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Anthony is joined by Adrian Beil of NASASpaceflight to talk about the recent mayhem at Starbase, and to kick around European space policy topics in the run up to the ESA Ministerial later this year.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 202 - Rapidly Adjusting (with Adrian Beil) - YouTubeFollowing the Loss of Ship 36, SpaceX now Focuses on Rebuilding Masseys - NASASpaceFlight.comJack Beyer on X: “Close up slow motion footage of the unexpected event(s) during Northrop Grumman’s BOLE DM-1 stb test today.”Northrop Grumman tests SLS Block 2 BOLE booster in Utah; nozzle issue seen - NASASpaceFlight.comESA studying impacts of proposed NASA budget cuts - SpaceNewsESA moving ahead with ‘resilience from space’ satellite imaging program - SpaceNewsFollow AdrianAdrian Beil (@BCCarCounters) / TwitterAdrian Beil, Author at NASASpaceFlight.comFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartia

Anthony is joined by Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society, and Eric Berger, Senior Space Editor at Ars Technica, to talk about the NASA 2026 budget proposal, the Jared Isaacman saga, and all the space policy storylines you could imagine.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 201 - Bad Ass, But Also Bad (with Casey Dreier and Eric Berger) (with Casey Dreier and Eric Berger) - YouTubeNASA's disastrous 2026 budget proposal in… | The Planetary SocietyThe Space Review: How NASA’s proposed budget cuts are felt across the AtlanticThe Space Review: NASA’s 2026 budget in brief: Unprecedented, unstrategic, and wastefulThe Planetary Society’s NASA Data DashboardsIsaacman’s bold plan for NASA: Nuclear ships, seven-crew Dragons, accelerated Artemis - Ars TechnicaThe administration’s anti-consensus Mars plan will fail - SpaceNewsSpaceX’s next Starship just blew up on its test stand in South Texas - Ars TechnicaShe was a Disney star with platinum records, but Bridgit Mendler gave it up to change the worl

Jake and Anthony are joined by Matt Gjertsen, founder of Better Every Day Studios, to talk about leadership and management development in the space industry (and elsewhere!).TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 200 - On the Interstages of Giants (with Matt Gjertsen) - YouTubeBetter Every Day StudiosFollow MattEasily listen to Leadership Launchpad – Team Development, & Performance Improvement for Aerospace & Technology Managers in your podcast app of choiceEasily listen to A VC, a Headhunter, and a Trainer Walk into a Bar in your podcast app of choiceFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off

It returns. Hot drama. Also a moon lander is happening right now. Also Twitter fights break out. Also a moon lander doesn’t happen.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 199 - The Thing That We Grow Plants - YouTubeIsaacman: people with ‘axes to grind’ about Musk caused withdrawn NASA nomination - SpaceNewsWhite House to withdraw Isaacman nomination to lead NASA - SpaceNewsNASA Copes with Details of $6 Billion Budget Cut, Leadership Uncertainty – SpacePolicyOnline.comNASA withdraws support for conferences - SpaceNewsCommercial space companies to fund launch range upgrades under $4 billion contract - SpaceNewsChinese launch startup conducts vertical takeoff and splashdown test - SpaceNewsKaitlan Collins on X: “As their blowup escalates, Trump suggests terminating Musk’s federal contracts.”Eric Berger on X: “This would both end the International Space Station and simultaneously provide no way to safely deorbit it.”Elon Musk on X: “This just gets better and better

Jake and Anthony figure out if we should panic about Starship, or just Starship Block 2, or not.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 198 - Gotahm - YouTubeStarship’s Ninth Flight Test - SpaceX - LaunchesNorthrop Grumman Invests $50 Million in Firefly Aerospace to Advance Medium Launch Vehicle Named Eclipse™Introducing the new Northrop Grumman logo. | Northrop GrummanRocket Lab's Neutron tapped for U.S. military cargo test - SpaceNewsFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo) | TwitterAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo@jawns.club) - jawns.

Anthony is in his new studio! He and Jake catch up on his recent trip to Marotta Controls, Anthony shares the good news about valves, and they try to figure out what the hell is going on with VIPER.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 197 - Valves and Cranberries - YouTubeT+302: A Tour of Marotta Controls - Main Engine Cut OffControls Engineering | Control System Company | MarottaSpace Controls | Spacecraft Control Systems | MarottaMarotta’s post with photos of my tourBrian’s photo of a thruster firingNASA backtracks on VIPER commercial partnership - SpaceNewsBlue Origin updates work on ‘transporter’ for Blue Moon lunar lander - SpaceNewsGilmour Space on X: “

Jake and Anthony talk about Firefly’s latest spectacular Alpha failure, and the skinny budget request.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 196 - ❌ Lady Telescope ❌ - YouTubeTrump Proposes $6 Billion Cut to NASA – SpacePolicyOnline.comNASA scrambles to cut ISS activity due to budget issues - Ars TechnicaFirefly Alpha launches FLTA006 Message In A Booster mission but fails to reach orbit - NASASpaceFlight.comAlpha FLTA006 "Message In A Booster" - YouTube (Timestamped to anomaly, also lol at 1969-12-31 timestamp)Follow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnthony Colang

