Main Engine Cut OffT+265: Headlines, featuring Starship IFT-2, Dragonfly, and Ariane 6
A special (free!) airing of this week’s episode of MECO Headlines. Starship IFT-2, Dragonfly, Ariane 6, ISS happenings, launches, and more.
T+264: ESA’s Interest in Space Stations, Virgin Galactic Bails on VSS Unity
ESA is looking to start a commercial cargo program while looking further ahead to commercial space stations by signing an agreement with Airbus and Voyager. Virgin Galactic is laying off 20% of its staff and ending VSS Unity flights in just a few months.
T+263: Space Policy Roundup (with Marcia Smith)
Marcia Smith of SpacePolicyOnline.com joins me for a roundup of space policy topics—the House Speaker mayhem, the outlook for budgets over the next year, what to do about the ISS and its related expenses, and a lot more.
T+262: Printing a Meniscus in the BioFabrication Facility (with Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire)
Dr. Molly Mulligan and Dr. Ken Savin of Redwire join me to talk about successfully 3D bioprinting the first human knee meniscus on the International Space Station in their BioFabrication Facility, how this work fits into the near and far future of both health and the space market at large, and to discuss a wide-ranging set of related topics.
T+261: Agile Space (with CEO Chris Pearson and Chief Engineer Lars Osborne)
Chris Pearson (CEO) and Lars Osborne (Chief Engineer) of Agile Space join me to talk about what they’re working on, how the company has gotten to where it is today, and what’s in store for the future.
T+260: Northrop Grumman Changes Plans, Starlab, Orbital Reef, and Leadership Changes
Northrop Grumman has changed plans—they’ve ended their own space station project, and will contribute to Starlab. At the same time, Blue Origin and Sierra Space are reconsidering their Orbital Reef plans, amidst changing leadership and raising money.
T+259: Tom Marotta, The Spaceport Company
Tom Marotta of The Spaceport Company joins me to talk about what they’re working on, their vision for the future of spaceflight, spaceport operations, the demonstration they did in May, the FAA and its interaction with private companies, reentry licensing, and a whole host of other topics.
T+258: The Six, by Loren Grush (Off-Nominal 123 - An Exciting Time)
Jake and Anthony are joined by Loren Grush of Bloomberg to talk about her new book, The Six: The Untold Story of America’s First Women Astronauts.
T+257: Chandrayaan-3, Luna-25, and the Deep Space Network (with Scott Tilley)
Scott Tilley joins me to talk about ISRO’s success with Chandrayaan-3, Roscosmos’ Luna-25 mission and the mystery behind it, and the state of the Deep Space Network.
T+256: The Kuiper Logjam
Amazon moved their Project Kuiper prototypes from Vulcan to Atlas V. Between that and some recent conversations I’ve had, I thought it would be a good time to check in on Kuiper and to see how they’re progressing towards deployment. I do some math, and it’s not good.