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DateTitreDurée
03 Aug 2016T+15: More SLS Roadmap Details, and Landed Falcon 9 Static Fires00:17:59
20 Jul 2016T+13: SpaceX’s CRS-9 Success, Senate Hearing Recap, and US-Russian Plans for the Moon00:25:04
28 Feb 2020T+149: Let’s Talk About Starship with Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut01:04:02

Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins me to talk all about SpaceX’s Starship, its history thus far, it’s nearly-impossible-to-keep-up-with development in the open, and what we may see in the coming months. We make some timeline predictions, talk about the predicament of Boca Chica, and both randomly stumble into completely unsupported theories.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 345 other supporters.

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29 Jun 2016T+10: Logan Kamperschroer on the Current State and Near Future of Storable Propellants00:27:43

This week I talked to Logan Kamperschroer, a Graduate Research Assistant at the School of Aeronautics and Astronautics at Purdue University. Logan’s research focuses on hypergolic rocket fuels—specifically the push to move away from the toxic storable propellants (hydrazine and its derivatives) to “greener” alternatives. We talked about the current state of storable propellants, and where things are going in the near future.

27 Feb 2019T+112: SLC-20, SPD-4, and a Soyuz Soapbox00:15:21

Firefly Aerospace is taking over Space Launch Complex 20, President Trump signed Space Policy Directive-4, and NASA is looking to buy more Soyuz seats, even though they always say it’s too late to do that.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 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, and six anonymous—and 220 other supporters on Patreon.

21 Jul 2022T+222: Rogozin Out, Seat Exchange Signed00:27:14

Some thoughts on where we are now that Dmitry Rogozin has been dismissed as head of Roscosmos, and that NASA and Roscosmos have signed a seat exchange agreement for future flights to the ISS.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 805 other supporters.

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15 Jun 2017T+50: Boeing Gets XS-1, SpaceX Gets X-37B00:27:58

Boeing’s proposal won Phases 2 and 3 of DARPA’s XS-1 program, and I’m pretty bummed about it. And the Air Force announced that SpaceX will launch the fifth X-37B mission in August.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 14 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, and four anonymous—and 52 other supporters on Patreon.

30 Jul 2018T+88: CubeRover, Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler00:49:17

Michael Provenzano and Andrew Horchler of CubeRover and Astrobotic join me to talk about the project, the rover itself, and the future of robotic exploration on the Moon (and beyond).

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 176 other supporters on Patreon.

27 Oct 2023T+262: Printing a Meniscus in the BioFabrication Facility (with Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire)00:43:19

Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire join me to talk about successfully 3D bioprinting the first human knee meniscus on the International Space Station in their BioFabrication Facility, how this work fits into the near and far future of both health and the space market at large, and to discuss a wide-ranging set of related topics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Donald, Lee, Fred, Kris, Benjamin, Pat, Jan, Chris, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Will and Lars from Agile Space, The Astrogators at SEE, Harrison, Joonas, Steve, Theo and Violet, Bob, Joel, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, David, Pat from KC, Ryan, Russell, Stealth Julian, Brandon, Warren, Tyler, Dawn Aerospace, Matt, Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, and four anonymous—and 837 other supporters.

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23 Dec 2021T+206: Going Independent00:06:43

Last week I left my full-time gig at Big Cartel. I’m going independent to do more Main Engine Cut Off and Off-Nominal, and to make these space-focused projects the primary work that I do. I’m also going to be building some apps of my own, and doing a good bit of client work—which could include you! If you’ve got an app or a site or really anything digital to build, hit me up and let’s work together.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 718 other supporters.

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19 Sep 2022T+230: Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate00:58:18

Bob Pearce, Associate Administrator of NASA’s Aeronautics Research Mission Directorate, joins me to talk about Aeronautics at NASA. We talk about how the directorate fits into the agency overall, how they develop its strategic direction, how they choose which projects to take on, how they transfer technology to industry, what they’re working on right now, and what they’ll tackle in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 844 other supporters.

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05 Jun 2017T+49: Dr. Thomas Lang01:20:51

Dr. Thomas Lang, Professor of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at the UCSF School of Medicine, joins the show to discuss human health and physiology in space.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 13 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, and four anonymous—and 51 other supporters on Patreon.

25 Jan 2020T+145: Caleb Henry00:52:00

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me to talk about the recent happenings in the satellite industry, including new ITU milestones for megaconstellations, SpaceX’s big year for Starlink, OneWeb’s progress, and DirecTV’s battery issue.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 325 other supporters.

