Main Engine Cut Off

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

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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

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A few weeks ago, we talked about Redwire’s SabreSat spacecraft, and today we’re talking about their Europe-based Phantom spacecraft. We talk about the spacecraft platform itself, how the different parts of Redwire work together, VLEO and its use cases, and how to fly satellites through little bits of atmosphere.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Russell, Joonas, Stealth Julian, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Benjamin, Tyler, Harrison, Lee, Steve, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, David, Bob, Ryan, Donald, Pat, Kris, Josh from Impulse Space, Better Every Day Studios, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

• Phantom -Redwire Space
• Redwire Announces Development of New European-Built Very Low Earth Orbit (VLEO) Spacecraft Platform called Phantom | Redwire Space
• Eyes in the sky: The increasing importance of very low Earth orbit (VLEO) for national security - SpaceNews
• ESA funds Skimsat demonstrator study for VLEO - SpaceNews

The Show

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Firefly added launch sites in Virginia and Sweden for its Alpha vehicle. NASA has selected SpaceX to build the ISS US Deorbit Vehicle, closed out their task orders to Collins for ISS spacesuits, and decided to keep Starliner at the ISS for a few more weeks.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Russell, Joonas, Stealth Julian, Pat from KC, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Benjamin, Tyler, Harrison, Lee, Steve, Theo and Violet, Jan, Matt, David, Bob, Ryan, Donald, Pat, Kris, Josh from Impulse Space, Better Every Day Studios, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

• Firefly Aerospace Adds Alpha Launch Capability on Wallops Island, Virginia
• SSC and Firefly Aerospace to Launch Satellites from Esrange in Sweden
• NASA Selects International Space Station US Deorbit Vehicle - NASA
• Eric Berger on X: “Bill Spetch, operations integration manager for NASA’s International Space Station Program, confirms that the US Deorbit Vehicle will be based on "Dragon heritage" hardware. It will involve modifications of the trunk.”
• NASA’s International Space Station Deorbit Analysis Summary White Paper
• NASA’s commercial spacesuit program just hit a major snag | Ars Technica
• NASA Collins xEVAS Update  – Space Station
• Starliner to remain on ISS for more thruster tests - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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Redwire announced today that it has been awarded a contract from DARPA to serve as the prime mission integrator for its Otter program. For the program, and for the industry beyond that, they’ll be developing SabreSat, an air-breathing spacecraft flying in VLEO. Spence Wise, Senior Vice President of Missions and Platforms at Redwire, joins me to discuss the program, VLEO generally, and to dive into the technical and operational details of SabreSat.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Josh from Impulse Space, Benjamin, Pat, Steve, Lee, Ryan, Pat from KC, Donald, Warren, Theo and Violet, Harrison, SmallSpark Space Systems, Matt, Bob, Joonas, Joel, Frank, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, David, The Astrogators at SEE, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Fred, Russell, Kris, Better Every Day Studios, Tyler, Jan, and four anonymous—and 813 other supporters.

Topics

• SabreSat Orbital Drone - Redwire Space
• Redwire Awarded DARPA Prime Contract for SabreSat Spacecraft Very Low-Earth Orbit Demonstration | Redwire Space
• Redwire wins contract for VLEO demonstration - SpaceNews

The Show

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• Artwork photo by NASA
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NASA selected the organizations who will be carrying out mission design studies for the Mars Sample Return rethink, and the US Space Force selected the first 3 bidders for the National Security Space Launch Program Phase 3 Lane 1.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Lee, Kris, Joel, Ryan, Russell, Steve, Theo and Violet, Better Every Day Studios, Joonas, Harrison, Pat from KC, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Josh from Impulse Space, Stealth Julian, SmallSpark Space Systems, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Tyler, Bob, Fred, Donald, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Jan, David, Matt, Benjamin, Pat, and four anonymous—and 817 other supporters.

