Episode 06 - I’ve Got Like 35 Loons
Brendan Bryne joins Jake and Anthony to discuss the National Space Council, the 2019 NASA Budget Request, and the wonders of Jai Alai.
Episode 06 - I’ve Got Like 35 Loons
Brendan Bryne joins Jake and Anthony to discuss the National Space Council, the 2019 NASA Budget Request, and the wonders of Jai Alai.
ESA-Led Team Fires Air-Breathing Electric Thruster
If the air molecules can be collected, compressed, and stored, you could imagine an imaging or communications satellite in orbit around Mars that occasionally drops its periapsis into the atmosphere to refuel, and once refueled, boosts its periapsis back to its operational altitude. Aerial ISRU!
GEM 63 Boosters to Fly on Atlas V in “About a Year”
Forgot to post this until now, but last week after the GOES-S launch, I asked ULA CEO Tory Bruno when we’d see the new Orbital ATK GEM 63 solid boosters on Atlas V. He responded: “About a year or so.”
The Regulatory Scapegoat
While I admit that companies like Moon Express do need regulatory clarity before spending too much time and money on a project in a regulatory gray area, there are not many projects held up purely because of regulatory uncertainty.
No Plans for Second SLS Mobile Launcher
One question I’d like to see answered, that as far as I know has never been asked or commented on: how much time is needed between EM-1 and EM-2 for everything else except the Mobile Launcher?
James Webb Space Telescope Problems Continue
This mission gives me such agita. Always.
Thanks to February Patrons
Very special thanks to the 166 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of February. Your support keeps this blog and podcast going, and most importantly, it keeps it independent.
Episode T+73: Commercial Crew Contingency Plans, and the End of ISS
NASA recently began talking about some contingency planning for potential Commercial Crew delays, and the end-of-ISS discussion is heating up.
Hard Times at Planetary Resources
First and foremost, layoffs are always a major bummer. As far as Planetary Resources goes, I did start to get worried about their future after their pivot to Earth observation in 2016 and then their pivot back to asteroid mining just a few months later. It was—and remains—a confused strategy that was pretty blatantly about chasing the money wherever the money could be found.
Vector Planning First Orbital Launch in July from Alaska, Not Virginia
I’m still generally skeptical about Vector after the past year or two of mostly empty calories of the PR variety. But there’s another thing about this announcement: it further shows the relative uselessness of Wallops.
Bigelow Space Operations
Shouldn’t this have been a part of what Bigelow has been doing all these years? It’s way more important to the future of Bigelow than whether or not expandable modules work in space. They could always pivot and build their modules with proven technology, but the business case has to exist either way.
Episode 05 - The Volume of Anti-Starmanism
Jake and Anthony discuss the few days they spent together in Florida last week to see Falcon Heavy launch, tell a few stories, and work through their feelings on Starman.
Episode 05 - The Volume of Anti-Starmanism
Jake and Anthony discuss the few days they spent together in Florida last week to see Falcon Heavy launch, tell a few stories, and work through their feelings on Starman.
Episode T+72: SpaceX’s Motivation for Falcon Heavy
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.
Episode 05 - The Volume of Anti-Starmanism
Jake and Anthony discuss the few days they spent together in Florida last week to see Falcon Heavy launch, tell a few stories, and work through their feelings on Starman.
Thanks to January Patrons
Very special thanks to the 144 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of January. Your support keeps this blog and podcast going, and most importantly, it keeps it independent.
Episode T+71: Commercial Crew, Congress, and the GAO
The Commercial Crew program—NASA, SpaceX, Boeing, and more—went in front of Congress to discuss the current status of the crew launch systems in development. Concurrently, the GAO released a report warning that more delays are likely, and could put NASA in a tough spot. I share some thoughts on the matter and talk through what is likely to happen this year.
NASA’s Launch Vehicle “Stable Configuration” Double Standard
This requirement grew out of concerns about SpaceX and how frequently they update the design of Falcon 9. And from where NASA stands, it’s a totally valid concern and requirement. The problem is that it has very blatantly only ever been applied to SpaceX.
Stacking Mission Extension Vehicles
Really interesting technical note on how Orbital ATK’s Mission Extension Vehicles stack with other satellites in an article by Caleb Henry of SpaceNews.