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24 Apr 2023T+246: Starship’s First Test Flight (with Jake Robins)00:32:32

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.

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27 Dec 2017T+69: Robin Seemangal01:04:11

Robin Seemangal joins me for a free-flowing discussion on the stories we found most important in 2017 and what we’re looking forward to in 2018, including SpaceX’s huge year, Blue Origin’s under-the-radar work to lay foundations for their future, SLS’ rough year, and—what else?—Falcon Heavy.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon.

12 Sep 2019T+132: SpaceX SmallSat Updates00:10:13

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.

12 Jan 2017T+35: NASA Policy Grab Bag00:21:21

While we don’t yet have hard details on which direction NASA programs are headed during the Trump administration, we have started to get some hints. The leadership of the Congressional subcommittees that NASA depends on will be largely unchanged, and Boeing and SpaceX were each promised 4 more Commercial Crew flights. I also talk a little bit about how the Air Force One and F-35 situations apply to NASA programs.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 3 executive producers—@spacepat_o, Matt Giraitis, and one anonymous—and 26 other supporters on Patreon.

15 Oct 2018T+97: SLS OIG Report, Air Force LSA Awards00:25:37

I share some thoughts on the two rocket drama stories from last week: a brutal OIG report on Boeing’s work on SLS stages, and the Air Force selected three new launch vehicles to receive development funding.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 186 other supporters on Patreon.

21 Jan 2025T+292: New Glenn Flight 1, Starship Flight 700:22:56

Blue Origin flew New Glenn successfully for the first time, and SpaceX flew Starship for the seventh time. Both featured failures at different points of the flight, with the impacts on Starship being significantly bigger than those on New Glenn.

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

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02 May 2017T+46: Eric Berger00:30:45

Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica, joins me to talk SLS/Orion, New Space vs. Old Space, space policy in the Trump administration, and why the fight might not be settled until 2020.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 10 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, and four anonymous—and 46 other supporters on Patreon.

19 Mar 2024T+271: Checking in on the Chinese Space Industry (with Andrew Jones)00:44:28

Andrew Jones returns to the show to catch up on the Chinese space industry—Tiangong, reusable launchers, constellations, and the Moon.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Tyler, Jan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Benjamin, Warren, Pat, Russell, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Theo and Violet, SmallSpark Space Systems, Steve, Fred, Stealth Julian, Better Every Day Studios, Kris, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Joonas, Pat from KC, Brandon, Donald, Josh from Impulse Space, Joel, Ryan, Matt, Harrison, Bob, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Lee Hopkins, Frank, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

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07 Sep 2016T+20: Mike Johnson, Chief Designer at NanoRacks on NanoRacks’ History, NextSTEP, and Wet Workshops00:51:54
24 Jul 2024T+281: Star Catcher (with Andrew Rush, President & CEO)00:34:24

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.

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14 Mar 2024T+270: K2 Space (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO)00:37:43

Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO of K2 Space, joins me to talk about their vision for the future of satellites and the wider space industry, what they’ve been up to lately, and what their roadmap to the launch pad looks like from here.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—David, Pat from KC, Joonas, Josh from Impulse Space, Will and Lars from Agile Space, The Astrogators at SEE, Bob, Benjamin, Russell, SmallSpark Space Systems, Theo and Violet, Matt, Ryan, Warren, Brandon, Steve, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Fred, Tyler, Joel, Jan, Stealth Julian, Harrison, Frank, Kris, Donald, Lee Hopkins, Better Every Day Studios, Pat, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, and four anonymous—and 823 other supporters.

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20 Jun 2019T+124: Gateway Logistics Services, FY2020 NDAA, and Small GEO Satellites00:24:57

NASA put out a draft RFP for Gateway Logistic Services, the House Armed Services’ Committee weighs in on the US Air Force launch contracting drama, and a new company building small geostationary satellites has emerged.

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, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 247 other supporters.

05 May 2020T+157: Blue Origin, Dynetics, and SpaceX Win NASA Lunar Lander Contracts00:36:50

NASA announced three contract awards for the Artemis Progam’s Human Landing System—a Blue Origin-led team, Dynetics, and SpaceX’s Starship. I talk through some thoughts on each landing system and what the future might hold for NASA, regarding both politics and decisions.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 363 other supporters.

