ASLON-45 Re-Awarded to Aevum
After the weird situation where the US Air Force awarded Vector a contract the same week Vector shut down, the ASLON-45 mission is headed Aevum’s way.
Boeing Unveils Small GEO Product, Whereby Small They Mean Medium
The small GEO trend that has been talked about of late typically refers to satellites a few hundred kilograms in mass. Nearly two tons unfueled probably doesn’t fit the trend in the same way, but at least Boeing is trying.
More Starlink Tweaks
Any changes that get SpaceX closer to service are great. Speed to at least some level of service is a huge priority for a project as big as Starlink.
Thanks to August Patrons
Very special thanks to the 306 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of August. MECO is entirely listener- and reader-supported, so your support keeps this blog and podcast going, growing, and improving, and most importantly, it keeps it independent.
Episode T+131: Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space
Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space, joins me to talk about their big new NASA contract for Archinaut One and the history, present, and future of in-space manufacturing.
Astrobotic to Fly on First Vulcan Flight
I could pretty much copy and paste my thoughts from last week about Dream Chaser flying on Vulcan: not surprising news since we had expected Atlas V, and I wonder what will happen if Vulcan doesn’t get to be a part of the next round of Air Force contracts.
Orbital Services Program-4 RFP Released
This is a big deal for the Air Force, with a lot of missions up for grabs for launch vehicles that can send 180 kilograms or more to orbit. It’s not the huge payloads like NSSL flies, but 20 missions for the most vibrant sector of the launch market is just as interesting to me.
Dream Chaser to Fly on Vulcan
It’s better news for ULA than it is for Sierra Nevada, but it’s not quite the type of commercial contract that we’d need to see for Vulcan to be a standalone success.
Episode T+130: SmallSat Launch Roundup
SmallSat was last week which meant a flurry of announcements. This year was launch heavy, so I break down some announcements from SpaceX, Arianespace, and Rocket Lab.
Anthony Colangelo Keeps Looking Up
By day, Anthony Colangelo develops the Big Cartel for iOS app, programming features that allow store owners to conveniently sell work right from their iPhones and iPads. By night, chances are the 28-year-old is geeking out about space.
Episode 22 - The Dark Lord
Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins Jake and Anthony to talk about his recent trip to Boca Chica for Starhopper’s first hop, propellant depots, NASA policy, Artemis, and the passing of his friend, Chris Kraft. Upcoming meetup! Hang out with Jake, Pat (creator of RocketLaunch.Live), and other fellow Anomalies in Kent, WA on August 31! Details at events.offnominal.space.
Episode 22 - The Dark Lord
Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins Jake and Anthony to talk about his recent trip to Boca Chica for Starhopper’s first hop, propellant depots, NASA policy, Artemis, and the passing of his friend, Chris Kraft. Upcoming meetup! Hang out with Jake, Pat (creator of RocketLaunch.Live), and other fellow Anomalies in Kent, WA on August 31! Details at events.offnominal.space.
SpaceX, Arianespace Smallsat Rideshare Flights
A pair of interesting smallsat rideshare announcements this morning: Arianespace announced their first (of many?) direct-to-GEO flight opportunities, and SpaceX began advertising—with pricing—the first 3 annual flights to a 600 kilometer sun-synchronous orbit.
BE-4 Hits Full Power
Finally.Onward.
Thanks to July Patrons
Very special thanks to the 292 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of July. MECO is entirely listener- and reader-supported, so your support keeps this blog and podcast going, growing, and improving, and most importantly, it keeps it independent.
Episode T+129: Steve Altemus and Dr. Tim Crain, Intuitive Machines
Steve Altemus, President & CEO, and Dr. Tim Crain, VP of Research & Development, from Intuitive Machines join me to talk about their Nova-C lander, the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and their task order from NASA for a landing on the Moon in July, 2021.
Episode T+128: NASA Shuffles CLPS, Partners on Blue Moon and Starship
NASA terminated OrbitBeyond’s CLPS task order, opened CLPS up to more providers, and announced exciting partnerships with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and others.
IEEE Spectrum’s Project Moon Base
IEEE Spectrum published a fantastic collection of stories and features on the current trend of Moon missions. I’ve had a hard copy in my office that I’ve been reading over the past week or so, and it’s a great read for you, the super enthusiast, or your non-space-obsessed friends.
NASA Partners on Blue Moon and Starship, and Shuffles CLPS Providers
Just three days ago on the podcast I said that given the momentum we’re seeing, soon enough people would start asking why NASA wasn’t involved with Blue Moon and Starship. Now they don’t have to ask.
Episode T+127: Gateway Habitat, Starhopper, and ABL Space Systems
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.