Main Engine Cut Off

Orbital ATK unveiled the name and additional technical details of their new launch vehicle, OmegA. Jim Bridenstine was finally confirmed as the new NASA Administrator. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 29 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, Jan, David, and six anonymous—and 157 other supporters on Patreon. OMEGA: Orbital ATK’s New Large-Class Rocket for U.S. Air Force Bridenstine Confirmed as NASA Administrator On Party-Line Vote - SpacePolicyOnline.com Senate votes to confirm Bridenstine as NASA administrator - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Joel, and six anonymous—and 153 other supporters on Patreon. Eschewing Cost-Plus, Lacking Vision - Main Engine Cut Off NASA considers acquiring more than one gateway propulsion module - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Spotify, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 150 other supporters on Patreon. Main Engine Cut Off Shop Main Engine Cut Off on Twitter: “

Caleb Henry of SpaceNews returns to talk Satellite 2018, megaconstellations, flat-panel antennas, and the current state of the satellite industry. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 149 other supporters on Patreon. Caleb Henry (@CHenry_SN) | Twitter Caleb Henry, Author at SpaceNews.com Satellite 2018 LEO and MEO broadband constellations mega source of consternation - SpaceNews.com SoftBank says GEO operators besides Intelsat can sell OneWeb capacity - SpaceNews.com What would it take for SoftBank to invest in SpaceX? - SpaceNews.com OneWeb asks FCC to authorize 1,200 more satellites - SpaceNews.com There’s something strange going on amid the satellite Internet rush | Ars Technica SSL bags Amos-8 and BSAT-4b manufacturing contracts - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@main

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 147 other supporters on Patreon. Off-Nominal Events NASA Budget To Soar Over $20 Billion in Final FY2018 Appropriations - SpacePolicyOnline.com Acting NASA Administrator Lightfoot Announces Retirement - SpacePolicyOnline.com Lunar Surface Transportation Capability Request for Information (RFI) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunitie

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 28 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, Joel, and six anonymous—and 141 other supporters on Patreon. Off-Nominal Events Hearing - An Overview of the NASA Budget for Fiscal Year 2019 - YouTube Safety panel warns of “bottleneck” of reviews for exploration and commercial crew vehicles - SpaceNews.com House members question balance of NASA programs in 2019 budget proposal - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to ant

NASA recently began talking about some contingency planning for potential Commercial Crew delays, and the end-of-ISS discussion is heating up. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, and six anonymous—and 135 other supporters on Patreon. NASA’s Continued Focus on Returning U.S. Human Spaceflight Launches - Commercial Crew Program NASA studying commercial crew contingency plans - SpaceNews.com How the private space industry could take over lower Earth orbit — and make money off it - The Verge Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Sh

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 27 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, Tyler, Laszlo, and six anonymous—and 125 other supporters on Patreon. 05 - The Volume of Anti-Starmanism | Off-Nominal Falcon Heavy Demo from the Press Site - YouTube Falcon Heavy Test Flight - YouTube Military certification the next big test for Falcon Heavy - SpaceNews.com SES Rethinks GEO Model - Main Engine Cut Off SpaceX no longer planning crewed missions on Falcon Heavy - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, S

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 episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 24 executive producers—Kris, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, Moritz, and five anonymous—and 120 other supporters on Patreon. Hearing - An Update on NASA Commercial Crew Systems Development - YouTube U.S. GAO - NASA Commercial Crew Program: Continued Delays Pose Risks for Uninterrupted Access to the International Space Station U.S. GAO - NASA Commercial Crew Program: Continued Delays Pose Risks for Uninterrupted Access to the International Space Station (PDF, 1.2MB) NASA’s Launch Vehicle “Stable Configuration” Double

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. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 24 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, John, and five anonymous—and 113 other supporters on Patreon. Off-Nominal 04 - In The Year of Our Lord Steve Squyres | Off-Nominal Ninkasi Brewing - Ground Control 2017 Air Force: Cape rockets could fly new southern corridor toward poles Canaveral’s Polar Express - Main Engine Cut Off Polar XS-1 Launches - Main Engine Cut Off Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, St