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04 Dec 2018T+103: Commercial Lunar Payload Services00:32:46

NASA announced the nine companies that will be competing for Commercial Lunar Payload Services missions. I share some thoughts on the program overall, and discuss what we know about each company.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 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, and seven anonymous—and 200 other supporters on Patreon.

29 Jul 2020T+167: Phillip Hargrove, NASA Launch Services Program00:42:49

Phillip Hargrove, a Launch Vehicle Trajectory Analyst at NASA joins me to talk about NASA’s Launch Services Program. We discuss how LSP interacts with mission teams like Mars 2020 Perseverance, launch providers like United Launch Alliance and SpaceX, and what kind of work they tackle in their unique role tying it all together.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 398 other supporters.

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28 Oct 2017T+64: BE-4 Fires Up, and Some Thoughts on the Future of Commercial and Military Launch00:24:19

Blue Origin fired up their BE-4 engine for the first time, which is a big moment. And I share some meandering thoughts on the future of commercial and military launch.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, and five anonymous—and 95 other supporters on Patreon.

12 Oct 2022T+232: A Visit to Astrobotic02:02:20

Last week, I took a visit to Pittsburgh to visit Astrobotic, who is working on a few different landers and rovers destined for the Moon. I got to sit down with several team members for a series of conversations about what they’re working on, how things are going, and how the company is approaching the next few years in the industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, nomadic, and seven anonymous—and 837 other supporters.

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25 Feb 2022T+209: Off-Nominal 50 (with Michael Sheetz and Eric Berger)01:02:02

A special feature of a very-MECO episode of my other podcast, Off-Nominal, that I did this week with Michael Sheetz of CNBC and Eric Berger of Ars Technica. If you have yet to check out Off-Nominal, find us on YouTube or wherever you get your podcasts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 749 other supporters.

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01 Jan 2019T+106: Q&A00:42:59

This month I tackle questions on future space architectures, companies working in space right now, and finish with a 2018 Top 10 ranking.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 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, and six anonymous—and 208 other supporters on Patreon.

11 May 2021T+188: Starship SN15, and the HLS Protests00:31:24

SpaceX successfully flew and landed Starship SN15 last week, amid protests of their NASA HLS award by Blue Origin and Dynetics.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 576 other supporters.

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10 Feb 2021T+181: Falcon 9 Fleet, ABL in the UK, Firefly to the Moon00:29:35

SpaceX broke their turnaround record and is racking up quite the flight history across their Falcon fleet. Lockheed selected ABL for a launch from the Shetland Islands. Firefly shook up their board, is looking for new investment, and won a CLPS contract from NASA.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, the Astrogators at SEE, and seven anonymous—and 471 other supporters.

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13 Sep 2022T+229: Space Insurance (with Richard Parker and John Farnsworth)01:01:16

Richard Parker, Head of Space at Canopius, and John Farnsworth, insurance broker and space advocate, join me to talk about the (seemingly) most mysterious topic in spaceflight: insurance!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 835 other supporters.

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10 Aug 2020T+168: SpaceX and ULA Win NSSL Phase 200:40:39

The long-awaited news is finally here! ULA and SpaceX have won the National Security Space Launch (NSSL) Phase 2 launch contracts from the US Department of Defense, which leaves Blue Origin’s New Glenn and Northrop Grumman’s OmegA out in the cold. I talk through what this means for each company and launch vehicle, and where things will go from here on all sides of the issue.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 398 other supporters.

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17 Jun 2020T+160: Lueders Leads HEO, Northrop Grumman Awarded HALO Contract00:24:29

Northrop Grumman was awarded $187 million for the Gateway Habitat design, which caps off NASA’s 2020 budget work for Artemis components. Additionally, Kathy Lueders was named head of human spaceflight at NASA, which is huge and fantastic news. We take a look at the Artemis program’s acquisitions so far and the road ahead under Lueders’ leadership.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 377 other supporters.

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12 Oct 2019T+136: Starship to GTO, SSO from Florida00:17:43

A few bits of follow-up on Starship to GTO, the Bridenstine-Musk show at SpaceX HQ, and flying to polar orbits from Florida.

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 284 other supporters.

02 Aug 2019T+128: NASA Shuffles CLPS, Partners on Blue Moon and Starship00:19:53

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.

