Main Engine Cut OffImportantly, this contract is only for work through 2020, culminating with Preliminary Design Review. That means there is going to be an additional contract or two for the development, launch, and checkout of the vehicle.
Huge news today! NASA Administrator Jim Bridenstine joined Jake and I for the first episode of Off-Nominal Origins. We talked about how he got interested in space and aviation, his time at Rice University, his years as a Navy pilot, his continuing fascination with the Rocket Racing League, and a whole lot more.
And yes, obviously, we talked about the time Jake and I started a weird little sideshow at IAC 2019 with The Jim Bridenstine Fan Club.
It happened! American astronauts on American rockets from American soil. Bob and Doug successfully launched, docked to the ISS, and joined Expedition 63. I talk about what this means for SpaceX, NASA, space policy, and where things go from here.
Though NASA and its projects provide a source of hope through scientific advancement and inspiration, those things can often feel unreachable to many of us. However, the platform it provides for representation and for role models to step forward into the public eye is hugely important.
The head of human spaceflight at NASA resigned last week, just before the most important crewed launch the agency has seen in a decade. However, it appears as though the resignation is related to the Artemis program and its landers. I give some thoughts on the implications of the departure, and also cover a recent development in international space politics—the Artemis Accords.
Jake and Anthony are joined by Jason Davis of The Planetary Society to talk about NASA’s human landing systems, SpaceX’s upcoming DM-2 launch, and to debate whether or not Tom Cruise will make a cool movie on the ISS.
The decision was primarily communicated as a way to eliminate technical risk and complexity, but it certainly plays well on the political and budgetary side of things, too. The convergence of political factors this year are a nightmare for NASA’s budget outlook, not to mention the federal budget generally.
NASA announced three contract awards for the Artemis Progam’s Human Landing System—a Blue Origin-led team, Dynetics, and SpaceX’s Starship. I talk through some thoughts on each landing system and what the future might hold for NASA, regarding both politics and decisions.
Probably not a bad idea, because of those positive tests for COVID-19 at Baikonur. Luckily they’ve been up there for a while and all seems fine.
Sean Mahoney, CEO of Masten Space Systems joins me to talk about everything they’ve been up to lately, from flights of their terrestrial vehicles out in Mojave, NASA’s Lunar CATALYST program, their recent Commercial Lunar Payload Services task order award, and some other projects like DARPA’s XS-1, the Broadsword engine, and XEUS.