And here’s the megafeed of everything I’ve been doing.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Really interesting technical note on how Orbital ATK’s Mission Extension Vehicles stack with other satellites in an article by Caleb Henry of SpaceNews.
The US Air Force has developed a viable corridor for launching to polar and other high-inclination orbits from Cape Canaveral. I spend some time thinking through who may be interested in using that corridor and what its existence could mean for the newer launch vehicles in development.
In thinking through who may launch to high-inclination orbits from the Cape, I totally forgot about DARPA’s XS-1 that will be based out of Cape Canaveral. I would be surprised if there weren’t plans to launch XS-1 from Vandenberg, but as of yet, we haven’t heard anything. Maybe the Department of Defense had XS-1 in mind when developing a polar corridor from Cape Canaveral?
Jake and Anthony drink a beer that has been to space, discuss the recently-announced New Frontiers finalists, and propose their own flagship-class missions. Huge thanks to Ninkasi Brewing Company for powering this episode!
Jake and Anthony drink a beer that has been to space, discuss the recently-announced New Frontiers finalists, and propose their own flagship-class missions. Huge thanks to Ninkasi Brewing Company for powering this episode!
Jake and Anthony drink a beer that has been to space, discuss the recently-announced New Frontiers finalists, and propose their own flagship-class missions. Huge thanks to Ninkasi Brewing Company for powering this episode!
A fantastic, must-read post with photos, maps, and analysis of the ZUMA situation. Dr. Langbroek is just about the only person I’ll be following with regards to ZUMA.
Best episode of Off-Nominal yet: Jake and I talk New Frontiers and drink extraordinarily tasty beer that has been to space. Massive thanks to Ninkasi Brewing Company for fueling this episode!
Fascinating piece by Eric Hand, for Science.
Plans could change, obviously, but the last bit there seems to confirm that Orbital ATK is only going to build this launch vehicle if they are awarded funding from the Air Force in the upcoming Launch Services Agreements.
Someone over at Intelsat has been doing a lot of math, and it looks like Orbital ATK was serious—the business case closes.
ZUMA has been wrapped up in the mystery surrounding USA 276 and the ISS since last November, when Marco Langbroek found that its launch window and trajectory lined up very closely to their orbits. After a few delays (with little insight into their causes, much like the launch of USA 276…), things seem to be lining up again.