Main Engine Cut Off

A holiday special! Enjoy this week’s episode of Headlines free. It’s an absolute monster episode—way longer than usual Headlines episodes, I promise—but it’s a great example of what you get when you support the show over at mainenginecutoff.com/support.NASA finally—and we really do mean it this time—has a full-time leader - Ars TechnicaAgencywide Town Hall with NASA Administrator Jared Isaacman, Friday, Dec. 19, 2025 - YouTubeTrump commits to Moon landing by 2028, followed by a lunar outpost two years later - Ars TechnicaNASA Teams Work MAVEN Spacecraft Signal Loss - NASA ScienceNASA Continues MAVEN Spacecraft Recontact Efforts - NASA ScienceSpaceX Sets $800 Billion Valuation, Confirms 2026 IPO Plans - BloombergSpaceX $1.5 Trillion Value Target Hinges on Starlink — And Elon - BloombergSpaceX Said to Notify Employees of Quiet Period Ahead of IPO - BloombergIn a surprise announcement, Tory Bruno is out as CEO of United Launch Alliance - Ars TechnicaSpace Development Agency awards $3.5 billion in contracts for m

Yesterday, I had the chance to visit the Pentagon and sit down with General Chance Saltzman, Chief of Space Operations—the head of the United States Space Force. We talk about the service 6 years into its existence, the state of acquisitions, the threats and space environment today, and what the future may hold for the Space Force when it comes to human spaceflight.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Russell, Natasha Tsakos, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, David, Matt, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Joakim, Frank, Pat, Joel, Donald, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Jan, Steve, Fred, Lee, Kris, Heiko, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsUnited States Space ForceB. Chance Saltzman > United States Space Force > DisplaySpace Force roadmap set to define what the service needs and why - SpaceNewsUS intel officials “concerned” China will soon master reusable launch - A

Stephen Clark of Ars Technica joins me to talk about a ton of stories in the news—Jared Isaacman was back in front of Congress, a few Starliner flights have been cut from the ISS manifest, Starship received environmental approval to proceed at SLC-37, Zhuque-3 almost stuck its first landing attempt, the Soyuz launch pad fell apart at Baikonur, and the Space Force has a new mission naming scheme.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Matt, Fred, Kris, Natasha Tsakos, Josh from Impulse, Better Every Day Studios, Joakim, Joel, Ryan, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Heiko, Jan, Theo and Violet, Donald, Pat, Will and Lars from Agile, Lee, Russell, Joonas, Warren, Steve, Frank, Stealth Julian, David, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsAuthor: Stephen Clark - Ars TechnicaNASA nominee appears before Congress, defends plans to revamp space agency - Ars TechnicaCongress warned that NASA’s current plan for Artemis “cannot work” - Ars Te

Blue Origin is fresh off an incredible few weeks—a successful second launch and first landing of New Glenn, followed by an exciting unveil of upgrades to the vehicle, including an enormous new version, New Glenn 9x4.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Lee, Natasha Tsakos, Fred, Will and Lars from Agile, Ryan, Stealth Julian, Pat, Heiko, Kris, Jan, Better Every Day Studios, Theo and Violet, Matt, Josh from Impulse, Russell, Joel, Warren, Joonas, Joakim, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Donald, David, Frank, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsBlue Origin’s New Glenn rocket came back home after taking aim at Mars - Ars TechnicaJeff Bezos on X: “Good overview of the landing. We nominally target a few hundred feet away from Jacklyn to avoid a severe impact if engines fail to start or start slowly. We’ll incrementally reduce that conservatism over time. We are all excited and grateful for yesterday…”New Glenn Update | Blu

Simone D’Amico of Stanford and EraDrive, DJ Bush of NVIDIA, and Al Tadros of Redwire join me to talk about autonomy in space, to get into the specific details of what they’re working on and how it comes together, and what it may do for the industry in the next few years.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joonas, Russell, Donald, Stealth Julian, Pat, Fred, David, Lee, Frank, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Joel, Joakim, Matt, Natasha Tsakos, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Kris, Theo and Violet, Heiko, Will and Lars from Agile, Jan, Warren, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsEpisode T+315: Autonomy in Space (with Simone D’Amico, DJ Bush, and Al Tadros) - YouTubeSimone D'Amico | LinkedInCenter for AEroSpace Autonomy Research (CAESAR)Stanford spinoff EraDrive claims $1 million NASA contract - SpaceNewsDJ Bush | LinkedInHow Starcloud Is Bringing Data Centers to Outer Space | NVIDIA BlogAl Tadros | L