26 Oct 2016T+27: Financial vs. Political Capital and Mission Sustainability00:30:28
13 Nov 2023T+264: ESA’s Interest in Space Stations, Virgin Galactic Bails on VSS Unity00:23:12

ESA is looking to start a commercial cargo program while looking further ahead to commercial space stations by signing an agreement with Airbus and Voyager. Virgin Galactic is laying off 20% of its staff and ending VSS Unity flights in just a few months.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Russell, Joonas, Kris, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Jan, Chris, David, Warren, Stealth Julian, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Pat from KC, Frank, Donald, Pat, Fred, Dawn Aerospace, Ryan, Steve, Tyler, Brandon, Harrison, Theo and Violet, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Lee, Benjamin, Bob, Matt, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

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01 Mar 2019T+113: Q&A00:32:25

This month, we talk the GEO slowdown, the LEO boom, and as always, take on some fun launch vehicle questions.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 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, and six anonymous—and 223 other supporters on Patreon.

26 Jan 2024T+267: Vulcan, New Glenn, Peregrine, Artemis00:36:23

I catch up with a round up of stories from January: ULA’s first Vulcan launch, Blue Origin’s success with its BE-4 engines and what it means for their year, Astrobotic’s Peregrine mission, JAXA’s SLIM mission, and NASA’s announcement of Artemis delays.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Tyler, Lee Hopkins, Better Every Day Studios, Joel, Jan, Will and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, Russell, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Ryan, Donald, Brandon, Joonas, Fred, Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Frank, Kris, Stealth Julian, The Astrogators at SEE, Warren, Benjamin, Steve, Chris, Theo and Violet, David, Pat from KC, Dawn Aerospace, Bob, Harrison, and four anonymous—and 828 other supporters.

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28 May 2019T+122: National Security SpaceX Lawsuit00:28:22

NSSL, LSA, OMG! Last week, SpaceX filed a lawsuit against the US Air Force over the Launch Service Agreement development contracts. We’re mere months away from bids being due for the National Security Space Launch Phase 2 launch contracts, so I figured now would be a good time to take a step back to explain what these programs are, why they matter, and why SpaceX is filing this lawsuit at this moment in time.

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, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 251 other supporters on Patreon.

04 May 2023T+251: Finance and Business Strategy (Live from Space Symposium 2023)00:46:02

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.

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23 Apr 2021T+187: Eric Berger on Artemis, Starship, Amazon’s Atlas V Rides, and the State of Blue Origin00:43:00

Eric Berger of Ars Technica returns to the show to talk about NASA selecting SpaceX’s Starship for its Artemis landings, Bill Nelson’s nomination hearing, Amazon buying 9 Atlas V launches for Kuiper, and the state of Blue Origin.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, and seven anonymous—and 547 other supporters.

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17 Apr 2023T+245: Relativity Redesigns, Pivots to Terran R00:22:41

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!

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08 Sep 2023T+258: The Six, by Loren Grush (Off-Nominal 123 - An Exciting Time)01:05:16

Jake and Anthony are joined by Loren Grush of Bloomberg to talk about her new book, The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Frank, Chris, Joel, Fred, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Steve, David, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Kris, Theo and Violet, Joonas, Lee, Bob, Stealth Julian, Pat, SmallSpark Space Systems, Harrison, Benjamin, Lars and Will from Agile Space, Ryan, Dawn Aerospace, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Tyler, Russell, Pat from KC, Matt, Jan, Donald, and four anonymous—and 842 other supporters.

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06 Dec 2024T+290: Jared Isaacman Nominated NASA Administrator00:21:15

Jared Isaacman, the man with a private space program, has been nominated NASA Administrator, to run the nation’s space program.

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

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13 Nov 2024T+288: The Return of President Trump00:27:09

Donald Trump has been reelected President of the United States, and the main character of spaceflight, Elon Musk, is one of his top advisors. Some thoughts on where things may go from here, and a bit of my wishlist.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 31 executive producers—Lee, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Theo and Violet, David, Fred, Donald, Stealth Julian, Josh from Impulse, Joel, Harrison, Warren, Ryan, Pat from KC, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Will and Lars from Agile, Frank, Steve, Joonas, Bob, Better Every Day Studios, Pat, Kris, Jan, Matt, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.

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04 Apr 2018T+77: Blue Origin Reconfigures New Glenn00:28:40

Caleb Henry got a great scoop on some changes Blue Origin is making to New Glenn. I think through why these changes may have been made and what these changes could mean for the near future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 150 other supporters on Patreon.

