Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my co-host on Off-Nominal, joins me for Part 2 of our conversation about SpaceX’s 2019 Starship update. Part 1 can be found over on WeMartians.

Meetup alert! Sunday, October 20, 2019 in Washington, DC. Hang out with me, Jake, and a ton of amazing people of space the night before IAC 2019 kicks off. Details at events.offnominal.space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 276 other supporters.

• 65 - Starship on Course (feat. Anthony Colangelo) - WeMartians Podcast — Part 1 of our Starship conversation
• Jake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | Twitter
• Home - WeMartians Podcast
• Off-Nominal
• Starship | SpaceX
• Starship Update - YouTube
• Jim Bridenstine on Twitter: “My statement on @SpaceX’s announcement tomorrow”
• Jim Bridenstine on Twitter: “I had a great phone call with @elonmusk this week, and I’m looking forward to visiting @SpaceX in Hawthorne next Thursday. More to come soon!”
• Off-Nominal Events
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
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• Music by Max Justus

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 is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 272 other supporters.

Headlines

• Off-Nominal Events: Meetup in DC—Sunday, October 20th!
• NASA Commits to Long-term Artemis Missions with Orion Production | NASA
• Senate appropriators advance bill funding NASA despite uncertainties about Artemis costs - SpaceNews.com
• NASA to develop mission to search for near-Earth asteroids - SpaceNews.com
• Elon Musk on Twitter: “Three Raptors on a Starship”
• Elon Musk on Twitter: “Adding the rear moving fins to Starship Mk1 in Boca Chica, Texas”
• BocaChicaGal photos
• LauncherOne: Shaping Up and Shipping Out | Virgin Orbit
• Soyuz ferries three crew members to space station – Spaceflight Now
• Fresh batteries, experiments on the way to the International Space Station – Spaceflight Now
• Two more satellites launched into China’s Beidou navigation fleet – Spaceflight Now
• Russia launches missile warning satellite – Spaceflight Now
• Keep an eye on upcoming launches with rocketlaunch.live.

Show Info

• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
• 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
• Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop
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• Music by Max Justus

Kurt Klaus, Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group’s Commercial Advisory Board, joins me to talk about NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and the wider potential for commercial flights to the Moon and beyond.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 271 other supporters.

• Mr. Kurt K. Klaus
• Lunar Exploration Analysis Group (LEAG)
• Commercial Lunar Payload Services | NASA
• NASA Selects First Commercial Moon Landing Services for Artemis | NASA
• NASA Selects 12 New Lunar Science, Technology Investigations | NASA
• NASA Selects Experiments for Possible Lunar Flights in 2019 | NASA
• Episode T+129: Steve Altemus and Dr. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines - Main Engine Cut Off
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
• 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
• Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop
• Like the show? Support the show!
• Music by Max Justus

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 be reckoned with in the small launch market.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 269 other supporters.

Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space, joins me to talk about their big new NASA contract for Archinaut One and the history, present, and future of in-space manufacturing.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 265 other supporters.

SmallSat was last week which meant a flurry of announcements. This year was launch heavy, so I break down some announcements from SpaceX, Arianespace, and Rocket Lab.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 259 other supporters.

Steve Altemus, President & CEO, and Dr. Tim Crain, VP of Research & Development, from Intuitive Machines join me to talk about their Nova-C lander, the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and their task order from NASA for a landing on the Moon in July, 2021.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

NASA terminated OrbitBeyond’s CLPS task order, opened CLPS up to more providers, and announced exciting partnerships with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and others.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

I share some thoughts on three important stories from this week: NASA quietly announced their intention to sole source the Gateway habitat to Northrop Grumman, Starhopper made its first flight, and Lockheed Martin invested in ABL Space Systems.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 253 other supporters.

Two top NASA human exploration leaders—Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Hill—have been ousted from their positions. I break down what this means for NASA and its plans, where things could go from here, and ponder whether these changes really matter.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, Lars, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 244 other supporters.