Commercial Crew Update, Early 2017 Edition
An extensive and informative article by Chris Gebhardt, for NASASpaceFlight, on the recent Commercial Crew update given to the NASA Advisory Council.
Small Improvements to Big Cartel for iOS
In addition to our sweet new push notifications for orders, we’ve also recently released a handful of awesome little features to Big Cartel for iOS that should make staring at your phone all day that much nicer. Here’s a quick rundown.
Introducing the Main Engine Cut Off Shop
I’m excited to announce the launch of a brand new project: the Main Engine Cut Off Shop. This isn’t the typical “sell a t-shirt with your podcast logo on it” sort of project (though I do love me some podcast tees)—it’s an ever-growing collection of custom-designed products for space geeks like you and I.
Blue Origin Continues Lobbying NASA
Rob Meyerson, president of Blue Origin, talked a bit more about their Blue Moon concept at the Space Symposium this week.
Jeff Bezos and Amazon Stock Sales
Yesterday at the Space Symposium, Jeff Bezos had some interesting comments on Blue Origin’s plans.
ULA Could Formally Select BE-4 Within Three Months
Jeff Foust, for SpaceNews, on Blue Origin’s progress on BE-4 firings, and how ULA is managing the downselect for Vulcan engines.
Vulcan Aerospace Rebrands as Stratolaunch
Much cleaner structure—and a better name—for a solution I still don’t believe in much at all. Interestingly, the rebrand frees up the “Vulcan” name in the aerospace field, at a time when there have been rumors of a potential rebrand for ULA.
Orbital ATK’s Last-Generation Launch Vehicle
Seems like Orbital ATK’s PR editors removed the next sentence: “We’ll just need that money upfront, instead.”
Thanks to March Patrons
Thanks to my patrons for the month of March. If you’re getting some value out of what I do here and want to send a little value back to help support Main Engine Cut Off, head over to Patreon and donate as little as $1 a month—every little bit helps.
Episode T+44: SpaceX and the Age of Reusability
SpaceX made history this week by launching SES-10 with a previously-flown first stage. I discuss implications of this achievement, the things we learned from Elon Musk in the post-flight press briefing, and the doubters, as always.
One More Step
It was just a matter of time. I guarantee you those in Le Gall’s camp will think of at least one more step, and we’ll hear about it right after SpaceX’s next step.
Defects Found in Almost Every Russian Proton Rocket Engine
Matthew Bodner, for The Moscow Times, reports that 71 engines, mostly for the second and third stages of Proton, require complete overhauls.
SES, SpaceX, and the Steady Beat of Progress
James Dean with a great article for Florida Today on SES, SpaceX, and reusability.
The Past and Future of Blue Origin’s Orbital Launch Site
A great piece by Chris Bergin and Noel Munson of NASASpaceFlight on the storied histories of launch complexes 11 and 36, and what Blue Origin plans for their future.
Episode T+43: March Lightning Round
The last two weeks have been filled with a bunch of smaller stories—SpaceX’s GPS III bid win and upcoming SES-10 launch, ULA’s decision on Vulcan’s engines and Congress’ potential meddling, and the ISS beyond 2024.
Masten’s Green Bipropellant: MXP-351
Read the whole post over on Masten’s blog. Great to see progress on safer storable propellants and Masten’s lander. There’s also a video from a few months ago of MXP-351 performance testing.
Thornberry Walks Back Vulcan Intervention
Paywalled article, but the viewable introduction says it all.
SpaceX Signs Five-Year Lease at Port Canaveral
We first heard about SpaceX taking over the old SpaceHab buildings back in August, so I guess the building will suit their needs. SpaceX will be building out quite a bit of real estate on the Cape, as documented in their recent LZ-1 expansion plans.
BE-4 Hydrostatic Bearings
Jeff Bezos’ most recent email update on Blue Origin was all about the BE-4 and its hydrostatic bearings. Interestingly, George Sowers, VP of Advanced Concepts & Technologies at ULA, commented on their use of hydrostatic bearings on Twitter.
Optimus Prime
We started seeing some great photos of SpaceX’s new piece of infrastructure on the ASDS: Optimus Prime. Scott Murray also posted some over-exposed-but-lovely shots of Optimus Prime on the ASDS, complete with shots of its garage.