Topics

• NASA Exploring Alternative Mars Sample Return Methods - NASA
• NASA selects seven companies for MSR studies - SpaceNews
• T+273: Mars Sample Return - Main Engine Cut Off
• Blue Origin, SpaceX, ULA win $5.6 billion in Pentagon launch contracts - SpaceNews
• T+254: Mars Sample Return, Vulcan, NSSL Phase 3 (with Eric Berger) - Main Engine Cut Off
• T+255: NSSL Phase 3 Addendum - Main Engine Cut Off

The Show

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Starliner flew its first crew, Starship flew its fourth flight, Chang’e-6 collected its first samples, and Agnikul Cosmos flew its first mission.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Warren, Bob, Stealth Julian, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Harrison, Jan, Josh from Impulse Space, Russell, Lee, Donald, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Pat from KC, Theo and Violet, Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Pat, David, Fred, The Astrogators at SEE, Matt, Tyler, Kris, Joel, Benjamin, Steve, Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 817 other supporters.

Topics

• After a drama-filled day, Boeing’s Starliner finally finds its way | Ars Technica
• Starliner docks with International Space Station on crewed test flight - SpaceNews
• Starship survives reentry during fourth test flight - SpaceNews
• Starship’s Fourth Flight Test - SpaceX - Launches
• SpaceX on X: “Starship made a controlled reentry, successfully making it through the phases of peak heating and max aerodynamic pressure and demonstrating the ability to control the vehicle using its flaps while descending through the atmosphere at hypersonic speeds”
• Chang’e-6 spacecraft dock in lunar orbit ahead of journey back to Earth - SpaceNews
• CNSA Watcher on X: “Concise version Chang'e 6 sampling video on the far side of the moon.”
• India launches nation's 1st 3D-printed rocket engine | Space

The Show

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• Artwork photo by ULA
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United Launch Alliance’s Vulcan debut went smoothly, but sluggish hardware integration raises doubts about meeting commitments, while Orion faces heat shield issues, potentially shaking up the Artemis manifest.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Lee Ryan, SmallSpark Space Systems, Benjamin, Pat, Lee, Fred, Warren, Josh from Impulse Space, Bob, Jan, Kris, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Harrison, Steve, Matt, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Joonas, Theo and Violet, Stealth Julian, Tyler, Frank, Pat from KC, Better Every Day Studios, Donald, Joel, and four anonymous—and 817 other supporters.

Topics

• Pentagon worried by slow pace of ULA’s Vulcan rocket development - The Washington Post
• ULA could fly dummy payload on next Vulcan launch if Dream Chaser is delayed - SpaceNews
• First Dream Chaser spaceplane needs more work when it gets to launch site | Ars Technica
• Amazon’s new satellite technician certification and Kuiper facility
• NASA says Artemis II report by its inspector general is unhelpful and redundant | Ars Technica
• NASA may alter Artemis III to have Starship and Orion dock in low-Earth orbit | Ars Technica

The Show

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• Artwork photo by SpaceX
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NASA is heading back to the drawing board for a Mars Sample Return architecture, and is accepting proposals for mission studies by May. I talk about a few takeaways from the communication of that plan, and ponder whether or not SpaceX is going to do the damn thing.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Lee, Benjamin, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Russell, Warren, Will and Lars from Agile Space, The Astrogators at SEE, Matt, Bob, Kris, Harrison, David, Frank, Tyler, Jan, Steve, Joel, Theo and Violet, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Donald, Josh from Impulse Space, Fred, Pat from KC, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), and four anonymous—and 818 other supporters.

Topics

• NASA Sets Path to Return Mars Samples, Seeks Innovative Designs - NASA
• Rapid Mission Design Studies for Mars Sample Return
• Elon Musk on X: “@NASA Starship has the potential to return serious tonnage from Mars within ~5 years”
• NASA’s Dragonfly Rotorcraft Mission to Saturn’s Moon Titan Confirmed

The Show

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