Julian, Warren, Bob, Theo and Violet, Harrison, Robb, Jan, Tyler, Joel, Benjamin, Pat from KC, Russell, Chris, The Astrogators at SEE, Moritz—and 845 other supporters.

Topics

• International Partnerships - YouTube

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show!
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by John Kraus for Relativity
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Starship finally(?) flew its first test flight! Jake Robins of Off-Nominal joins me to sort through our thoughts on how it went (it was janky), what’s next for Starship, and to try and figure out if SpaceX wasted more steel or time this week.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Pat from KC, Brad, Theo and Violet, Matt, Fred, Robb, Simon, Dawn Aerospace, SmallSpark Space Systems, Moritz, Donald, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Harrison, Chris, Joel, Jan, Russell, Pat, Benjamin, David, Lee, Bob, Joonas, Lars from Agile Space, Stealth Julian, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Ryan—and 843 other supporters.

Topics

• Jake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) / Twitter
• Starship Flight Test - YouTube
• SpaceX on Twitter: “Liftoff from Starbase”
• Starship lifts off on first integrated test flight, breaks apart minutes later - SpaceNews
• Off-Nominal
• Off-Nominal - YouTube
• Episode 104 - Ricky Bobby Goes to the Moon (Live from Space Symposium 2023) - Off-Nominal
• Episode 95 - Horsesh - Off-Nominal
• Episode 89 - The Final Year - Off-Nominal
• Episode 88 - But, Nonetheless - Off-Nominal
• Episode 76 - Walter Cronkite was Faking It - Off-Nominal

The Show

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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by John Kraus for Relativity

After an unsuccessful first flight of Terran 1, Relativity has announced that they’ve moved on to a newly-redesigned Terran R. Overall I think this a good direction, but there are some serious questions to be asked of and headwinds to be managed by Relativity.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Warren, Lars from Agile Space, Donald, Lee, Andrew, Russell, Joel, Ryan, Jan, SmallSpark Space Systems, Bob, Steve, Matt, David, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Tyler, Pat, Moritz, Stealth Julian, Benjamin, Robb, Frank, Dawn Aerospace, Fred, Pat from KC, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Kris, Chris, and four anonymous—and 836 other supporters.

MECO Live at Space Symposium 2023! On April 18 and 19, I’ll be hosting several live shows—my first ever!—at the Redwire booth at the 38th Annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Redwire will be hosting a whole set of events on the stage at their booth, including 5 episodes of MECO and an Off-Nominal at happy hour.

Find me at the Redwire booth (#1374). Come say hi and catch a show!

Topics

• Live at Space Symposium 2023! - Main Engine Cut Off
• Redwire Announces Live Event with Main Engine Cut Off Podcast, Previews Full Schedule of Activities at Space Symposium 2023 | Redwire Space
• T+182: Rocket Lab Neutron, Relativity Terran R - Main Engine Cut Off
• Relativity Space - Terran R
• Relativity Space is moving on from the Terran 1 rocket to something much bigger | Ars Technica
• Relativity shelves Terran 1 after one launch, redesigns Terran R - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by John Kraus for Relativity

Stefan Powell, CEO of Dawn Aerospace, joins me to talk about their big news announced today: last week, they completed three rocket-powered flights of their Mk-II Aurora spaceplane in 3 consecutive days. We talk about that achievement, what the company is up to overall, what their vision and plans are for the future, and how they’re approaching the market in a unique way.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Benjamin, Ryan, Joel, Jorge, Andrew, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Russell, Donald, Frank, Joonas, Robb, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Lars from Agile Space, David, Fred, Warren, Pat, Pat from KC, Moritz, Steve, Tyler, Kris, Chris, Bob, Lee, Dawn Aerospace, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 828 other supporters.

Topics

• Dawn Aerospace
• Dawn Mk-II Aurora — Dawn Aerospace
• Rocket-powered spaceplane takes flight — Dawn Aerospace
• Successful Rocket-Powered Flight - CEO Statement. — Dawn Aerospace
• Certified and Ready for Rocket-Powered Flight — Dawn Aerospace
• Transitioning space propulsion to a nitrous-based industry standard — Dawn Aerospace
• Lynk selects Dawn Aerospace propulsion following an extensive industry trade study — Dawn Aerospace

The Show

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• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by SpaceX

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 first flight of Terran 1, and Virgin Orbit nearing its end.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Benjamin, Ryan, Joel, Jorge, Andrew, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Russell, Donald, Frank, Joonas, Robb, The Astrogators at SEE, Simon, Lars from Agile Space, David, Fred, Warren, Pat, Pat from KC, Moritz, Steve, Tyler, Kris, Chris, Bob, Lee, Dawn Aerospace, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 831 other supporters.

MECO Live at Space Symposium 2023! On April 18 and 19, I’ll be hosting several live shows—my first ever!—at the Redwire booth at the 38th Annual Space Symposium in Colorado Springs, Colorado. Redwire will be hosting a whole set of events on the stage at their booth, including 5 episodes of MECO and an Off-Nominal at happy hour.

Find me at the Redwire booth (#1374). Come say hi and catch a show!

Topics

• Live at Space Symposium 2023! - Main Engine Cut Off
• Redwire Announces Live Event with Main Engine Cut Off Podcast, Previews Full Schedule of Activities at Space Symposium 2023 | Redwire Space
• Virgin Orbit lays off most employees - SpaceNews
• T+169: Commercial Small Launcher Updates - Main Engine Cut Off
• Relativity Space has a successful failure with the debut of Terran 1 | Ars Technica
• Relativity launches first Terran 1 - SpaceNews
• Tim Ellis on Twitter: “Achieved 100% power on Aeon R thrust chamber assembly testing today, 💯 258,000 pounds of thrust.”
• Relativity Space on Twitter: “Listen to our customers’ responses to launch. Terran 1 has already served us exceedingly well as a pathfinder product for Terran R, our medium to heavy-life reusable rocket.”
• With eyes on reuse, Relativity plans rapid transition to Terran R engines | Ars Technica

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
• Follow @[email protected] on Mastodon
• Listen to MECO Headlines
• Join the Off-Nominal Discord
• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
• Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter
• Music by Max Justus
• Artwork photo by SpaceX