18 Jul 2019T+126: The NASA Ousters00:18:12

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.

24 Sep 2018T+94: #dearMoon00:19:54

Some thoughts on the #dearMoon project, SpaceX’s announcement, and the essence of SpaceX’s strategy—bringing us along for the ride.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 186 other supporters on Patreon.

18 Jul 2023T+254: Mars Sample Return, Vulcan, NSSL Phase 3 (with Eric Berger)00:47:36

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the budgetary threat facing Mars Sample Return, the latest issue with ULA’s Vulcan vehicle, and the ongoing tweaks to the National Security Space Launch Program’s Phase 3 architecture.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Will, Tyler, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Harrison, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, SmallSpark Space Systems, Pat, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Kris, Russell, Donald, Matt, Jan, Dawn Aerospace, Steve, Bob, Benjamin, Joel, Joonas, Lee, David, Warren, Frank, Simon, Fred, Chris, The Astrogators at SEE, Pat from KC, and four anonymous—and 833 other supporters.

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23 Jul 2020T+166: Laura Klicker and Daniel Gillies, Astrobotic00:47:49

Two members of the Astrobotic team join me for a conversation: Laura Klicker, Payload Systems Management Lead, and Daniel Gillies, Mission Director for the Griffin/VIPER mission. We talk about Astrobotic’s first Peregrine mission coming up next year, the very exciting VIPER mission to the south pole of the Moon in 2023, payload management across multiple flights, the technical aspects of their various vehicles, and a whole lot more.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 397 other supporters.

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16 May 2017T+47: Uncrewed EM-1 Delayed to 201900:32:08

Last week was rough for the Space Launch System. An issue with weld tooling was discovered, with some serious consequences, and then a LOX tank dome was dropped and damaged beyond repair. To top it off, NASA announced that EM-1 will fly without crew, and is delayed until 2019.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 12 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Laszlo, Jamison, Guinevere, and four anonymous—and 46 other supporters on Patreon.

09 Sep 2022T+228: Artemis I, Act I00:34:03

Artemis I scrubbed its way through its first and second launch attempts, and is now undergoing repairs on the pad, ahead of its next launch attempt. I talk about the initial attempts, general thoughts on where we’re at with this program, where it’s headed in the future, and what public reactions to Artemis I have been.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 43 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Schultzy, and seven anonymous—and 826 other supporters.

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13 Feb 2018T+72: SpaceX’s Motivation for Falcon Heavy00:34:17

SpaceX launched Falcon Heavy last week and shook up the space launch world. I spend some time thinking through SpaceX’s motivations for building Falcon Heavy, and what its effects might be on the world around it.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, and six anonymous—and 125 other supporters on Patreon.

01 Apr 2017T+44: SpaceX and the Age of Reusability00:32:17

SpaceX made history this week by launching SES-10 with a previously-flown first stage. I discuss implications of this achievement, the things we learned from Elon Musk in the post-flight press briefing, and the doubters, as always.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 8 executive producers—Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, and three anonymous—and 41 other supporters on Patreon.

18 Apr 2024T+273: Mars Sample Return00:24:10

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.

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26 Jun 2020T+162: Grant Bonin, SVP of Business Development at Spaceflight00:46:19

Grant Bonin, Senior Vice President of Business Development at Spaceflight joins me to talk about everything they’ve been up to lately, including being acquired, signing deals with SpaceX for rideshares on Starlink missions and on dedicated flights to SSO, signing deals with new launch companies and international providers, and a lot more including manifesting satellites, last-mile services, and about what makes Spaceflight unique.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 385 other supporters.

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03 Apr 2025T+299: Starliner, According to Butch and Suni (with Eric Berger)00:28:50

Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about his recent interviews with Butch and Suni in the aftermath of their flight, the update NASA put out about Starliner, and how it all lands from where we are now.

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

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13 Aug 2018T+89: Lockheed’s Small Sat Strategy, NASA Tipping Points Contracts00:26:12

Lockheed Martin has been slowly revealing their small sat strategy over the last three years, and it’s shaping up to be quite interesting and potentially very compelling. And NASA announced 10 Tipping Point awards last week, which include some very interesting projects from Blue Origin, ULA, and Astrobotic.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 181 other supporters on Patreon.

