Main Engine Cut Off

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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• Artwork photo by NASA
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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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• Artwork photo by NASA
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Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk about EchoStar’s spectrum sales and constellation cancellation, SpaceX’s spectrum purchase, and the financials of Starlink.

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

Topics

• Quilty Space (@QuiltySpace) / X
• Starlink Financial & Strategic Analysis 2025 1H | Quilty Space
• Sign Up Form | Quilty Space
• EchoStar sells spectrum to SpaceX, cancels MDA satellite contract - SpaceNews
• EchoStar’s $23 billion spectrum sale clears path for direct-to-device constellation - SpaceNews
• EchoStar orders initial MDA satellites for $5 billion LEO constellation - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by CMSEO
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Casey Handmer, Founder of Terraform Industries, joins me to talk about the state of NASA in 2025, talent acquisition and retention, productivity, and so much more.

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

Topics

• Casey Handmer (@CJHandmer) / X
• Casey Handmer
• Terraform Industries
• NASA Is Worth Saving – Casey Handmer's blog
• Episode 170 - Luckily, We Did All the Math (with Casey Handmer) - Off-Nominal
• The science behind clean hydrocarbons | The Freethink Interview - YouTube

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by NASA
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Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about the executive order this week focused on commercial space regulatory reform, what problems it seeks to solve, his experience on both sides of those issues, and how we should understand the positioning of the order.

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

Topics

• Tom Marotta | LinkedIn
• The Spaceport Company
• Previous appearance: T+259: Tom Marotta, The Spaceport Company - Main Engine Cut Off
• Enabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry – The White House
• Trump Issues Executive Order on Commercial Space – SpacePolicyOnline.com

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
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• Artwork photo by NASA
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Michael Moreno, VP of Strategy at Lunar Outpost, joins me to talk about what they’ve been up to at the company, the NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract, the idea of services as a business on the Moon, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Lee, Russell, Fred, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Matt, Theo and Violet, Warren, Josh from Impulse, Frank, Pat from KC, Steve, Pat, Creative Taxi, Jan, Stealth Julian, Better Every Day Studios, Kris, Heiko, Donald, Natasha Tsakos, Joel, Joakim, Will and Lars from Agile, Harrison, Joonas, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Bob, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

Topics

• Home | Lunar Outpost
• Lunar Voyage 1 Update 
• Lunar Outpost Becomes First Company to Receive Payment for Space Resources
• NASA selects three companies to advance Artemis lunar rover designs - SpaceNews
• Lunar Dawn Team Awarded NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Contract
• Lunar Outpost Signs with SpaceX for Starship Moon Mission

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Artwork photo by NASA
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A special simulcast of this week’s Off-Nominal—the other show I do, if you somehow haven’t heard of it!—because it’s exactly the topic list with exactly the guest I had up next on my list. I’m joined by Adrian Beil of NASASpaceflight to talk about the recent mayhem at Starbase, and to kick around European space policy topics in the run up to the ESA Ministerial later this year.

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

Topics

• Adrian Beil (@BCCarCounters) / Twitter
• Adrian Beil, Author at NASASpaceFlight.com
• Off-Nominal - YouTube
• Episode 202 - Rapidly Adjusting (with Adrian Beil) - YouTube
• Following the Loss of Ship 36, SpaceX now Focuses on Rebuilding Masseys - NASASpaceFlight.com
• Jack Beyer on X: “Close up slow motion footage of the unexpected event(s) during Northrop Grumman’s BOLE DM-1 stb test today.”
• Northrop Grumman tests SLS Block 2 BOLE booster in Utah; nozzle issue seen - NASASpaceFlight.com
• ESA studying impacts of proposed NASA budget cuts - SpaceNews
• ESA moving ahead with ‘resilience from space’ satellite imaging program - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
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• Artwork photo by NASA
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Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator, joins me to talk about the chaos of the last week: the withdraw of Jared Isaacman’s nomination for NASA Administrator, Starship Flight 9, and of course, the wild public breakup of Elon Musk and President Trump.

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

Topics

• Musk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts - SpaceNews
• Isaacman: people with ‘axes to grind’ about Musk caused withdrawn NASA nomination - SpaceNews
• White House to withdraw Isaacman nomination to lead NASA - SpaceNews
• NASA Copes with Details of $6 Billion Budget Cut, Leadership Uncertainty – SpacePolicyOnline.com
• NASA withdraws support for conferences - SpaceNews
• Cruz seeks $10 billion for NASA programs in budget reconciliation bill - SpaceNews
• Starship breaks up on reentry after loss of attitude control - SpaceNews
• Status Update on ispace Mission 2 SMBC x HAKUTO-R Venture Moon | ispace

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• 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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• Artwork photo by NASA
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Mark Albrecht joins me to talk about his time on the Trump 2024 Transition Team, the thinking behind some of the policy decisions we’re starting to see in the space and national security spheres, and more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, Frank, Russell, Kris, Bob, Lee, Pat, Ryan, Fred, Matt, Heiko, Pat from KC, Joakim, Donald, Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Jan, Steve, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, David, Joel, Natasha Tsakos, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), and four anonymous—and hundreds of 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
• Mark Albrecht on X: “Today concludes my service for the 47 transition team (4th time) We have charted a bold, aggressive, and urgent agenda for civil and national security space based on the direction and guidance of President Trump. It will be a golden era of US Space exploration, innovation…”
• Second Trump administration begins with confusion on acting NASA leadership - SpaceNews
• White House budget proposal would phase out SLS and Orion, scale back ISS operations - SpaceNews
• NASA budget proposal draws strong criticism - SpaceNews
• Space Force chief makes case for increased funding before House panel - SpaceNews

The Show

• Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!
• Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to [email protected]
• Follow @WeHaveMECO
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• Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere
• Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter
• Artwork photo by NASA
• Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works