And here’s the megafeed of everything I’ve been doing.
The National Space Council met this week and Vice President Pence announced the administration’s intentions to see humans land on the moon by 2024. I break down my thoughts and observations coming out of the meeting.
Seems like one of those rounds of funding that was contingent on getting the first satellites up, but good to see the money still flowing into OneWeb. And boy, will they need it.
Caleb Henry of SpaceNews joins me live in studio to talk about his trip to Kourou for the first OneWeb launch, more affordable antennas, the current spectrum wars, and more from the world of satellites.
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, Joel, Jan, David, Grant, Mike, David, Mints, Joonas, Robb, Tim Dodd the Everyday Astronaut, Frank, Rui, Julian, and six anonymous—and 230 other supporters on Patreon.
Fantastic article by Debra Werner, for SpaceNews, that explains the furor over today’s FCC spectrum auction.
The Space Development Agency is up and running, and we have some details on what its first task will be. And this is all a really good example of why I’m supportive of Space Force as a wholly separate branch.
Eric Berger of Ars Technica joins me to talk about the latest in SLS Hot Drama: the 2020 budget request and a Bridenstine appearance in the Senate that might just go down in history. This week, NASA has proposed flying the three prime missions of SLS on commercial vehicles, setting the stage for an interesting few months of politics and engineering, and introducing some serious questions about the future of SLS.
Within the span of 3 days, NASA has officially, publicly stated that they want all previously-SLS-only flights flown on commercial vehicles. This is a massive shift, and as I said yesterday, one that will probably be rejected by Congress.
In the current era, White House budget requests often don’t matter much in the outcome of NASA’s budget, but they do speak volumes about the administration’s intentions.
I’m not big on MOUs, but Audacy is one of the most exciting up-and-comers in space today, so it’s worth noting when they sign something with a potential customer.
Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins Jake and Anthony to talk about DM-1, the future of the ISS, Shuttle and Starship aborts, and imagine what Boeing livestreams will look like.
Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins Jake and Anthony to talk about DM-1, the future of the ISS, Shuttle and Starship aborts, and imagine what Boeing livestreams will look like.
Tim Dodd, the Everyday Astronaut, joins Jake and Anthony to talk about DM-1, the future of the ISS, Shuttle and Starship aborts, and imagine what Boeing livestreams will look like.
Seemed like the writing was on the wall back in October, but now it’s actually happening.
The downrange distance for landing suggests that the launch will carry quite a payload.
The differences in how the Science directorate and Exploration directorate are managed—politically and internally—are striking.
Caleb Henry wrote an extensive update on Maxar’s rough patch.
I can’t stop watching this video—especially how the debris scatters in low gravity.
Very special thanks to the 261 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of February. 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.
This month, we talk the GEO slowdown, the LEO boom, and as always, take on some fun launch vehicle questions.
We all knew Canada would contribute Canadarm3 to the Gateway, but it is politically important for NASA to have this stated commitment. Unfortunately, Canadarm2 and the ISS will be operating until 2030, sucking up most of the time, money, and attention.