Robin Seemangal joins me for a free-flowing discussion on the stories we found most important in 2017 and what we’re looking forward to in 2018, including SpaceX’s huge year, Blue Origin’s under-the-radar work to lay foundations for their future, SLS’ rough year, and—what else?—Falcon Heavy. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon. Robin Seemangal (@nova_road) | Twitter How Is SpaceX Doing on Its Deep Space Ambitions? | WIRED Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the Off-Nominal Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on P

Mike Lewis, CTO of NanoRacks joins me to talk about what they’re working on today, as well as their big plans for the future, including their upcoming airlock and the Ixion project—their ongoing work to turn spent upper stages into useful spacecraft. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 108 other supporters on Patreon. NanoRacks | The Operating System of Space NanoRacks (@NanoRacks) | Twitter Mike Lewis | NanoRacks' Chief Technology Officer NanoRacks’ 4th External Cargo Ship Satellite Deployment Mission NanoRacks Successfully Deploys First Customer Microsatellite from ISS NanoRacks Airlock Passes Johnson Astronaut Training Exercise Contract for Commercial Habitat Concept Study Signed NanoRacks on Twitter: “We see the future commercialization of #LEO in re-using and re-purposing spent upper stages of launch vehicles. Here's

A special preview of the MECO Headlines shows: Elon Musk kinda-sorta-maybe announces the Falcon Heavy demo payload, Russia and China carry out successful military launches, NASA announces some very interesting NextSTEP-2 contracts, OA-8E Cygnus departs ISS, and SpaceX’s SLC-40 is back, baby! This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Bob, Brian, Russell, and five anonymous—and 107 other supporters on Patreon. Elon Musk on Twitter: “Falcon Heavy to launch next month from Apollo 11 pad at the Cape. Will have double thrust of next largest rocket.” Elon Musk on Twitter: “Payload will be my midnight cherry Tesla Roadster playing Space Oddity. Destination is Mars orbit. Will be in deep space for a billion years…” Intelligence-gathering satellite deployed in orbit for Russian military - Spaceflight Now Russia launches Lotos mission via Soyuz 2-1B rocket | NASASpaceFlight.com Long

I was in Houston last week and I visited NanoRacks for a bit. And Virgin Orbit piqued the interest of the Department of Defense, which has some interesting implications. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 104 other supporters on Patreon. Virgin Orbit wins first Defense Department launch contract - SpaceNews.com STRATCOM chief Hyten: ‘I will not support buying big satellites that make juicy targets’ - SpaceNews.com Revival of Cape Canaveral’s LC-46 begins with Minotaur Pathfinder Assembly - Spaceflight101 Orbital ATK’s Next-Generation Composite Case Passes Structural Acceptance Test - Main Engine Cut Off Orbital ATK Successfully Tests First Motor Case for Next Generation Launch Vehicle | Orbital ATK News Room Orbital ATK on Twitter: “Our Next Generation Launch Vehicle achieves critical milestone with completion of structural acc

SES gives us a preview of their new GEO strategy (which may be a harbinger of the future), Orbital ATK tests a new composite case to be used for their Next-Generation Launcher and future SLS boosters, NASA approves the use of previously-flown Falcon 9 first stages, and SpaceX sets off some LOX fireworks down in McGregor, Texas. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 23 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, Brian, and five anonymous—and 96 other supporters on Patreon. SES Rethinks GEO Model - Main Engine Cut Off SES tells satellite builders to prepare for a total rethink of their business - Space Intel Report Orbital ATK’s Next-Generation Composite Case Passes Structural Acceptance Test - Main Engine Cut Off Orbital ATK Successfully Tests First Motor Case for Next Generation Launch Vehicle | Orbital ATK News Room Orbital ATK on Twitter: “Our Next Generation Launch Vehicle achieves critical m