11 Nov 2017T+65: The New GEO Model, Orbital ATK’s Composite Case, Good and Bad SpaceX News00:25:44

SES gives us a preview of their new GEO strategy (which may be a harbinger of the future), Orbital ATK tests a new composite case to be used for their Next-Generation Launcher and future SLS boosters, NASA approves the use of previously-flown Falcon 9 first stages, and SpaceX sets off some LOX fireworks down in McGregor, Texas.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 96 other supporters on Patreon.

27 Mar 2018T+76: Caleb Henry00:32:41

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to talk Satellite 2018, megaconstellations, flat-panel antennas, and the current state of the satellite industry.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 149 other supporters on Patreon.

19 Apr 2022T+214: Andrew Maximov, Founder of Precious Payload00:44:50

Andrew Maximov, founder of Precious Payload, joins me to talk about what he and his team have been working on, what they see as the missing pieces in the industry, and why they think they are building the right set of tools for where things are headed.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, and seven anonymous—and 773 other supporters.

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16 Dec 2019T+142: T.S. Kelso, CelesTrak and AGI00:41:55

Last week, I took a ride out to the AGI offices and sat down with Josh Poley and T.S. Kelso. We shot a handful of videos for AGI’s YouTube channel, the longest of which was this interview right here.

I talked with T.S. Kelso about the history of CelesTrak.com and satellite tracking on the internet as a whole, as well as a few topics relevant to the modern day: satellite tracking and orbit reporting among operators, conjunction and collision monitoring, and space debris mitigation and management.

Be sure to follow along with AGI’s channel as the rest of the videos go live throughout the week!

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 38 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, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, Sam, and six anonymous—and 314 other supporters.

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30 Nov 2021T+202: The Geopolitics of ASAT Weapons and Space Debris (with Brian Weeden)00:43:44

Brian Weeden of the Secure World Foundation joins me to talk about the technical and political fallout of Russia’s recent anti-satellite weapons demonstration, the history of anti-satellite weapons and testing, the geopolitical situation surrounding the topic, and what the future of space debris tracking and management looks like.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 712 other supporters.

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28 Jul 2019T+127: Gateway Habitat, Starhopper, and ABL Space Systems00:20:48

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.

18 Feb 2017T+40: The Potentially Infamous EM-1 Memo00:26:28
16 Nov 2016T+29: Commercializing the NASA Exploration Roadmap00:32:44

Following up on last show’s topic, there are signs that NASA may be moving away from Orion in the future. I discuss how I see NASA modernizing their exploration roadmap, politically, in the next administration.

14 Jun 2022T+219: Starship Launch Plan Clears FAA Environmental Review, with Mitigations Required00:21:19

SpaceX’s plans for launching Starship to orbit from Boca Chica cleared an environmental review with the FAA, but more than 75 mitigations are required in order to receive a launch license to carry out flights in the future.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, and seven anonymous—and 799 other supporters.

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12 Aug 2022T+224: Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station, with Rick Mastracchio (Director Of Business Development)00:46:33

Rick Mastracchio, former NASA astronaut and current Director Of Business Development at Northrop Grumman Space Systems, joins me to talk about Northrop Grumman’s Commercial Space Station concept that they are working on as part of NASA’s Commercial LEO Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, and seven anonymous—and 807 other supporters.

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27 Nov 2017T+66: A Visit to NanoRacks, and Virgin Orbit Books a Department of Defense Launch00:26:49

I was in Houston last week and I visited NanoRacks for a bit. And Virgin Orbit piqued the interest of the Department of Defense, which has some interesting implications.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 104 other supporters on Patreon.

06 Mar 2023T+241: ULA on the Market00:20:41

Eric Berger has three sources saying United Launch Alliance is being shopped around the market right now, so I kick around some thoughts on who may buy ULA, if an offer comes to fruition.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Matt, Russell, Pat, Warren, Lee, Kris, Frank, Joel, Lars from Agile Space, Jorge, Benjamin, Pat from KC, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Moritz, Steve, Joonas, Tyler, Bob, Dawn Aerospace, Robb, Theo and Violet, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Chris, Fred, Simon, Andrew, Jan, Donald, SmallSpark Space Systems, Ryan, and four anonymous—and 821 other supporters.

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15 Dec 2022T+236: SpaceX Starshield, NSSL Phase 300:28:18

SpaceX rolled out Starshield, a new, Starlink-inspired (derived?) offering for national security space systems. And I have some thoughts on the upcoming National Security Space Launch Phase 3 contracting setup.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Simon, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian, Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, SmallSpark Space Systems, Tyler, Steve, and seven anonymous—and 815 other supporters.

