Main Engine Cut Off

Jake Robins, host of WeMartians and my co-host on Off-Nominal, joins me for Part 2 of our conversation about SpaceX’s 2019 Starship update. Part 1 can be found over on WeMartians.

I’ve got a special preview of MECO Headlines for the main feed this week, with news on Orion, NASA’s FY2020 budget, NEOCam’s legacy, Starship, and more.

Kurt Klaus, Chair of the Lunar Exploration Analysis Group’s Commercial Advisory Board, joins me to talk about NASA’s Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and the wider potential for commercial flights to the Moon and beyond.

SpaceX updated their SmallSat launch offering—dropping the price and increasing the number of flights. It certainly looks like they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the small launch market.

Andrew Rush, CEO of Made in Space, joins me to talk about their big new NASA contract for Archinaut One and the history, present, and future of in-space manufacturing.

SmallSat was last week which meant a flurry of announcements. This year was launch heavy, so I break down some announcements from SpaceX, Arianespace, and Rocket Lab.

Steve Altemus, President & CEO, and Dr. Tim Crain, VP of Research & Development, from Intuitive Machines join me to talk about their Nova-C lander, the Commercial Lunar Payload Services program, and their task order from NASA for a landing on the Moon in July, 2021.

NASA terminated OrbitBeyond’s CLPS task order, opened CLPS up to more providers, and announced exciting partnerships with Blue Origin, SpaceX, and others.

I share some thoughts on three important stories from this week: NASA quietly announced their intention to sole source the Gateway habitat to Northrop Grumman, Starhopper made its first flight, and Lockheed Martin invested in ABL Space Systems.

Two top NASA human exploration leaders—Bill Gerstenmaier and Bill Hill—have been ousted from their positions. I break down what this means for NASA and its plans, where things could go from here, and ponder whether these changes really matter.