Blue Origin fired up their BE-4 engine for the first time, which is a big moment. And I share some meandering thoughts on the future of commercial and military launch. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 22 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, Warren, Robert, and five anonymous—and 95 other supporters on Patreon. Blue Origin on Twitter: “First hotfire of our BE-4 engine is a success #GradatimFerociter” Blue Origin just sent a jolt through the aerospace industry | Ars Technica Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@WeHaveMECO CDR in December. Tooling is the factory. First hardware in fab. pad mods underway” Tory Bruno on Twitter: “@IanPineapple @WeHaveMECO Cape pad will be backwards compatible. VAFB may not need that” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Pocket Casts, Google Play, Stitc

Tory Bruno wrote an op-ed in SpaceNews regarding Vulcan and its future, and he announced that ULA will be upgrading Centaur. Elon Musk spent some time on reddit talking about BFR and updating us on some of the details. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 21 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 92 other supporters on Patreon. Off-Nominal Off-Nominal - Main Engine Cut Off FA8811-17-9-0001; Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle (EELV) Launch Service Agreements (LSA) Request for Proposals (RFP) - Federal Business Opportunities: Opportunities Op-ed | Building on a successful record in space to meet the challenges ahead - SpaceNews.com Op-ed by Tory Bruno | Building on a successful record in space to meet the challenges ahead : ula /u/ToryBruno on reddit T+45: 2018 Air Force Launch Vehicle Contracts, and the Dim Future of Antares - Main Engine Cut Off House Members Ask Air Force to Fund Ve

Chris Gebhardt of NASASpaceflight joins me to discuss Elon Musk’s presentation last week, in which he provided an update to the BFR. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 82 other supporters on Patreon. Chris Gebhardt on Twitter Making Life Multiplanetary The Moon, Mars, & around the Earth – Musk updates BFR architecture, plans | NASASpaceFlight.com SES-10 Press Conference in which Chris grills Elon until he says “Wow, you’re really in the details there.” Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Join the MECO Discord Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine Cut Off Newsletter Buy shirts and Rocket Socks from the Main Engine Cut Off Shop Support Main Engine Cut Off on Patreon

Northrop Grumman is acquiring Orbital ATK in a $9.2 billion deal. Lockheed Martin unveiled a new family of satellite busses, positioning themselves for the next era of satellite bus production. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 20 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, Chris, and five anonymous—and 77 other supporters on Patreon. Northrop Grumman to acquire Orbital ATK - SpaceNews.com Analysts see red flags in Northrop’s acquisition of Orbital ATK - SpaceNews.com Lockheed won’t protest now two-way race to refresh U.S. nuclear arsenal - SpaceNews.com All in the Family: Lockheed Martin Introduces New Satellite Lineup - Sep 19, 2017 Lockheed Martin unveils new satellite bus lineup - SpaceNews.com Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Headlines Subscribe on Apple Podcasts, Overcast, Google Play, Stitcher, TuneIn or elsewhere Subscribe to the Main Engine

Blue Origin announced a size increase to New Glenn’s fairing, and OneWeb has decided to keep their Toulouse factory open for other customers after their initial 10-satellite production run is over. Both decisions bring about some interesting implications for the market at large. This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 19 executive producers—Kris, Mike, Pat, Matt, Jorge, Brad, Ryan, Jamison, Guinevere, Nadim, Peter, Donald, Lee, Jasper, and five anonymous—and 69 other supporters on Patreon. Blue Origin | New Glenn Blue Origin on Twitter: “Given customer response, we’re going straight to the 7m fairing and skipping 5.4m. Customers liking options the 2X volume provides.” New Glenn Gets Larger Fairing - Main Engine Cut Off OneWeb Satellites to keep Toulouse factory open for other customers - SpaceNews.com OneWeb Satellites to keep Toulouse factory open for other customers - Main Engine Cut Off Email your thoughts and comments to anthony@mainenginecutoff.com Follow @WeHaveMECO Listen to MECO Hea