Thinking through the chaos that has ensued over the NASA Administrator role, the Artemis 3 lander acceleration movement, the SpaceX Starship HLS update, and a bit on how we actually got here.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Donald, Stealth Julian, Jan, Theo and Violet, The Astrogators at SEE, Joakim, Steve, Matt, Fred, Lee, Joel, Kris, Ryan, David, Josh from Impulse, Warren, Heiko, Pat, Russell, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Joonas, Better Every Day Studios, Will and Lars from Agile, Natasha Tsakos, Frank, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsSpaceX - UpdatesSpaceX teases simplified Starship as alarms sound over Moon landing delays - Ars TechnicaWhy did NASA’s chief just shake up the agency’s plans to land on the Moon? - Ars TechnicaElon Musk just declared war on NASA’s acting administrator, apparently - Ars TechnicaHow America fell behind China in the lunar space race—and how it can catch back up - Ars TechnicaChina completes landing and tak

Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me (in studio!) to talk about Starlink V3, Starlink satellite relay, Kuiper’s rollout, the Airbus-Thales-Leonardo merger, and the future of Iridium.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Heiko, Joonas, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Joakim, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Natasha Tsakos, David, Steve, Josh from Impulse, Will and Lars from Agile, Better Every Day Studios, Jan, Fred, Warren, Kris, Pat, Donald, Matt, Frank, Stealth Julian, Ryan, Theo and Violet, Lee, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsCaleb Henry (@ChenrySpace) / XThe OneWeb Book | Caleb Henry | SubstackQuilty SpaceSatellite operators will soon join airlines in using Starlink in-flight Wi-Fi - Ars TechnicaStarlink mini lasers to link Muon Space satellites for near real-time connectivity - SpaceNewsProject Kuiper plots broadband services in five countries by end of March - SpaceNewsAirbus, Leonardo and Thales agree to com

Miles O’Brien, science correspondent for PBS News and CNN space analyst, joins me to talk about Starship Flight 11, the current space policy landscape including the ongoing government shutdown, the possible return of Jared Isaacman, and what to do about all the competing budget priorities at NASA.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joakim, David, Heiko, Ryan, Jan, Kris, Frank, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Russell, Joonas, Joel, Matt, Will and Lars from Agile, Natasha Tsakos, Donald, Lee, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, Theo and Violet, Pat, Fred, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsMiles O'Brien Productions - Miles O'BrienMiles Ahead | Miles O'Brien | SubstackSpaceX finally got exactly what it needed from Starship V2 - Ars TechnicaMore layoffs at JPL - SpaceNewsTrump, Billionaire Isaacman Said to Meet About Top NASA Job - BloombergFormer NASA nominee Jared Isaacman in talks to

Phil McAlister, former Director of NASA’s Commercial Space Division, joins me to talk about the Commercial LEO Destinations program, the budgetary issues facing NASA and its human spaceflight programs, and to share his perspective on the last (and next) few years in these areas.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 32 executive producers—Joel, Pat, Will and Lars from Agile, Joakim, Jan, Warren, David, Fred, Better Every Day Studios, Josh from Impulse, Ryan, Natasha Tsakos, Theo and Violet, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Stealth Julian, Donald, Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Kris, Frank, Steve, Heiko, Lee, Matt, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsPhil McAlister | LinkedInThe Dreaded Gap | LinkedInYou Can’t Reach the Stars While Chained to Low-Earth Orbit | LinkedInNo Changes Allowed | LinkedInVast backs new NASA commercial space station strategy - SpaceNewsT+205: Phil McAlister, Director of Commercial Spaceflight at NASA - Main Engine Cut OffThe ShowLike the s

NASA selected Blue Origin to (maybe) deliver the once-cancelled VIPER rover, modified Sierra Space’s ISS resupply contract which likely puts the nail in the coffin of Dream Chaser, and released the draft of its new commercial space station strategy. All different stories with one message: prove it. But maybe not in a good way.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Jan, Kris, Lee, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, Better Every Day Studios, Josh from Impulse, Joakim, Bob, Donald, Creative Taxi, Frank, Pat, Joonas, Fred, Heiko, Warren, Matt, Joel, The Astrogators at SEE, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Ryan, Russell, Stealth Julian, Steve, Natasha Tsakos, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsNASA Selects Blue Origin to Deliver VIPER Rover to Moon’s South Pole - NASAVIPER Might Have A New Ride to the Moon on Blue Origin – SpacePolicyOnline.comBlue Origin only bidder for new VIPER lander award - SpaceNewsNASA, Sierra Space Modify Commercia

Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk about EchoStar’s spectrum sales and constellation cancellation, SpaceX’s spectrum purchase, and the financials of Starlink.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Bob, Heiko, Creative Taxi, Josh from Impulse, Russell, Donald, Will and Lars from Agile, Matt, Steve, Lee, Joel, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Frank, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), The Astrogators at SEE, Better Every Day Studios, Ryan, Kris, Pat, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Stealth Julian, Warren, Theo and Violet, Jan, Joonas, Fred, David, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsQuilty Space (@QuiltySpace) / XStarlink Financial & Strategic Analysis 2025 1H | Quilty SpaceSign Up Form | Quilty SpaceEchoStar sells spectrum to SpaceX, cancels MDA satellite contract - SpaceNewsEchoStar’s $23 billion spectrum sale clears path for direct-to-device constellation - SpaceNewsEchoStar orders initial MDA satellites for $5 billion LEO con

Casey Handmer, Founder of Terraform Industries, joins me to talk about the state of NASA in 2025, talent acquisition and retention, productivity, and so much more.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Kris, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Creative Taxi, Heiko, Joel, Frank, Josh from Impulse, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Jan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Theo and Violet, Joonas, Stealth Julian, Donald, Warren, Matt, Pat, Steve, Fred, Bob, Lee, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Will and Lars from Agile, Russell, Better Every Day Studios, Ryan, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsCasey Handmer (@CJHandmer) / XCasey HandmerTerraform IndustriesNASA Is Worth Saving – Casey Handmer's blogEpisode 170 - Luckily, We Did All the Math (with Casey Handmer) - Off-NominalThe science behind clean hydrocarbons | The Freethink Interview - YouTubeThe ShowLike the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainengine

Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about the executive order this week focused on commercial space regulatory reform, what problems it seeks to solve, his experience on both sides of those issues, and how we should understand the positioning of the order.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Frank, David, Jan, Josh from Impulse, Steve, Ryan, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Lee, Creative Taxi, Theo and Violet, Fred, Pat, Donald, Better Every Day Studios, Stealth Julian, Bob, The Astrogators at SEE, Russell, Joel, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Matt, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Kris, Warren, Heiko, Will and Lars from Agile, Joonas, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsTom Marotta | LinkedInThe Spaceport CompanyPrevious appearance: T+259: Tom Marotta, The Spaceport Company - Main Engine Cut OffEnabling Competition in the Commercial Space Industry – The White HouseTrump Issues Executive Order on Commercial Space – SpacePolicyOnline.comThe

Michael Moreno, VP of Strategy at Lunar Outpost, joins me to talk about what they’ve been up to at the company, the NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle Services contract, the idea of services as a business on the Moon, and more.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 35 executive producers—Lee, Russell, Fred, The Astrogators at SEE, David, Matt, Theo and Violet, Warren, Josh from Impulse, Frank, Pat from KC, Steve, Pat, Creative Taxi, Jan, Stealth Julian, Better Every Day Studios, Kris, Heiko, Donald, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Joel, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Will and Lars from Agile, Harrison, Joonas, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Bob, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsHome | Lunar OutpostLunar Voyage 1 Update Lunar Outpost Becomes First Company to Receive Payment for Space ResourcesNASA selects three companies to advance Artemis lunar rover designs - SpaceNewsLunar Dawn Team Awarded NASA Lunar Terrain Vehicle ContractLunar Outpost Signs with SpaceX for Starship Moon Mi

A special simulcast of this week’s Off-Nominal—the other show I do, if you somehow haven’t heard of it!—because it’s exactly the topic list with exactly the guest I had up next on my list. I’m 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.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 34 executive producers—Creative Taxi, David, Donald, Matt, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, Bob, Russell, Pat from KC, Pat, Lee, Joel, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Ryan, Josh from Impulse, Joonas, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Heiko, Will and Lars from Agile, Fred, Kris, Stealth Julian, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Theo and Violet, Jan, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsAdrian Beil (@BCCarCounters) / TwitterAdrian Beil, Author at NASASpaceFlight.comOff-Nominal - YouTubeEpisode 202 - Rapidly Adjusting (with Adrian Beil) - Y