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07 May 2019T+120: Dr. Mike Baine, Axiom Space00:47:50

Dr. Mike Baine, Chief Engineer of Axiom Space, joins us to talk through Axiom’s plans for commercial low Earth orbit space stations.

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, Heather, Tommy, and six anonymous—and 243 other supporters on Patreon.

22 Apr 2020T+155: Peter Beck on the Pandemic’s Effect on the Industry and Rocket Lab’s Busy Few Months01:01:04

Peter Beck, Founder, CEO, and CTO of Rocket Lab returns to the show to talk about how the industry is dealing with the pandemic, and to update us on their busy past few months, including their acquisition of Sinclair Interplanetary, flying missions to the Moon and beyond, and their work towards reusability.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 37 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and six anonymous—and 357 other supporters.

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25 Sep 2017T+61: Northrop Grumman Acquires Orbital ATK, Lockheed Martin Unveils New Satellite Family00:22:11

Northrop Grumman is acquiring Orbital ATK in a $9.2 billion deal. Lockheed Martin unveiled a new family of satellite busses, positioning themselves for the next era of satellite bus production.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 77 other supporters on Patreon.

21 Dec 2024T+291: Axiom Updates Station Plans, Firefly Wins Another CLPS Mission00:20:01

Axiom Space announced changes to their station build out plan, bringing free-flying capability forward in their timeline and switching to a berthing port at the ISS to avoid the US Deorbit Vehicle. Firefly won another CLPS task order, this time for a lander with a rover, and for quite a bit more money than the last few.

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

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25 Jul 2022T+223: Viper Delayed, Masten Unravels, CLPS Moves On00:18:30

NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program is in a tricky spot right now. VIPER has been delayed a year, new task orders are being awarded to new teams like the one led by Draper, and Masten is all but dead.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 41 executive producers—Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, Andrew, Harrison, Benjamin, and seven anonymous—and 810 other supporters.

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11 Dec 2018T+104: Jake Robins00:28:02

Jake Robins of WeMartians joins me to talk InSight, Mars EDL, and Mars 2020.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 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, and six anonymous—and 203 other supporters on Patreon.

05 Apr 2023T+244: Dawn Aerospace’s Rocket-Powered Mk-II Aurora Takes Flight (with Stefan Powell, CEO)00:52:24

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.

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23 Mar 2018T+75: March Roundup00:28:49

A few interesting documents have been released: the late-but-final 2018 appropriations, NASA’s lunar cargo lander request for information, and the public summary of the NASA Independent Review Team’s investigation into the CRS-7 mishap. And a few interesting announcements were made: NASA Acting Administration Robert Lightfoot is going to retire, and the Air Force awarded contracts for another round of EELV Phase 1A launches.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 147 other supporters on Patreon.

25 Aug 2023T+256: The Kuiper Logjam00:32:03

Amazon moved their Project Kuiper prototypes from Vulcan to Atlas V. Between that and some recent conversations I’ve had, I thought it would be a good time to check in on Kuiper and to see how they’re progressing towards deployment. I do some math, and it’s not good.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Chris, Donald, Dawn Aerospace, Will, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut), Benjamin, Steve, Theo and Violet, Pat, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Harrison, Tyler, Jan, Bob, Kris, Lars from Agile Space, Pat from KC, Ryan, Lee, Stealth Julian, Warren, Craig from SpaceHappyHour.com, Fred, Matt, Frank, SmallSpark Space Systems, Joel, David, Joonas, and four anonymous—and 830 other supporters.

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07 Mar 2025T+297: Firefly Blue Ghost 1, Intuitive Machines IM-2, SpaceX Starship Flight 8 (with Josh Dinner)00:52:20

Josh Dinner of Space.com joins me to talk about a wild week in space—Firefly’s Blue Ghost 1, Intuitive Machines’ IM-2, SpaceX’s Starship Flight 8, Rocket Lab announcements, and more.

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

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13 Aug 2020T+169: Commercial Small Launcher Updates00:25:41

There have been a ton of recent updates from commercial small launch companies, like increased payload mass and volume from Rocket Lab, contracts and funding from ABL, solved vibration issues from Virgin Orbit, and a few others. With a handful of vehicles on the verge of their first launch, it’s a good time to take a higher-level look at these competitors.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 39 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Nadim, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Adam, and seven anonymous—and 399 other supporters.