Jake and Anthony are joined by Dante Lauretta, Principal Investigator of NASA’s OSIRIS-REx mission, and Professor of Planetary Science at the University of Arizona, to talk about—take a guess!—returning and studying pristine samples from Bennu.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 195 - Dirtiest Thing in the Cleanroom (with Dante Lauretta) - YouTubeDante Lauretta | Lunar and Planetary Laboratory & Department of Planetary Sciences | The University of ArizonaNASA's OSIRIS-REx Mission to Asteroid BennuAbundant ammonia and nitrogen-rich soluble organic matter in samples from asteroid (101955) Bennu | Nature AstronomyAn evaporite sequence from ancient brine recorded in Bennu samples | NatureContamination monitoring of the OSIRIS-REx ISO5 asteroid sample cleanroom - NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS)NASA’s Asteroid Bennu Sample Reveals Mix of Life’s Ingredients - NASASurprising Phosphate Finding in NASA’s OSIRIS-REx Asteroid Sample - NASANASA’s Bennu Asteroid Sample Contains Carbon, Water - NASANASA’s First Aste

Jake and Anthony are joined by Roman Chiporukha, founder of SpaceVIP, a travel agency for space.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 194 - St. Bart’s on a Tuesday (with Roman Chiporukha) - YouTubeSpaceVIP | Your Gateway to the CosmosSpace PrizeBlue Origin’s First All-Female Spaceflight Stunt - The New York TimesRadian Aerospace – World’s First Single-Stage-to-Orbit SpaceplaneFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo) | TwitterAnthony Colangelo (@acolangelo@jawns.club) - jawns.club

Jake and Anthony talk about Jared Isaacman’s confirmation hearing, and the apocalyptic NASA science budget.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 193 - The Secretary of Land - YouTubeIsaacman Insists NASA Can Pursue Moon and Mars Goals Simultaneously – SpacePolicyOnline.comIsaacman’s “Golden Age of Science & Discovery” on Shaky Ground – SpacePolicyOnline.comTrump White House budget proposal eviscerates science funding at NASA - Ars TechnicaPlanetary Science Caucus Co-Chairs Bacon & Chu Statement on White House’s Proposed Budget Cuts to NASA Science | U.S. Representative Don BaconNOAA budget proposal would affect weather satellite, other space programs - SpaceNewsFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.spac

Jake and Anthony are joined by Chris Carberry and Sam Burbank to talk about their first documentary film, Alcohol in Space - The Movie, their upcoming projects, and the 2025 Humans to the Moon & Mars Summit.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeWatch Alcohol in Space - The Movie | Prime VideoThe Music of Space: Scoring the Cosmos in Film and Television: Carberry, Chris: 9781476688978: Amazon.com: BooksAlcohol in Space: Past, Present and Future: Carberry, Chris: 9781476679242: Amazon.com: BooksSummit | Explore MarsDEMO: Bay Bridge (2021) - IMDbEP-32 The Show with Mike Rowe – Dan CarlinFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | Twitt

Jake and Anthony are joined by Richard French, Vice President, Business Development and Strategy, Space Systems at Rocket Lab, to talk about their Mars Sample Return architecture, the way they’ve been putting the word out on it, and to hear what’s been up with their space systems side of the business lately.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 191 - It’s 5 O’Clock Somewhere…at a Rocket Lab Facility (with Richard French) - YouTubeRocket Lab | The Space Company | Rocket LabMars Sample Return | Rocket LabNASA Installs Heat Shield on First Private Spacecraft Bound for Venus - NASANASA selects seven companies for MSR studies - SpaceNewsNASA awards Rocket Lab study contract for Mars Sample Return - SpaceNewsVarda Space capsule lands in Australia with critical data for hypersonic vehicles - SpaceNewsRocket Lab to expand into laser communications with Mynaric acquisition - SpaceNewsRocket Lab on X: “Stage 2's qualification campaign tests…”Follow RichardDick French (@DFRocketScience) / XFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to th

Jake and Anthony are joined by writer and podcaster Jason Snell, to talk about Jared Isaacman’s nomination to lead NASA, what’s been up in the NASA CFO scene, what astronauts really want to be doing, and so much more. Also, this episode completes the Lifoff-Nominal crossover spectacular, AND makes 10 year old Anthony very happy that he’s podcasting with Jason friggin’ Snell.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 190 - Poolonauts (with Jason Snell) - YouTubeAnthony on CNN Last WeekMomentum seems to be building for Jared Isaacman to become NASA administrator - Ars TechnicaWhite House nominates Autry to be NASA’s chief financial officer - SpaceNewsTrump White House drops diversity plan for Moon landing it created back in 2019 - Ars TechnicaEpisode 128 - These Were Bad Movies - Off-NominalFollow JasonJason Snell (@jsnell@zeppelin.flights) - The IncomparableSix Colors – Apple, technology, and other stuff by Jason Snell & Dan MorenUpgrade - RelayLiftoff - RelayThe Incomparable - Smart, funny pop culture podcastsNow

