Main Engine Cut Off

Blue Origin’s New Glenn blew up on LC-36 last night during a static fire test, Starship flew its 12th flight, and NASA had a series of updates on its Moon Base program, including LTV awards, launch and landing contracts, and a somewhat unexplained branding exercise.

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

Topics

Here's why the failure of Blue Origin's New Glenn rocket is so catastrophic - Ars Technica

NASA takes steps toward building Moon Base, including discussing a "perimeter" - Ars Technica

NASA selects four companies for initial moon base awards - SpaceNews

The Show

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Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Former NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine has joined Quantum Space as CEO. We talk about what the company is working on, the Ranger spacecraft, how they fit into the industry, where he sees their market going, and what it’s like to be a former NASA Administrator running a company in the industry.

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

Topics

Quantum Space hires Bridenstine as CEO - SpaceNews

Quantum Space to build spacecraft in Tulsa - SpaceNews

Quantum Space acquires Phase Four propulsion assets - SpaceNews

Quantum Space raises $40 million - SpaceNews

The Show

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Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO of K2 Space, joins me to talk about their hardware in space today, how their vision and plans have evolved over the past few years, and how industry changes like the push for orbital data centers have impacted their future.

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

Topics

High-Power Satellite Platforms | K2 Space | Build Bigger

T+270: K2 Space (with Neel Kunjur, Co-Founder and CTO) - Main Engine Cut Off

Investors commit quarter-billion dollars to startup designing “Giga” satellites - Ars Technica

Episode 241 - Maybe the Denver Airport (with Andrew Rush) - Off-Nominal

Anduril teams with commercial space firms, Sandia lab on Golden Dome interceptor program - SpaceNews

Space Force taps K2 satellites to test laser communications for missile-defense - SpaceNews

The Show

Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!

Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com

Follow @WeHaveMECO

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Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

The show turned 10 last Monday, so I thought it would be fun to have our good friend Jake Robins on to look back at where we were then, what’s happened since, and what that teaches us about the future.

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

Topics

T-0: The Near Future of US-Based Competitors - Main Engine Cut Off

T+1: The Near Future of NASA’s Orion and SLS Programs - Main Engine Cut Off

1 – The Waxing Interest in Mars

T+23: SpaceX Mars Architecture Initial Reactions - Main Engine Cut Off

13 – Making Humans Multiplanetary (feat. Anthony Colangelo)

65 – Starship on Course (feat. Anthony Colangelo)

T+135: Jake Robins on Starship - Main Engine Cut Off

wemartians comments on Main Engine Cut Off — A new, short, weekly podcast about spaceflight and exploration

The Show

Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!

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Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works

Ghonhee Lee, CEO of Katalyst Space, joins me to talk about their upcoming mission to boost NASA’s Swift observatory, and how they are approaching in-orbit services differently than those that came before.

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

Topics

Upgrade Satellites Post-Launch | Katalyst Space Technologies​

A unique NASA satellite is falling out of orbit—this team is trying to rescue it - Ars Technica

Swift spacecraft reorientation buys time for reboost mission - SpaceNews

Katalyst Space acquires Atomos to accelerate in-space services - SpaceNews

Arianespace to launch Katalyst servicing spacecraft - SpaceNews

LinkedIn post with the mission patch

The Show

Like the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!

Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com

Follow @WeHaveMECO

Follow @meco@spacey.space on Mastodon

Listen to MECO Headlines

Listen to Off-Nominal

Join the Off-Nominal Discord

Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere

Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter

Artwork photo by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Work with me and my design and development agency: Pine Works