Lori Garver, former NASA Deputy Administrator, joins me to talk about the chaos of the last week: the withdraw of Jared Isaacman’s nomination for NASA Administrator, Starship Flight 9, and of course, the wild public breakup of Elon Musk and President Trump.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—David, Donald, Matt, Frank, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, Bob, Russell, Pat from KC, Pat, Lee, Joel, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Ryan, Josh from Impulse, Joonas, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Heiko, Will and Lars from Agile, Fred, Kris, Stealth Julian, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Theo and Violet, Jan, Steve, The Astrogators at SEE, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsMusk-Trump dispute includes threats to SpaceX contracts - SpaceNewsIsaacman: 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 Unce

Mark Albrecht joins me to talk about his time on the Trump 2024 Transition Team, the thinking behind some of the policy decisions we’re starting to see in the space and national security spheres, and more.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joonas, The Astrogators at SEE, Will and Lars from Agile, Theo and Violet, Frank, Russell, Kris, Bob, Lee, Pat, Ryan, Fred, Matt, Heiko, Pat from KC, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Donald, Josh from Impulse, Stealth Julian, Jan, Steve, Better Every Day Studios, Warren, David, Joel, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsMark Albrecht (@MarkAlbrecht68) / XFalling Back To Earth: A First Hand Account Of The Great Space Race And The End Of The Cold War: Albrecht, Mark: 9780615447094: Amazon.com: BooksMark Albrecht on X: “Today concludes my service for the 47 transition team (4th time) We have charted a bold, aggressive, and urgent agenda for civil and national se

We take a tour of Marotta Controls in Montville, New Jersey, to see how they work, how they develop, produce, and test products at rate, and we learn about the most feared topic in space—valves!This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joonas, Josh from Impulse, Heiko, Donald, Stealth Julian, Warren, Kris, Frank, Steve, Bob, Better Every Day Studios, The Astrogators at SEE, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Fred, Matt, Pat from KC, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Joel, Theo and Violet, Russell, Jan, Pat, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Will and Lars from Agile, Lee, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsControls Engineering | Control System Company | MarottaSpace Controls | Spacecraft Control Systems | MarottaMarotta’s post with photos of my tourBrian’s photo of a thruster firingThe ShowLike the show? Support the show on Patreon or Substack!Email your thoughts, comments, and questions to anthony@mainenginecutoff.comFollow @WeHaveMECOFollow @meco@spacey.

Caleb Henry, Director of Research at Quilty Space, joins me to talk megaconstellations, the hypersonics industry, and more.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—Joonas, Josh from Impulse, Heiko, Donald, Stealth Julian, Warren, Kris, Frank, Steve, Bob, Better Every Day Studios, The Astrogators at SEE, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Fred, Matt, Pat from KC, Natasha Tsakos (pronounced Tszakos), Joel, Theo and Violet, Russell, Jan, Pat, Ryan, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), David, Will and Lars from Agile, Lee, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsCaleb Henry (@ChenrySpace) / XThe OneWeb Book | Caleb Henry | SubstackQuilty SpaceArmed services committees propose $150 billion funding boost for defense - SpaceNewsUrsa Major wins $28.5 million Air Force contract to flight-test Draper engine for hypersonic use - SpaceNewsUnited Airlines bumps GEO operators off fleet for Starlink Wi-Fi - SpaceNewsFree Starlink Wi-Fi now on most Hawaiian Airlines transpacific fleet - SpaceN

Jared Isaacman was in Congress for a confirmation hearing for his nomination as NASA Administrator, which was followed up by reports of huge proposed budget cuts at NASA and NOAA. And as expected, SpaceX, ULA, and Blue Origin all received awards for NSSL Phase 3 Lane 2.This episode of Main Engine Cut Off is brought to you by 33 executive producers—nt, Frank, Joonas, Will and Lars from Agile, Pat from KC, Joakim (Jo-Kim), Josh from Impulse, Pat, Bob, Warren, Heiko, Steve, Theo and Violet, David, Kris, Donald, Joel, Fred, Jan, Lee, Russell, The Astrogators at SEE, Ryan, Matt, Stealth Julian, Tim Dodd (the Everyday Astronaut!), Better Every Day Studios, and four anonymous—and hundreds of supporters.TopicsIsaacman Insists NASA Can Pursue Moon and Mars Goals Simultaneously – 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 D