Jake and Anthony are joined by Awais Ahmed, Founder and CEO of Pixxel, to talk about building a constellation of hyperspectral imaging satellites. Honestly, we mostly try to help Jake get his head around the electromagnetic spectrum.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubePixxel | Hyperspectral Imagery and Space Data CompanyGoogle leads $36 million funding round for Pixxel - SpaceNewsSpaceX launches 131 payloads on Transporter-12 rideshare mission - SpaceNewsFlatland - WikipediaFollow AwaisAwais AhmedAwais Ahmed (@awaisahmedna) / XFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnt

Jake and Anthony are joined by Jonathan McDowell, astrophysicist at Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics and the namesake of the McDowell Line at 80 kilometers, to talk about his fundraiser to move his epic space library to a new, permanent home.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 188 - Barry Up the Street (with Jonathan McDowell) - YouTubeFundraiser by Jonathan McDowell : Fund Jonathan's Space Report Library TransitionJonathan's Space ReportThe edge of space: Revisiting the Karman Line - ScienceDirectFollow JonathanJonathan McDowell (@planet4589.bsky.social) — BlueskyJonathan McDowell (@planet4589) / XFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engi

Jake and Anthony talk about the Moon lander mania this week has been—Firefly’s Blue Ghost 1 and Intuitive Machines’ IM-2 missions.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 187 - Amazon Basics Lunar Lander - YouTubeBlue Ghost Mission 1 - Firefly AerospaceAstroForge | Earning the Learnings: The Launch of OdinNASA still working to restore contact with Lunar Trailblazer - SpaceNewsIM-2 lunar lander on its side after touchdown - SpaceNewsVirgin Galactic to start assembly of first new spaceplane in March - SpaceNewsFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceAnthony Colangelo (

Jake and Anthony are joined by Casey Dreier, Chief of Space Policy at The Planetary Society, to talk about the current era of Executive action, Congressional pushback (or not) against it, and the upcoming Day of Action.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 186 - It’s Like the Cinnamon Challenge (with Casey Dreier) - YouTubeThe Day of Action | The Planetary SocietyThe Space Advocate Newsletter, February 2025 | The Planetary SocietyHouse hearing debates ways to improve Artemis - SpaceNewsFollow CaseyCasey Dreier | The Planetary SocietyThe Planetary SocietyFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@mec

Jake and Anthony are joined by Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau to talk about their new book, Space to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier. Supply! Demand! Subsidies! Probably dunking on the commercial space station market!TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 185 - A Little Bit Like Mexico (with Matthew Weinzierl and Brendan Rosseau) - YouTubeSpace to Grow: Unlocking the Final Economic Frontier: Weinzierl, Matthew, Rosseau, Brendan: 9781647827168: Amazon.com: BooksEconomics of Space | Economics of SpaceQuirks & CompulsionsFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO) | TwitterMain Engine Cut Off (@meco@spacey.space

Jake and Anthony catch up on some news, stories they haven’t covered yet like Rocket Lab’s Mars Sample Return architecture, and discuss the glory of Super Bowl LIX. It’s Anthony’s birthday, so he will not be stopped by Jake. Go Birds.TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 184 - Trickle Down Space News - YouTubeChiefs vs Eagles | Super Bowl LIX Highlights - YouTubeMars Sample Return | Rocket LabSpace Policy Edition: Mars Sample Return, but… | The Planetary SocietyCiting too much “bureaucracy,” Blue Origin to cut 10 percent of its workforce - Ars TechnicaBoeing has informed its employees of uncertainty in future SLS contracts - Ars TechnicaDOGE to examine NASA payments - SpaceNewsFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spa

Jake and Anthony are joined by Kristin Fisher to talk about her journey into independent journalism with her new YouTube channel, and we’ll probably kick around some news, too, because there’s been a lot, huh?TopicsOff-Nominal - YouTubeThe Endless Void - YouTubeBiden Administration “Certainly” Supports Artemis Program – SpacePolicyOnline.comForbes on X: “JUST IN: Jen Psaki highlights Artemis Program: We will send “another man and another woman to the moon.”Trump administration removes moon rock from White House Oval Office | collectSPACEFollow KristinKristin Fisher (@KristinFisher) / XFollow Off-NominalSubscribe to the show! - Off-NominalSupport the show, join the DiscordOff-Nominal (@offnom) / TwitterOff-Nominal (@offnom@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow JakeWeMartians Podcast - Follow Humanity's Journey to MarsWeMartians Podcast (@We_Martians) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit) | TwitterJake Robins (@JakeOnOrbit@spacey.space) - Spacey SpaceFollow AnthonyMain Engine Cut OffMain Engine Cut Off (@WeHaveMECO)