Episode T+78: No Cost-Plus, But No Vision, Either
NASA had some interesting comments on the Lunar Gateway at a recent NASA Advisory Council meeting—the program is eschewing cost-plus contracting, but it’s lacking vision.
Episode T+77: Blue Origin Reconfigures New Glenn
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.
Lockheed Martin Selected to Build Low-Boom Flight Demonstration Aircraft
Quieter than the SEPTA buses that drive by my front door here in Philadelphia. I’ll be keeping an eye on this.
Eschewing Cost-Plus, Lacking Vision
In the Flexible Path era, NASA has always been flexible on both the vision and the details. That is why the human exploration program is floundering.
Thanks to March Patrons
Very special thanks to the 176 of you out there supporting Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon for the month of March. Your support keeps this blog and podcast going, and most importantly, it keeps it independent.
Two Weeks Until “The Stick” Gets Its Name
Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight wrote a great rundown of Orbital ATK’s Next Generation Launcher that included a great little nugget of info at the end.
SpaceX CRS-14 Carrying Two Important Payloads
There are two payloads on CRS-14 that caught my eye as very important to the future in space.
The Curious Case of Boeing and The Surprise Funding of WGS 11 and 12
Large federal funding of a Boeing-built system which the private sector says is unnecessary because they can provide the government with more services for less money. Sounds familiar.
Blue Origin Switches to BE-3U for New Glenn Second Stage
Maybe the change was brought about by the seemingly-slower ramp up of BE-4 testing, but nonetheless it gets them to the pad quicker, simplifies their production lines and operations, and allows them to hit just about every useful flight profile from day one.
Episode T+76: Caleb Henry
Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to talk Satellite 2018, megaconstellations, flat-panel antennas, and the current state of the satellite industry.
Episode T+75: March Roundup
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.
“I think we’re in great shape there.”
Hmm.
Mission Extension Pods
This seems like a great addition to the MEV architecture, and I wouldn’t be surprised if it grew out of customer inquiries for a stationkeeping-only service, rather than one that includes attitude control, too.
The Swarm-Spaceflight-ISRO Situation
I’m holding off on making too many assessments of the Swarm authorization fiasco until we know a little more than we do now. Did one of the parties knowingly make a nefarious decision to proceed? Or did this really fall through the cracks because of how many parties were involved in getting these satellites up?
Episode T+74: Stagnation and Opportunity
NASA Acting Administrator Robert Lightfoot appeared in front of the space subcommittee of the House Science Committee to discuss the 2019 NASA budget request, and I’ve got some thoughts on their decisions regarding the SLS Mobile Launcher and how it affects SLS’ flight rate. And then I get off onto a train of thought regarding the stagnation of and opportunity within the policy gridlock we’re stuck in today.
Black Ice
We’ll see if anything comes of this, and “last summer” is not an insignificant amount of time in the past, but it’s at least an intriguing project to think about and consider. I’d hate to see Stratolaunch repeat some mistakes from Shuttle with Black Ice, though.
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.
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!