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18 Oct 2017T+63: Centaur V, BFR Updates00:26:14

Tory Bruno wrote an op-ed in SpaceNews regarding Vulcan and its future, and he announced that ULA will be upgrading Centaur. Elon Musk spent some time on reddit talking about BFR and updating us on some of the details.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 21 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 92 other supporters on Patreon.

09 Nov 2018T+101: Starlink Addendum00:08:58

As I was recording yesterday’s show about Starlink, SpaceX filed an application with the FCC for some changes to the Starlink plan. I read through the report and it confirms some of what I talked about yesterday, so thought it was worth an update.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 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, and eight anonymous—and 195 other supporters on Patreon.

13 Jul 2016T+12: The Competition of Reusability Between Falcon 9, Vulcan, and Ariane 600:23:05
01 Oct 2018T+95: September Q&A00:36:26

This month, I take on questions about BE-4 and Vulcan, small launch, BFR, and human spaceflight.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, and eight anonymous—and 187 other supporters on Patreon.

20 Apr 2021T+186: NASA Selects Starship as Artemis Lander00:35:25

NASA selected SpaceX’s Starship as its ride for crew to the lunar surface as part of the Artemis program. As the Source Selection Statement outlines, Starship was selected as the sole winner because of the constrained lander budget. It’s an aggressive, interesting, and exciting move from NASA, so I have a lot of thoughts.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, Grant, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Jack, and seven anonymous—and 543 other supporters.

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20 Dec 2017T+68: Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks00:48:44

Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks joins me to talk about what they’re working on today, as well as their big plans for the future, including their upcoming airlock and the Ixion project—their ongoing work to turn spent upper stages into useful spacecraft.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon.

28 Oct 2021T+200: Orbital Reef, Starlab, and the ISS Conundrum00:35:02

Commercial space station mania! Blue Origin, Sierra Space, Boeing, and Redwire announced Orbital Reef, while Nanoracks and Lockheed Martin announced Starlab, all in the run up to the expected awards as part of NASA’s Commercial Low-Earth Orbit Destinations program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 40 executive producers—Brandon, Simon, Lauren, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 702 other supporters.

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05 Oct 2016T+24: ULA’s RapidLaunch and Commercial Market Competitiveness00:22:59
23 Nov 2016T+30: SpaceX Nearing Falcon 9 Return-to-Flight00:33:04

All signs point to SpaceX nearing a return-to-flight mission for Falcon 9. I discuss what to watch for in the months ahead, and read some email.

19 Jun 2018T+85: Support and Criticism for the Lunar Gateway00:21:08

ESA has all but given its full support to the (newly renamed) Lunar Gateway, and Terry Virts threw some criticism its way during the third meeting of the National Space Council. I break down what those things mean for the future of Lunar Gateway, and discuss why I’m (gasp!) supportive of the program.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 36 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Barbara, Stan, Mike, David, Mints, and seven anonymous—and 174 other supporters on Patreon.

27 Apr 2016T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs00:11:53
23 Sep 2021T+197: NASA’s Human Spaceflight Directorate Shakeup00:22:14

At a town hall this week, NASA announced that the Human Exploration and Operations Mission Directorate will be split in two: the Exploration Systems Development Mission Directorate, led by Jim Free, and the Space Operations Mission Directorate, led by Kathy Lueders. I discuss what this change might mean for the future of NASA’s human spaceflight program, and why I think it’s not something to worry about if you’re a Kathy Lueders stan.

This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 42 executive producers—Brandon, Matthew, Simon, Lauren, Melissa, Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Ryan, Donald, Lee, Chris, Warren, Bob, Russell, Moritz, Joel, Jan, David, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Julian and Lars from Agile Space, Tommy, Matt, The Astrogators at SEE, Chris, Aegis Trade Law, Fred, Hemant, Dawn Aerospace, and seven anonymous—and 683 other supporters.

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16 Mar 2023T+242: NASA’s FY2024 Budget Request (with Casey Dreier)00:49:17

Casey Dreier of The Planetary Society joins me to talk about the NASA FY2024 budget request and what it means for Artemis, the ISS, and planetary science.

Correction: At some point in the show, we said DAVINCI is managed out of APL, but it’s actually run out of Goddard. Sorry, Maryland!

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

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